Friday May 25, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Toyota posts $1.7 bil profit

Business Feb. 04, 2010 - 03:52PM JST ( 14 )

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14 Comments

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wanderlustFeb. 04, 2010 - 05:01PM JST

It will need those profits to pay the lawsuits, PR campaigns, replacements parts and the rest of their upcoming expenses...
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some14someFeb. 04, 2010 - 05:31PM JST

Assuring the markets that Toyota will be able to cover the cost of recall.
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TahoochiFeb. 04, 2010 - 06:05PM JST

Not to mention, it will be interesting to see if Toyota starts resorting to cash back incentives in the US when their sales takes a dive due to the quality issues... That'll eat into their profits no doubt, AND reduce the resale values of Toyotas.
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kwattFeb. 04, 2010 - 08:21PM JST

That'll eat into their profits no doubt, AND reduce the resale values of Toyotas.

I also think so. As far as I know, Most Americans seem not to worry much about faulty gas pedal because less 1-2 percent of all millions of Toyota car owners have that trouble, but media and congressmen are panicking about it. Most people are driving Toyota as same as usual because of no trouble yet or they think faulty gas pedal is minor trouble. My friend in California also does not worry about it. Maybe it is working normal.
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japaneseno1Feb. 04, 2010 - 09:17PM JST

i hv to point out toyota is more reliable than german car makers though i am not fm japan.
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BrandedFeb. 05, 2010 - 01:42AM JST

Toyota posts $1.7 billion dollar profit you say ? Unfortunately the costs of recalls, closed factories, and halted sales have already totaled $2 billion dollars- and growing ! In addition to the information sited here, a lot more "stuff" came out at this press conference- for example;

-Toyota acknowledged that it has begun fixing problems with the brakes in its prized Prius, but remains undecided about a recall

-Toyota Motor Corp., said Thursday that Prius models sold since late last month, including those shipped overseas, had the problem with the antilock brake system corrected.

-But that still leaves the potential flaw in Priuses sold in Japan and overseas before late January.

-Japan's transport minister urged Toyota to consider a recall of the Prius and said he is ordering an investigation into the brake problem

-Toyota executive Hiroyuki Yokoyama said the company hasn't yet decided if a recall is necessary.

-The U.S. Transportation Department said Thursday it has opened an investigation into brake problems in the 2010 model year Prius.

-The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told The Associated Press it has received 124 reports from consumers, including four reports of crashes.

-Toyota acknowledged the brake problem while reporting a $1.7 billion profit for its October-December quarter.

-The remodeled gas-electric Prius hybrid, which went on sale in the U.S. and Japan in May 2009. Complaints about braking problems in the Prius have been reported in the U.S. and Japan, combining to some 180, and come amid a recall of nearly 4.5 million vehicles for faulty gas pedals.

-The flaw, which requires a software programming change to fix, makes the brakes momentarily unresponsive.

-the time lag for brakes kicking in felt by drivers stem from the two systems in a gas-electric hybrid — the gas-engine and the electric motor.

-The brakes start to work if the driver keeps pushing the pedal, but the driver may momentarily feel they aren't working.

It truly is amazing that Toyota knew about the braking problem, kept it secret, made the changes for the overseas models... and said nothing about the cars sold before January overseas and "IN JAPAN". For those of you out there still defending this company... have a nice day.
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lostrune2Feb. 05, 2010 - 02:16AM JST

Toyota got a lot from the US' cash-for-clunkers program last quarter.
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BrandedFeb. 05, 2010 - 02:32AM JST

"Toyota got a lot from the US' cash-for-clunkers program last quarter."

Which is probably why they kept quiet about the design flaws in the braking system for the Prius. If I do recall Toyota was crowing up a storm about how long the waiting list was for that car last summer. They couldn't promote it's popularity enough ! And all the while they knew the brakes were defective ! The firestorm is building here in the US over this. I really can't see Toyota surviving this latest revelation, not for years and years.
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BrandedFeb. 05, 2010 - 07:57AM JST

"It's the consumers who decided to buy toyotas in replacement for their clunkers."

But would they have done so knowing that the brakes or gas pedals are defective ? Toyota knew this (the Prius) but chose to keep the information secret.
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TahoochiFeb. 05, 2010 - 01:34PM JST

Branded at 07:57 AM JST - 5th February

Toyota knew this (the Prius) but chose to keep the information secret.

I do believe your beloved Ford now has the same issue on their hybrids and tried to "keep it a secret" until Consumer Reports discovered the problem.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35242362/ns/business-autos/

Special note to the part in this article where it mentions that Ford knew about this problem and fixed it on cars being made from Oct/09, but this recall is for anything before that fix.... and they're announcing it now?

My point is that the media frenzy is making every issue look like a cover-up.
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BrandedFeb. 05, 2010 - 02:31PM JST

"I do believe your beloved Ford now has the same issue on their hybrids and tried to "keep it a secret" until Consumer Reports discovered the problem."

No "secret" I believe. Ford has quickly taken action to address the issue. As for consumer reports- well the only stateside rag to actually criticize the the Ford F150 series since 2004 ! The same consumer reports that is openly showing support for Toyota by going out of it's way to make public announcements on their behalf- truly shocking ! Time for the US gov to expand it's investigation I think.