The Toyota safety recall for a gas pedal defect is front page news worldwide -- and it is sending Toyota sales crashing and driving new car buyers to Honda and Chevrolet.
In the past two weeks, interest in Toyota models has fallen by nearly ten percent, while interest in Honda and Chevrolet models has speeded up. That's according to David Tompkins, senior analyst for Edmunds.com, who also expects the Toyota brand to" continue to experience decline for some time until the Toyota recall is resolved."
- RELATED ARTICLES ABOUT TOYOTA RECALL:
- Toyota knew about gas pedal problem starting in 2007
- What to do if your gas pedal sticks
- List of models Toyota is recalling
Toyota has stopped selling and producing the models which have the accelerator problem -- a list that includes three of Toyota's best sellers, Camry, Corolla and RAV4. Toyota has recalled at least 2.4 million cars and trucks in the U.S., Europe and China because of the problem.
Only time will tell whether Toyota's brand image of safety, reliability and customer service will suffer permanently. Toyota lost $7.1 billion last year. This worldwide recall is not helping the company's bottom line.
Is your Toyota safe to drive?
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Comments
Why is everyone so vexed by this? Ford has recalled 14 million SwitchFire models dating back to 1992, and they've been recalling them for 10 years.
Remember the Chevrolet Corvair? Engine spontaneously combusted. I was in one when it caught fire, and right after I clawed my two kids out of the back seat I became a consumer reporter. End of Corvair, beginning of Ralph Nader. Remember the Ford Pinto? Exploding gas tanks. Goodbye Pinto and Ford reputation, hello NHTSA. Recalls are nothing new.
What makes this so vexing is Toyota's mythical reputation for safety and customer service, and the effect on their image and sales.
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