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Archive for February, 2010

Toyota is in the hot seat today in Washington, D.C. Who is at the hearing? David Strickland, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, several members of congress, consumer groups, and family members impacted by runaway accelerators. You can listen live on C-SPAN. Click on the image below.

Toyota Congressional Hearing on C-SPAN

Toyota Congressional Hearing on C-SPAN

Categories : International News
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Buying a new car can be stressful. Dealer invoice, dealer cost, MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price), holdbacks, destination charges, factory options, dealer incentives, and factory incentives should all be considered during negotiation. (Learn more about buying a car at the Auto Upkeep Learning Center and read this post on Defogging the Price.) But where do you find this information? TrueCar.com empowers you with the knowledge. Their slogan is “Find out what others really paid.” TrueCar uses real, local, and recent data to help determine the average price paid for a specific vehicle. They also calculate the actual cost of the vehicle to the dealer…using their trademark term “TrueCost”. Now there is no excuse for you to offer a fair deal…you are empowered using TrueCar. Before you go into the dealership (or if you are at the dealership, surf from your smartphone), get a detailed price report.

TrueCar.com

TrueCar.com - Find out what others really paid!

TrueCar covers the following vehicle makes:
Acura
Aston Martin
Audi
Bentley
BMW
Buick
Cadillac
Chevrolet
Chrysler
Dodge
Ferrari
Ford
GMC
Honda
HUMMER
Hyundai
Infiniti
Jaguar
Jeep
Kia
Lamborghini
Land Rover
Lexus
Lincoln
Lotus
Maserati
Maybach
Mazda
Mercedes-Benz
Mercury
MINI
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Pontiac
Porsche
Rolls-Royce
Saab
Saturn
Scion
Smart
Subaru
Suzuki
Tesla
Toyota
Volkswagen
Volvo

Categories : Car Buying
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General Motors is looking ahead…to its anticipated launch of the Chevrolet Volt later this year. To appease the tech junkie, OnStar has created an app for the Volt so the owner can access real time data. Most importantly, owners will be able to manage their car charging controls remotely. Want to start charging the Volt during off-peak hours? No problem, this app is for that. Want to warm the interior in the morning using your home’s electricity? No problem, this app is for that. Are you sitting in your cubical and want to make sure you have enough battery life to get home? Sure, this app is for that. Did you forget to plug in your Volt? No problem, the app will send you an email or text message to remind you. Did you go to the mall and forget to lock your Volt? No problem, use the app to lock your doors from anywhere. This app currently works on the iPhone, iPod Touch, Droid by Motorola, and BlackBerry. To learn more, check out the video below.

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Yesterday Toyota announced another recall (read the press release) of approximately 133,000 Prius (2010) and 14,500 Lexus HS 250h (2010) vehicles to update the ABS software. In the same recall notice Toyota said that they will also inspect another model, the 2010 Camry, for a power steering hose that may be contacting a front brake tube which could lead to a brake fluid leak. Toyota realizes that owners of Toyota vehicles are becoming increasingly anxious about their vehicle quality. In addition to the recall, Toyota posted frequently asked questions about this latest recall, most likely in a hope to sooth consumers.

It is not a secret that Toyota has hurt its public image. Consumers know that and Toyota knows that. For decades Toyota has been a name synonymous with quality – but recent events (millions of vehicles being recalled with a speculation that Toyota drug its feet in alerting owners) has shuddered (at least temporarily) its reputation. The president and heir of the company, Akio Toyoda, wrote an opt-ed piece today in the Washington Post reassuring consumers that Toyota is “taking responsibility for our mistakes, learning from them and acting immediately to address the concerns of consumers and independent government regulators”. Read the complete article.

Categories : International News
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The major news story recently is focused on how Toyota will address the nightmare of millions of their vehicles being recalled for accelerator issues. Concerned Toyota owners want to know what needs to be done to put their worries at ease. Apparently, a small shim will fix most vehicles (Toyota is betting its reputation on it). Autoblog, an online leader in covering the auto industry, published a slide show illustrating the fix at a Toyota dealer. You can see the process here.

To address the pedal entrapment issue on some vehicles (a separate recall), according to Autoblog, technicians will use a template with a reciprocating saw to reshape the pedal. Read the complete article.

Is this the best fix? Toyota hopes so. If I was a Toyota owner I would like a new gas pedal assembly instead of a modified one.

Categories : International News
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As the only U.S. major automaker not to take bailout money last year, Ford is emerging once again as the auto company others are striving to become. To highlight the Ford story over the last few years, a new 50 minute video was published titled “The New American Road”. This film is inspiring for those of us that still have a belief that Detroit can make quality, fuel efficient, technologically advanced automobiles.

Here is Ford’s description of the video:
“This is the story of Ford – the man – the company – and, importantly, a band of revolutionaries that are “betting it all” – defying all the odds – and in doing so, are re-establishing American automotive leadership, and reinventing the world’s automobiles for the 21st Century.”

It is a great video. You can watch it below.

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In light of recent recalls from Toyota (massive accelerator recall impacting millions of vehicles) to Honda (driver’s side master power window switch) to baby cribs (Dorel cribs) to today’s Italian Sausage recall, you might wonder what other things you own or eat may have a recall. The website every consumer should know about is Recalls.gov. This site is your resource for federal recalls. Since different governmental divisions have jurisdiction over specific products, the Recalls.gov site links you to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, United States Coast Guard, FoodSafety.gov, the Food and Drug Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency among others. If you want to be notified by email, you can sign up to receive new recalls on the Recalls.gov site and safety information will be sent to you electronically.

Recalls.gov

Recalls.gov

Categories : Tech Tips
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