Consumer Reports Best American Cars For 2010

Consumer Reports does a lot of things differently (like not accepting advertising, buying the cars they test). And one of them is creating a separate list of Top Picks from American car companies.

Well, this year's list is out now...and it's a Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, Chevy/GMC/Cadillac list. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep are nowhere to be found. For that matter, Buick is MIA.

Interestingly, the editors couldn't recommend an American vehicle in the "family hauler" category.

The list, and the reasoning behind the picks, here.

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NHTSA Buys "Possessed" Lexus; Will Test

The Lexus ES350 described in Congressional testimony on Tuesday as "possessed" is off the streets, four years after the incident.

One day after disclosing that Rhonda Smith sold the car (today's clarification from NHTSA: traded it to a Toyota dealer) after what she called a "near-death" experience and that a family has put 27,000 trouble-free miles on the vehicle since then (something that no one mentioned during Tuesday's hearing), the NHTSA has written that family a check and taken possession (pardon the pun) of the vehicle. They plan to test it.

Full details from the Detroit News.

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Toyota Accused Of Withholding Test And Design Data

The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform accused Toyota on Friday of withholding relevant documents when fighting lawsuits filed by crash victims.

The accusation's roots are in the documents provided under subpoena by former Toyota counsel turned whistleblower Dimitrios Biller.

Full details via the New York Times here.

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"Possessed" Lexus Still On The Road...27,000 Trouble-Free Miles Later

If that were your car, what would you do?

The Wall Street Journal (sub required...comments can be read free) reports that Rhonda Smith sold it...and another family has been driving it since.

That's right. Not  "demanded Toyota replace it under the Lemon Law".

Not "parked it and sued Toyota for its replacement cost".

We need to know just how that went down, I think. Trade it in and let the dealer work out the ethics? Craigslist? eBay? A close friend or neighbor?

And Rhonda? She needs to head right back to Capitol Hill, sit down in front of that committee, under oath, and give a word-by-word description of just how that transaction went down.

I mean, what do you say? "3,000 miles, creampuff, only tried to kill me once"?

"It's to die for?"

"Once you drive it, you'll never stop?"

Did she show them the CarFax?

Rhonda Smith's testimony is that she really believed she was going to die in that car.  The fact that she would then sell it to another human being (even a dealer trade assumes it will end up being driven by someone again) raises questions about whether her testimony was, in fact, true.

As does the fact that the new owners have put 27,000 miles on the ES350 trouble-free.

And where was this fact in Tuesday's hearing? Nowhere. Not mentioned by a single member of the committee, by Toyota Motor Sales USA president Jim Lentz and certainly not by Rhonda Smith.

In this week's Memo From Michael, I make the argument that we don't know enough about what's causing the Toyota incidents to accuse dead or injured drivers of incompetence.

Mrs. Smith is alive and wasn't hurt. The sale of the vehicle opens questions about her actions on the road that day, and the veracity of her testimony Tuesday.

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Photo Radar Tickets: 62% Unpaid In One State

Desperate for money, city, county and state governments around the country are looking hard at anything that throws off cash with little or preferably no effort and manpower.

Which brings us to photo radar. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would like to change the law in his state that currently bans speed cameras (red-light cameras are legal in the Golden State), which he says could generate $338 million.

But...as The Los Angeles Times reports...$338 million in tickets doesn't necessarily means $338 million in fines paid.

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Kegger At The Sierra Club: GM Kills Hummer

Automotive News (you can register for free) broke the story late Wednesday that Hummer is history. After two years on the block and a thisclose deal with a Chinese manufacturer, the deal just couldn't be done. GM says Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Ltd. was "unable to complete the acquisition", and so they'll wind down the brand.

It's hard to remember now, but Hummer was white-hot when it first hit showrooms in the early '00s. Its peak sales year was 2006, when 71,524 of them found homes, largely in suburbia.  The economy in general and gas prices in particular slammed the brakes on...with only 9,046 sold last year.

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FBI Raids Toyota Suppliers

Well, this won't help quell the conspiracy theory that the U.S. goverment is going extra tough on Toyota because it owns a chunk of GM:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirms it raided the offices of three Toyota suppliers as part of an anti-trust investigation. Toyota itself says it wasn't contacted by authorities. Full details from the Los Angeles Times:

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Toyoda To Obama: "Toyota Cars Are Safe"

Toyota president Akio Toyoda told Congress today he takes full responsibility for the recall of millions of his company's cars, but that he would tell President Obama "Toyota cars are safe".

                          

This, in the same hearing where Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in a deja vu moment linked to his February 3 testimony that owners should "stop driving" their Toyotas, only to retract it at the end of the hearing, told lawmakers the millions of recalled Toyotas "were not safe". As before, he amended his comments by saying the cars needed to be repaired and owners should consult their dealerships.

LaHood at times appeared to be in the hot seat to a greater degree than Toyoda, as members of the Congressional Oversight and Government Reform Committee probed to determine whether the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is doing its job  and whether the U.S. government's ownership stake in General Motors might affect equal treatment of automakers under its watch.

Full wrap-up of the day's testimony from The New York Times here, The Los Angeles Times here, and a video wrap-up from MSNBC along with a chronological blog of the day's events from The Lede here.

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Live Video Streaming and Blogging of Toyota/Toyoda Testimony

The Lede, The New York Times News Blog, will be providing live blogging and MSNBC live video streaming of Toyota president Akio Toyoda's testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as well as other testimony and discussion Wednesday. 

Click here to follow.  There's also commercial-free, break-free video streaming available from C-SPAN.

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Hyundai Halts Sales of 2011 Sonata Over Door Lock Issues

Automotive News (you can register for free) reports that Hyundai is suspending sales of the just-introduced 2011 Sonata because front door lock modules can stick.

5,000 of the vehicles, which arrived in showrooms 2 weeks ago, are in the U.S. and so far, only about 1,300 in buyers' hands.

Parts will reach dealers beginning tomorrow and Hyundai says the sales halt will end as soon as repairs to models in stock are made.

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Lentz to Congress: Recall May "Not Totally" Solve Problem

Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday, Toyota Motor Sales USA president Jim Lentz told lawmakers the gas pedal recall affecting millions of the company's vehicles may not solve the problem.

Lentz said the company is still investigating the problem, including the possibility that the electronics system may be at fault.

Also testifying today, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who told the committee the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has found no evidence of electronics issues and believes floor mats and sticky pedals pose the greatest threat.

And the committee heard the testimony of Rhonda Smith, who says her Lexus sedan sped out of control for six minutes, reaching 100 miles an hour in 2006.  Mrs. Smith called Toyota's response to her complaint "a farce."

There was an emotional moment as Lentz mentioned that he had lost his brother in an automobile accident 26 years ago. His voice breaking, he told lawmakers "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of what these families go through."

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Tomorrow's News Today: Akio Toyoda's Prepared Testimony Released

The House of Representatives seems to be running ahead of schedule...at least when it comes to testimony. It released Toyota Motor Sales USA President Jim Lentz' Tuesday testimony to the media late Monday...but we know what Akio Toyoda will say Wednesday at lunchtime on the west coast today.

Complete remarks from the committee via WOKV, Jacksonville.

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Consumer Reports Issues Automaker Report Card; Suspends Recommendations For Recalled Toyota Models

It's report card day at Consumer Reports...Hyundai and Ford are happy. Toyota? A mixed bag. But the Prius keeps its Recommended status. Read the results here.

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Lentz: Toyota "Didn't Live Up To The High Standards Our Customers Expect"

The Detroit News has published an advance copy of Toyota Motor Sales USA President Jim Lentz' remarks before a Congressional committee today, as well as those of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Lentz says the company has "taken too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues."

UPDATE: Click here for .pdf of Lentz' complete remarks.

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Chrysler/Dodge Minivan Airbag Recall

312,000 model year 2005 and 2006 Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans are being recalled.

The airbag sensors can crack, water can get inside and then the airbags don't work as designed.

Read the recall notice here.

Not too comforting...the actual recalling and repair doesn't start until June.

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VIDEO: University Professor Induces Unintended Acceleration In Toyota Avalon With ABC's Brian Ross At The Wheel

Southern Illinois University professor David Gilbert says a short-circuit can cause the cars to accelerate suddenly and not leave a trace in the car's fault codes.



Toyota's response? Click here.

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Toyota's Hired Gun

When Toyota goes to Capitol Hill this week, or before a federal grand jury at a date to be announced,  they won't be walking in alone.

The Los Angeles Times has a profile of the U.S. company Toyota has hired in hopes of disproving claims that their cars are capable of unintended acceleration caused by electronic throttles.

Previous clients? Exxon (Valdez), NASA (Challenger), FEMA (Oklahoma City federal building bombing) and at least one of Toyota's competitors (Ford).

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Toyota: Records Subpoenaed by U.S. Grand Jury, Requested by SEC

Toyota announced today that it received a subpoena for documents related to unintended acceleration and braking issues which prompted its huge recall from a federal grand jury (southern District of New York).

Date they got that subpoena? February 8.

As in two weeks ago today.

This, of course, is a big fat hairy deal...and Toyota should know it. If the grand jury doesn't like what it reads, the end result can be criminal charges.

A bit more recently, Toyota says it got a voluntary request from the Los Angeles office of the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday (February 19) for related documents, including the company's disclosure policies.

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Document: Toyota Saved $100 Million By "Negotiating" Sudden Acceleration Recall With Feds

Be careful what you put in writing. Dad probably told you that. But according to a report in this morning's Los Angeles Times, Toyota Motor Company execs put together a presentation in July, 2009 that talks about how the company saved $100 million by negotiating with the U.S. Government to limit a recall linked to sudden acceleration claims..from all vehicles possibly involved to 55,000 floor mats.

The Times also reports Toyota realized cost savings for delaying the implementation of a federal safety rule, stalling or mitigating safety regulations, and avoiding a government probe of a vehicle Toyota had issued a buyback program on.

Stand by for more. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has 50,000 documents in its posession from Toyota...and will get 5,000 more today from a former company counsel who says Toyota tried to hide evidence of safety defects from regulators and the public.

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