Aaron Hoddinott's  Instablog

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If you want to know why Government should never get involved in the private sector, look no further than what has gone on with the Toyota recall fiasco.

Toyota, which employs over 35,000 (non- union) workers in the United States with factories in eight states, is the target of a government-led attack thanks to the recent recalls. It is the largest recall of vehicles in automotive history.

The recalls are due to what is known as SUA (sudden unintended acceleration) and was first blamed (by the media - influenced by the White House) on sticky gas pedals, then a floor mat problem and now faulty electronics. Not surprisingly, no exact issue has be proven to be the cause of the SUA.  

Thanks to the US government’s attack on Toyota, 15,000 Lexus HS250h and 133,000 Priusmodels will be recalled due to gas pedal issues and another 500,000 Prius models due to anti-brake software modification. There will certainly be more recalls to come, just give it time. The US government wants to be sure they wipe out Toyota’s sales completely in the US before they stop the recalls. Oh wait, I meant to say, they want to make sure they have thoroughly checked every inch of all Toyota cars to make sure the public is safe...Ya right.

All Toyota Recalled Vehicles

•    2005-2010 Avalon
•    2007-2010 Camry
•    2009-2010 Corolla
•    2008-2010 Highlander
•    2009-2010 Matrix
•    2004-2009 Prius
•    2010 Prius
•    2009-2010 RAV4
•    2008-2010 Sequoia
•    2005-2010 Tacoma
•    2007-2010 Tundra
•    2009-2010 VENZA

Toyota has now shut down its U.S. plants and stopped selling eight of its popular models, including the highly regarded, and one of the best ‘bang for your buck cars’ on the road, Camry. The US’ Toyota dealers estimate they’ll lose $2.5 billion each month that sales of these eight models are suspended. Kudos to the US Government, the next step for Toyota will be to indefinitely shut down all US plants and 35,000 more workers will be unemployed.

In case it isn’t obvious why the US government is leading this smear campaign, allow me to explain.

The US government bailed out Chrysler and GM, two pathetically ran, over the hill companies who were crippled by a lack of innovation, too many models and a grossly over paid work force.  The government now has a huge vested interest in these companies and needs to recoup the tax payer money invested.

The Toyota recalls opened the door for the US government to try and reestablish GM’s (and Chrysler’s) ‘superior craftsmanship’ by bashing the competition. Actually it is far more than bashing, they are trying to cripple Toyota.

Up until this recall issue, Toyota’s success in the US has been incredible. They have destroyed GM in sales since 2008. In 2003, the Camry became the best-selling car in the U.S. In 2005, Fortune magazine stated: “By nearly every measure, Toyota is the world’s best auto manufacturer. It may be the world’s best manufacturer, period.”

So how does Toyota go from being the best manufacturer in the world to a company who is building deathtraps for its customers?

A government smear campaign.

Perception is reality and the US government  has tried its best to create the perception that Toyota makes unsafe vehicles. All of this, of course, is to help increase sales for GM and Chrysler products and help restore profitability - which would make the US government a lot of money.

The government owns a car company and is able to run worldwide smear campaigns on its biggest competitor. Talk about an unfair advantage. Talk about conflict of interest. Talk about a violation of the government’s own “non-compete” commitment.

Given how often Toyota has been in the news over the last few months, you would think it was the only company with SUA problems.

That’s not the case.

GM and Chrysler also were the subject of SUA (sudden unintended acceleration) complaints to the NHTSA, but none of their plants were shut and the affected models were not recalled nor banned from sale. One of the vehicles named in these complaints is GM's Pontiac Vibe but the NHTSA has not ordered its recall nor banned its sale. I wonder why?

To conclude, when government gets involved in the private sector, the very existence of a free competitive market is in jeopardy. Clearly, there is no free competitive market left in the US auto industry.

Aaron
 

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