Much damage can be done in the name of industry assistance by state governments.
Toyota
Oh what a terrible feeling: Toyota to axe 350 jobs
Crikey media wrap: Toyota employees were told yesterday that 350 jobs are to be axed from its Altona North factory in Melbourne, in a decision that will affect the entire industry.
Oh what a feeling — 1.66 million Toyotas to be recalled
It’s time for another Toyota recall. This time 1.66 million Avalons, Highlanders and other vehicles are to be recalled in the United States and Japan, following a defects involving the master cylinder brake seal.
Toyota: oh, what a failure
With Toyota having recall after recall, yet still having issues with Sudden Unintended Acceleration, is it a surprise that consumers are so scared of new automobile technology? Glen Fuller explains.
Toyota recall: debacle puts it in good, if dire, company
Toyota has joined the pantheon of car companies that have erred on the side of lethal danger, writes Binoy Kampmark.
Toyota CEO: How we stopped listening to our customers
Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has penned another apologetic op-ed about the brake recall plaguing Priuses and other safety stuff-ups, this time outlining the future plans for the company. Will it appease customers?
How many people has Toyota killed?
Since Toyota started recalling its cars due to dodgy accelerators and brakes, an increasing number of road deaths have been linked to the problems. The alleged US death toll now stands at 34, and complaints continue to mount.
Why people love to see the Prius fail
The recent global recall of the Toyota Prius has caused an “outbreak of global gloating”, says author Toby Litt. For anti-environmentalists, there’s delightful schadenfreude in seeing ultimate symbol of tree-hugging do-gooders fail.
Prius debacle drives hole through the Camry
Toyota launched Australia’s first locally-produced hybrid on Monday, but the event has been smothered by the latest recall to hit the battered carmaker, writes James Stanford.
How Toyota broke down
Reuters goes behind-the-scenes at Toyota with a fly-on-the-wall look at how the wheels fell off its recent product recall, turning a bad situation into a total car-crash.
Toyota President: We’re off to the mechanic
Toyota’s image is taking a huge battering, with the company recalling thousands of cars around the world — including 2400 in Australia. President Akio Toyoda takes to the WashPo’s op-ed pages to explain how he plans to repair public trust in the company (might take a few weeks — need to get parts in from overseas…)
Toyota’s mates in high places
Toyota is about to face investigation over its massive recall and dodgy brakes, but half the politicians doing the “investigating” have close ties and vested interests with the company, according to an AP report.
Toyota knew about dodgy Prius brakes
Toyota is recalling about 270,000 Prius cars in the US and Japan due to dodgy brakes — and Australia could be next. But here’s the kicker: according to CNN, the company knew as far back as January, and said nothing, putting thousands of lives at risk.
The Yaris end of social media
For a company that trades on a ‘feeling’, Toyota does not seem to care about goodwill when it comes to their latest user-generated Yaris commercial. But is it all just a punk on social media and the advertising industry?
Toyota’s new ad: sexist and incestuous?
A new ad for Toyota featuring a girl’s father and boyfriend having an innuendo-laden conversation about taking her virginity with lines like “I’ll have her on her back by 11” and “She can take a good pounding” is causing a bit of a stir online. Toyota says it’s “funny”.
Toyota invents its own climate-cooling flower
Manufacturing the Toyota Prius produces more CO2 than normal cars, so the company came up with a novel solution: engineer a new species of flower to plant around factories that reduces the temperature and the energy needed for cooling, thus offsetting the carbon emissions.
The patriarchy is bad for men too!
Hair dryers, manscaping and eating tofu? That’s no real man. Except, ads focused on a false idea of manhood are just as damaging as the “real women” concept is for females, writes Clem Bastow.
Prius: just another word for hybrid
When people think hybrid, they still think Toyota’s Prius. Perhaps that’s why Honda’s Insight hybrid alternative isn’t setting the market on fire, despite being priced lower.
Toyota’s profits stall as global car industry slows to a crawl
Although Toyota has withstood the worst of the financial crisis, profit growth has all but stalled, writes Glenn Dyer.
GM suffers biggest slump since WW2
General Motors has just endured its worst month for sales since the end of the Second World War, writes Glenn Dyer.
Toyota follows it rivals into a financial ditch
If Toyota thought it was going survive the US car market slowdown, it was wrong, writes Glenn Dyer.
Oz takes Toyota coverage too far
The Australian took a lead yesterday in its reporting of the Toyota deal, but now it seems that it stuck its neck out way too far, writes Margaret Simons.
Oh what diversity! Spinning the hybrid hype
This morning’s newspapers don’t seem to be able to agree on the facts on Rudd’s Toyota hybrid announcement, let alone the weight that should be given to those facts, writes Margaret Simons.
