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Toyota documents claim savings of 100m by negotiating/limiting recalls

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#1 ·
Big trouble for Toyota today as several documents from an internal presentation in the summer of 2009 appear to show that the company intentionally avoided and or negotiated recalls to avoid spending unnecessary money.


http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/22/...ut-saving-100m-with-limited-recall/#continued

http://www.freep.com/article/20100221/BUSINESS01/100221019/1014/rss13

If you saved your company $1 million, you'd brag about it, right? How about $100 million? Certainly you'd be looking for a few pats on the back for such a massive sum of loot. A report in The Detroit Free Press reveals that Yoshimi Inaba, chairman and CEO of Toyota Motors Sales in the U.S., allegedly did such bragging back on July 6, 2010, but the topic was "Wins for Toyota" and the subject was safety.

The Freep obtained the internal presentation on Sunday as Toyota handed over thousands of documents to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in advance of its February 24 hearing. The over $100 million in savings was spread across nine points outlined by Inaba in the presentation, which outlined savings obtained by delaying safety regulations and avoiding investigations.

Inaba's presentation states that the company saved $124 million with "added lead-time and phase in" for a side-impact airbag standard. There is also a bullet under the defects subheading that says the company saved $100 million by negotiating an equipment recall on the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES. Yahoo expands on that bullet in a recent report, saying that the automaker limited the amount of vehicles affected by the 2007 recall to 55,000, saving 50,000 man-hours of labor. Other items mentioned in the internal presentation are the avoidance of an investigation for the Tacoma rust issue and $11 million in savings by delaying a rule for tougher door locks on the Sienna.

While it's likely that there are similar documents floating around the halls of every major automaker, Toyota is under more scrutiny than normal after three high-profile recalls have severely damaged its once sterling reputation for quality and reliability. The company's official response to the discovery of this document is after the jump, we're likely to hear more about it when company CEO Akio Toyoda visits Washington to answer questions from the Fed.



Toyota Statement Regarding Documents Shared with Congressional Committees

Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong. Our values have always been to put the customer first and ensure the highest levels of safety and quality. Our recently announced top-to-bottom quality review of all company operations, along with new quality initiatives and a renewed commitment to transparency are all designed to reaffirm these values.
 
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#2 ·
...said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for the committee’s ranking Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa of California ...“Did Toyota raise potential safety problems with regulators as soon as they knew a problem existed?”...
imho we all know that ThrottleGate Motors has put a LOT more effort into COVERING UP...


...and hiring ex-politians (even before they were ex- )
...and

Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc. (TMMI) - Toyota.com

Southern Indiana is a place where work has always meant doing more than just the minimum, a place where the needs of the larger community are just as important as those of individuals. Those are the attitudes that made Gibson County the perfect birthplace for Toyota's fourth U.S. manufacturing facility.*
TMMI produces the Sequoia full-size sport utility vehicle, the Sienna minivan, and will begin building the Highlander mid-size sport utility vehicle beginning in late 2009.
Established:
1996
Current Investment:
$3.0 billion
Employment:
4,300
Address:
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc.
4000 Tulip Tree Drive, P.O. Box 4000
Princeton, IN 47670



therefore:
Governor Daniels defends Toyota - Fox59.com/news
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is defending Toyota. He and three other governors wrote a letter supporting the Japanese automaker, despite recent recalls.

Bill Francis Fox59.com
11:54 AM EST, February 11, 2010



and let's not forget that HUGE
new
Tundra
factory
in...
Texas governor backs Toyota - DetroitNews
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Last Updated: February 18. 2010 11:52PM

 
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