Toyota Recalls More Cars Than They Sold: Is There Fairness in the Media?

When Ford launched the the 2008 Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner the media was invited out to the ceremony. Some of the reporters want to ask some questions about Ford. The UAW Local 249 bargaining chair R.D Snow had some questions for them. "Why is it that when Toyota has a recall, a small paragraph inside the paper is printed, but if Ford has a recall, it's splashed all over the front page? Of course they said they didn't make those decisions and the suddenly scattered.

The fact is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that Toyota recalled more vehicles in the US than they sold last year. They recalled 2.38 million vehicles but only sold 2.26 million. Did you hear about that? I doubt it. Did you hear that Toyota is making an major apology for their "worrisome series of recalls" that has tarnished their reputation for quality? Did you hear about the Toyota senior manager saying that, we used to do quit recalls called, service campaigns' to deal with defects. (www.2006toyotarecalls.com)

How Americans Can Buy American says that in Japan, prosecutors are looking into possible negligence of the part of Toyota for shrinking recalls for the last eight years. You probably didn't hear about that one either because the American media doesn't like to bash foreign auto companies, just American auto makers.
Consumer reports announced that both the Ford Fusion and the Mercury Milan scored higher than both the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord this year.

Toyota Motor Corp it was recalling 533,000 Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia sport utility vehicles because of potential steering problems.

Toyota said the recall involved 2004-2006 Tundra trucks and 2004-2007 Sequoia full-size SUVs. The automaker has received reports of 11 accidents and six injuries connected to the recall, said Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong. The automaker said there was a possibility of excessive wear to a front suspension lower ball joint that could make it difficult to steer the vehicle and stay in the center of the lane. Drivers may also notice more noise coming from the front suspension, Kwong said.