Can Anything Stop Toyota?

There's too much evidence to the contrary.

I have seen dealers of several brands whose service departments were chaotic. But you have to wonder what goes on in a foreign car dealership that's operating in Ford's home state.

SPEAKING OF learning to drive......

Gray Davis' road to private life could be quite a bumpy one By R.E. Graswich -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, November 14, 2003

Driving Mr. Davis: Gov. Gray Davis faces a surprising challenge when he makes the move from chief executive to Joe Blow. He is clueless when it comes to motoring. Hasn't owned a car. Can't drive. "It's been years since he drove a car," a Davis friend said. "He has to get driving lessons from his security detail." CHP officers have been joking about giving Davis and his wife, Sharon, a crash course in driving at the West Sacramento CHP academy. The Davises are looking at Lincolns. The CHP won't confirm or deny anything. "We don't comment on the governor's security," said CHP spokesman Tom Marshall. "We will have a detail with Governor Davis for several weeks after he leaves office. That's all." Davis has avoided driving since 1975, when he became chief of staff for former Gov. Jerry Brown. Gray cruised the streets in Jerry's famous powder-blue Plymouth. There was always a state cop at the wheel. After that, Davis was in the Assembly, where legislative staffers stood by to haul him around. As state controller and lieutenant governor, he had CHP chauffeurs. As governor, Gray had a highway patrol entourage. Times change. If you see Gray nervously bearing down in his new Lincoln, back off. Way off. ...

-----------------------------

~~Philip "Never let school interfere with your education - Mark Twain"

The window will be down fast enough and the car will be high enough that water will not rush in. The OPEN window HAS too be UNDER water for water too rush in. And are you so sure that ALL European cars have sun roofs? I don't think so.

I fell for nothing.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com, Thomas Moats being of bellicose mind posted:

"...nothern European...."

Suppose a front door window is already down when the car hits the water? Better start scrambling! Ask senator Kennedy how long Detroit iron will float.... if at all. ;-)

Kennedy's car over turned in the water, and was on it's side. He was also drunk. This guy you are referring to drove into the water, not drove off a cliff. I doubt the water went over half the height of the door.

I don't get what you mean when you said "Apparently you don't know how dealers make money." I thought you were implying that Toyotas needed a lot of service. This fits in with my observations of the local Toyota dealers and the couple of independedt shops that specialize in Toyotas. You barely get on the lot at teh service department. Toyotas are stacked like cord wood. Even the city streets next to the shops have Toyotas waiting for service. This also make me wonder about the reason that, at least in my home town, there are several independent garages that specialize in Toyotas, Hondas, and even Volvos, but none that specialize in Fords. There are the same number of Ford and Toyota dealers, but I'll bet there are more Fords in the area, yet no one seems to specialize in them. I wonder why.

When I first got out of college I breifly (very breifly) worked for Ford. At that time I was driving a Datssun 280Z. No one seemed to think it unusual, even in 1978. However, one of the old guys suggested that if there was a union strike that I not drive the Datsun to the main site (I worked at an off site location). The one thing I remember most about foreign cars in Michigan was that they all appeared to have rust holes in them. Even for the short time I was there, I started to worry that my Datsun was going to get road cancer. I washed the car at least weekly, but I could already see the signs of damage inflicted by the road salt.

Ed

The one thing I remember most about

You shoulda seen my 73 Dodge Dart, what a laugh, more rust on it than paint.

Dale

Because there's a limit to how much you can do- the "other guy" is capable of insurmoutable stupidity.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com, Thomas Moats being of bellicose mind posted:

People drive off the pavement and down an embankment to get to water .... usually. Not off a cliff. LOL Do drunks have a better survival rate? There is evidence that such is true.

I miscommunicated but, "...too much evidence to the contrary" should have cleared that up.

I can only speculate.

Heheheh. Datsun 240z's rusted away here in southern California! Typical area was where the front tires would toss water up at the body, about where your left heal rests. I saw a few (roughly) 5 yr old cars with a small hole clear thru to the floor mat. Scary.

"C. E. White" sez:

This also make me wonder about the reason that, at

When you consider how Toyotas, Hondas, etc. maintain their value and reliability in later years (read "post-warrantee") rather then going over the proverbial cliff after 5 years like the GMs, Fords & Dodges do, you'll then understand why there is value in putting money into keeping them running well into the six figures on the odometers.

I sold an 8 yr. old Toyota pickup with 98,000 mi. on the clock for 64% of what I paid for it new. My 6 yr. old Chevy Suburban with 95,000 mi. on the clock is only worth about 25% of what I paid for it new.

The domestics are worth sooooooo little and cost sooooooo much to keep running once they hit the 5 yr./100k mark, most of them end up in the boneyards because it just isn't worth it to keep farting around with them. That's why you see the independents making a living on Toyotas, etc. and not the Fords, etc. of this world ...

Its all pretty much a "Duh!!" from my point of view.

VLJ

-- Take only pictures, leave only bullet holes ...

That is why they teach IF a vehicle becomes submerged. What if you are vehicle was hit and pushed into a body of water? ;)

mike hunt

Bob wrote:

Short legs ah? ;)

mike hunt

Neo wrote:

I don't know if a drunk does or does not. Moot issue. Cliff, off bridge ( as in Kennedy's case ) what ever, it depends of the area. In Florida, you will be hard pressed to find an embankment. You will find lots of drainage ditches.......oh about 10 to 15 feet from the road. For some reason, shoulders are not put on the road systems. You will find lots of high water covering the road ways when rivers overflow in the rain season, most likely like what the person you refer to. Many water retention ponds 15 to 20 foot deep. Go off cliffs? Yea, that can happen as well. Take a trip through the mountains of the east or west coast. Lots of possible areas for that to happen.

And ironically more people get killed in SUV rollover accidents while trying to get those unweildy behemoths to evade accidents.

JD

Check Consumer Reports. New Camry repair record just average. Depreciation rates on many Toyotas is just average. The days of high Toyota quality and high re-sale may be ending.

Find a replacement for Consumer Reports.

LOL - you have to be kidding. For years I thought Consumer Reports was owned by Toyota. Now they start telling the truth about Toyotas and you want to dump them?

Ed