Handy Toyota

Toyota is set to begin operating its newest American plant in June of 2011, according to a Japanese newspaper. The new plant, which is located in Mississippi, was originally slated to commence operation in the second half of 2010, but Toyota suspended construction work on the facility due to declining U.S. auto sales. The new plant, which will produce the Prius hybrid, will add to Toyota’s American network of 10 assembly plants in the U.S. that along with other operations employ 33,400 individuals. Factor in indirect employees, such as those that work for dealers, and that number increases by 160,700. - By: Stephen Calogera

   As I sit here with snow on the ground, no sign of green grass over the septic tank, and still below 32 degree nights I can smell Spring in the air.  The days have a certain crispness to them as Spring approaches.  I am so confident that I am right I have my Lawn Mower guy coming by to pick up my mower next week for its spring tune-up.

     The Home Show is 10 days away and we are getting ready to meet the public in masses  for the first time since the recall debacle began.  For the most part our sales have been consistent with the first two months of the year over the last 8 year comparison.  Toyota has come out with its strongest rebate program ever and have also set protocols for free service for the first 2 years or 25,000 miles.  To see if you will qualify contact me, Tom @ tyoung@dt.handycars.com.  Recent reports show beyond a shadow of a doubt that Toyota is still the most reliable and trustworthy brand of the big 4.  Many loyal Toyota owners are beginning to see this round of recalls and hearings as witch hunts.  They site Audi as a comparison and I will use that example.  Audi did not lose 1 case in its long battle over a similar issue.

     Right Now with 1st payment only on a 3 year 12,000 per mile lease you can drive a Camry, Corolla or Prius for 200.00 to 255.00 dollars a month depending on which one you choose. 

    On the Cooking front today I will talk about one of my favorite sauces and that is Bolognese.  It is basically a creamy Italian meat sauce.  It is a slow process and generally takes about 2 hours to bring it to completion.  Like most sauces you start with celery, carrots onions and garlic.  Sweat the vegetables down and then add meat.  I combine beef, pork, and veal but chicken, turkey can be substituted.  In a separate pan I fry some Pancetta for my garnish.  Once the meat has lost its pinkness add about 1/3 of a cup of wine.  Raise the heat and bring it to a boil and let the wine incorporate and burn off at the same time.  Next add Cream and again boil it off.  Now add 1 can of San Marzano Tomatoes pulsed in a blender.  Add 2 Bay leaves and cook for about 1 hour over low, low, heat.  Just before mixing with Pasta add 1/2 teaspoon of Thyme and 1 teaspoon of Basil and 1/2 teaspoon of ground Rosemary.  Reserve half the sauce and leave half in the pan.  Toss your favorite pasta in the sauce in the pan add your favorite grated cheese and top with remaining sauce according to your preference.  I like Bolognese not too saucy. 

     Big saving on extended warranties now going on at Handy’s.  It does not matter where you bought your Toyota any Dealer can sell a genuine Toyota warranty.

    That is it for now and I will be blogging again soon

Tom “The Blogmeister” Young

Handy Toyota

Saint Albans, Vt 05478

tyoung@dt.handycars.com

It’s been almost a decade since a CEO has visited the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Plant in Georgetown and it’s a first-ever stop for CEO and President Akio Toyoda. He toured the plant Thursday and met with workers, his message to them was apologetic and hopeful.

“I would just like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart,” says Toyoda.

Toyoda was met with smiles and handshakes as he toured the production line. It was far different from the day before when he testified on Capitol Hill about the recent problems with millions of sticking accelerator pedals. “The last several weeks have been difficult for all of us at Toyota. I have been especially worried about you, our North American team members as you have seen so much bad news,” explains Toyoda.

Many plant workers say his visit gave them hope.

“He had a really rough day yesterday(Wednesday) and I think for him to come down here and meet with his team members, just to show that he’s still behind us says a lot about him,” comments plant worker Steve Hurley.

“We’re going to refocus and what he said when he choked up, that really kind of inspired me even more, we’re like one big family here and that just inspired me to work harder, to try to help achieve our goals and rebuild our foundation,” explains plant worker Lisa Webb.

And Toyoda says it’s important for everyone in the company to work together.

“We at Toyota are at a crossroads. We need to re-think everything about our operations, to regain customer confidence and we need to reassert values, our never-ending commitment to customer first,” comments Toyoda.

After Toyoda toured the Georgetown plant, he headed over to the Toyota dealership on Nicholasville to meet with workers there.

TOKYO – The Toyota Prius has been named Japan’s 2009-’10 Car of the Year. The award, announced live at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show, gives Toyota its second successive JCOTY title and the Prius its second win, with the first having been in 1997. Second was the Honda Insight. Third was the new Volkswagen Golf, which also drove off with Japan’s Import Car of the Year award. The Prius’ victory was hardly unexpected. Toyota’s hybrid icon is way out in front in the Japanese sales charts and was the clear JCOTY favorite right from the outset. All the same, Honda has many supporters inside JCOTY, and the Insight made a strong 2nd-place showing, polling 391 votes to the Prius’ 433. Volkswagen’s Golf IV finished a long way back with 186 votes to round out the top three. Japan Car of the Year also awarded its Most Fun prize to the Nissan 370Z. The new Subaru Legacy was deemed Best Value. The tiny electric Mitsubishi i MiEV took the prize for Most Advanced Technology. The Toyota iQ took the big honors last year in an upset, defeating the Nissan GT-R. The original Toyota Prius also won JCOTY back in 1997.

Inside Line says: Seemingly, it’s Prius’ world and other cars just live in it – for now, anyway. – Peter Nunn, Correspondent

As I do my Blogs and realize, I am not a Free Lance Journalist for a major Metropolitan Newspaper, however I do have common sense.  Universal Health Care is an ambitious and righteous cause.  My question is and remains how do you pay for it?  If someone comes up with programs and a reasonable means of sustaining those programs then I would be all ears.  However I only hear everyone needs health care and that again is noble but taxing the rich or raising taxes on the middle class in a recession is suicidal in my opinion.

I know everyone will say the increases won’t take place for 10 years but now who is living in ya, ya land.  Isn’t that also about the time Social Security will be in need of money or go broke? 

I have another thought.  Imagine buying a car and The Government says it is unfair that you the rich or middle class have a car with a warranty while the poorest of people do not.   The Government decides to regulate the price of cars and”Saturnizes” the entire industry.  Every car will be sold for a specified price.  They will then tell you where to go for Service on your vehicle.  You will get no warranty as big brother has just given that warranty to your poorer brothers and sisters.  Once you arrive for Service you will be able to do basic Maintenance only.  If the Mechanics determine something is wrong they must follow protocol and submit that problem to a board that will give them approval if they agree with the findings.  If not you will have to go with their opinion as they know all.  Once fixed, if that cures the problem you will be assessed a small fee and the government will pay the rest.  If their cure does not work you will reach level 2 and see another mechanic who will assess and report the findings.  The government will then agree to proceed and hopefully that will work.  You hopefully can see where this is going.  My point is I would not treat a car this way let alone a human being.  This is where Government run medicine would head and at an enormous cost. 

On the lighter side Vermonters, New Hampshire folks, and Northern New Yorker’s have done incredibly well at the Olympics winning more medals than some entire nations.  I hope the U.S. continues on its current pace.  Bode Miller certainly showed what sheer determination can do for an individual.  His skills certainly are not as sharp as 4 years ago but his results are certainly incredible.

Toyota continues to fix their problems one day at a time.  This week will prove interesting and hopefully will put some of this to rest.  The brake system is being redesigned to over rule the throttle in cases where both are engaging.  This will be in evidence on some models this year and all models by next year.  As the history of this great Company has shown they will get it right and they will be a stronger Company once they get beyond this.

The Home Show is weeks away and Handy Toyota will have its usual strong presence.  Stop by the booth for some neat stuff and I hope to see some of you at the show.  Adam said it will be our greatest display ever and he is determined to make it just that. 

Well that is it for this Blog and I hope to write again soon

Tom “The Blogmeister” Young

Handy Toyota Inc

tyoung@dt.handycars.com

Toyota’s large sedan, the Avalon, enters its fourth generation this spring with a “boldly redesigned exterior,” the automaker announced at the recent Chicago auto show. The 2011 Avalon, Toyota’s interpretation of a roomy American premium sedan in the tradition of a Buick, was restyled at Toyota’s Calty Design Center in California and engineered at the Toyota Technical Center in Michigan. It’s primarily intended for its U.S. customer base, which has a median age of about 60. It’s assembled in the United States as well, at Toyota’s plant near Louisville, Ky., which also builds the midsize Camry sedan and the Venza crossover utility vehicle. “Evoking a time when travel was sophisticated, elegant and comfortable, the new Avalon possesses a distinctive new exterior style while offering a restyled interior rich with premium touch points and practical new technologies,” Toyota said. The company says the new model “remains true to the idea that comfort is honest and uncomplicated” and continues to be “rich in simple, familiar pleasures.” Avalon buyers are those who would choose cars such as the Buick LaCrosse, which itself has been redesigned for 2010 in a bold attempt to challenge such formidable competitors as the Avalon and Nissan Maxima, the two Japanese sedans that fall into the same class. Among new or upgraded features for the 2011 Avalon are a touch-screen navigation system with real-time traffic, and Bluetooth hands-free phone capability with music streaming to the audio system. Those features tend to play better with a younger audience but have become expected amenities in the premium-sedan segment. The car is cushy, roomy and stylish, qualities that endear it to the intended audience. “The Avalon has long been appreciated by smart, conscientious consumers who recognize quality materials and the beauty of detailed craftsmanship,” Toyota Group General Manager Bob Carter said during the Chicago introduction. “The changes made for 2011 will allow us to build on our position in the premium large-car segment. The competition does not stand still, and neither do we.” With the stunning 2010 LaCrosse reeling in new customers for Buick both in North America and abroad – particularly in the important emerging Chinese market – Toyota has some catching-up to do with the Avalon, which was last restyled for 2005. Although the exterior and interior have received key changes and upgrades, the drivetrain remains the same. Under the hood is the 268-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 engine from the previous generation. It’s connected to a six-speed automatic transmission, which was added for 2008, replacing the five-speed that came with the 2005 redesign. EPA ratings are 20 mpg city/29 highway. When the 2005 model was introduced, this engine was listed at 280 horsepower, and premium unleaded fuel was recommended. Neither the large increase in power from the previous generation’s 210 horsepower nor the use of more expensive premium fuel was popular with the Avalon crowd, however. In the next model year, 2006, Toyota began recommending regular fuel, and the horsepower rating was dropped to 268, which is what the engine achieves with the lower-octane gasoline. Among new exterior cues for the 2011 Avalon are a wider grille, projector-beam headlights, trapezoid front and rear bumpers, more chrome, redesigned rocker panels, glare-resistant outside mirrors with integrated turn signals, LED taillights and dual exhaust outlets coming through the lower bumper. There are two trim levels, base and Limited. On the Limited model, there are new 17-inch, 10-spoke wheels with a mirror finish. The interior remains as roomy as before, with a rear seat designed to hold three adults comfortably. The muted colors and wood-grain trim give the cabin an elegant appearance. Legroom is generous, as usual, and the rear seats recline, which Toyota says is an exclusive feature in this vehicle class. The Limited model, which has a leather interior, also includes heated and ventilated front bucket seats. All seats have thicker stitching, and active front headrests are standard, as well. Toyota says the rear headrests have been reshaped and enlarged. A center armrest can be lowered between the rear-seat passengers when the middle seat is not needed. There is a power rear sunshade that automatically retracts when the transmission is shifted into reverse. The new instrument panel has “highly readable Optitron gauges” that have graduated white illumination and white pointers, set into smoked lenses surrounded by chrome rings, which Toyota says adds to the car’s luxury feel. Incorporated into the steering wheel are controls for the audio and climate-control systems, as well as the driver-information center and Bluetooth connection. The revised navigation system has easier search and address-input functions, and new displays for points of interest. There is a new on-screen keyboard. A rearview monitor is standard in the rearview mirror or with the navigation system. On the base model is a nine-speaker audio system, while the Limited model comes with a premium 660-watt JBL system with 12 speakers and a 12-channel digital amplifier. The Avalon, which essentially is a stretched version of the Camry, has front-wheel drive, a MacPherson strut front suspension, coil springs, power rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel antilock disc brakes. Other standard features include dual-zone automatic climate control, power windows/mirrors/door locks with remote, lockable glove box, interior air filter, a sliding front center console/armrest and a USB port for portable audio devices. There are seven air bags, including a front knee air bag on the driver’s side, front seat-mounted side air bags and roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for both rows. A full-size spare tire is mounted on an alloy wheel, and tire-pressure monitoring is standard. No prices have been announced yet, but they are expected to be about the same as those of the current model. Base Avalon prices now range from $27,945-$35,285 (plus $750 freight).

March is not far away and it will mark our first off-site event.  We are contemplating two indoor sites at the Show this year and still having a vehicle outside.  More details as the plans are unfolded.

We have made it through an other week without having to move cars to plow snow.  In and of itself that is great news.  We have had enough snow to keep the slopes open but no more than we really need.  The good news is as long as the big cities stay snow-covered it will keep people off the golf courses and hopefully here skiing.

It appears the recall-a-thon has ended for now and repairs have begun.  Sales remain steady and are keeping pace with last year in spite of all the bad press.  With the recent recalls Toyota still remains far ahead of their domestic counterparts in problems per thousand cars built. 

On the lighter side I hope that all the Tiger Woods stupidity ends now and it’s left to him his wife and their children to work it out.  His problems are not drug related and while personally I feel he has some work to do on this front, I will leave it to him and his family.  It does not diminish what he has accomplished on the golf course and I can only imagine how much more competitive he will be if his sole focus becomes golf once again.

On the Dali Lama front I feel China needs to take a look at restrictions on Iran and then we will listen to them on Taiwan and The Dali Lama.  Their position has been total non- cooperation on the sanctions but expect us to listen to them on their concerns.  With that said maybe we should be careful whom we borrow money from.

Please watch our website as we are having some”crazy specials” only offered at this venue.  Right now we have 0% interest on the Corolla and Camry.  We are selling some of our models at historical lows but again please watch our web page handycars.com. 

This has been a busy week for me.  It of course was Valentines Day and then our 37th Wedding Anniversary and today is my wife’s birthday.  Nothing like getting it all out-of-the-way in one swoop.

Well that will be all for now but I will return soon with the latest and greatest!

Tom Young

Handy Toyota

Saint Albans, Vt.

tyoung@dt.handycars.com

Peter Mickel, the sales manager for Heritage Toyota, estimates 125 cars on the dealership’s own lot in South Burlington must have recalled accelerators fixed. But that’s just the beginning.

Mickel says he “doesn’t have a good answer” as to how many customers will be making appointments to have faulty accelerators on eight different Toyota brands repaired.

At Handy Toyota in St. Albans, more than 1,000 vehicles are expected to come in for that fix, said Joe Luneau, the dealership’s service manager.

Across Vermont, more than 6,000 Toyotas could be affected by the recalls, according to state vehicle registration data. It may seem as if there’s a Subaru in every driveway, but as recently as two years ago, Toyota sold twice as many cars in the state as any other make.

The problem – which Toyota has described as “rare and infrequent” – is sudden, uncontrolled acceleration, according to The Associated Press. Various model years of the RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia are affected by a wide-ranging recall of 2.3 million vehicles.

Toyota said Monday it has “rigorously tested a solution that involves reinforcing the pedal assembly in a manner that eliminates the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare instances.”

The recall will keep the eight technicians at Handy Toyota busy. Luneau said they are waiting on the parts and the instructions on how to make the repair. “We need our work directions. Nobody has those. We only have announcements that we will have those quickly,” he said.

Toyota said Monday it would start shipping parts to dealers for repairing accelerator pedals in 2.3 million cars and trucks this week.

Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. issued a mea culpa Monday.

“I want to let you know that we have developed a comprehensive plan to fix the sticking pedal situation in recalled Toyota vehicles. But first, I want to sincerely apologize to Toyota owners,” he said in a video statement.

“The fix can be completed within a short period of time, depending on the work flow at your dealership,” Lentz said.

The accelerator repair is “fairly simple,” Heritage’s Mickel said, estimating that it would take about 30 minutes per car.

Lentz said Toyota hopes to start making the repairs in a few days. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mail when to set up a dealer appointment, he said.

In an unprecedented move, Toyota halted sales for the eight models last week to fix the gas pedals. That portion of the fleet makes up more than half of Toyota’s U.S. sales volume, according to the AP. Toyota has said the gas pedal mechanism can wear down, causing the accelerator to become harder to press, slower to spring back or stuck. Toyota issued the recall Jan. 21 and suspended sales of the eight models involved in the recall last week.

Both the South Burlington and St. Albans dealerships said Toyota will solve the problem effectively and expressed confidence that company’s reputation wasn’t too badly dented by the wide-ranging recall.

“No one wants to be in a situation where assembly lines are shut down … Toyota is going to get to the bottom of it and make it right and fix it, said Luneau.

The accelerator problem has been linked by one advocate to 19 deaths and 341 injuries stemming from 815 separate crashes, with more than 2,000 complaints, according to The Detroit Free Press.

Mickel said Heritage, which is one of seven Toyota dealerships in Vermont, sold a Toyota Highlander on Monday that was subject to the recall. The customer said, “That’s not a problem. Just let me know when it’s ready,” Mickel said, adding. “For an awful lot of people it’s not a big concern.”

Mary Lou Robinson, 63, of Hinesburg also drives a Toyota Highlander. She bought hers in 2002, her first new car, in part because of Toyota’s reputation for reliability. Her SUV isn’t affected by the recall, but she “paid a lot of attention” when the news of the problems first broke.

The recall hasn’t eroded her confidence in the brand, however. “I remember when there was a Tylenol scare many years ago. And I still take Tylenol,” she said. “Things happen in this world.”

By Dan McLean, Free Press Staff Writer

A study commissioned by Toyota Motor(TM Quote) into the electronics in its vehicles supports the automaker’s position that there is no evidence of electronics problems in its Toyota and Lexus vehicles, according to a published media report. Since October, Toyota has recalled millions of vehicles and seen its reputation for quality tarnished. One large recall was related to potentially sticky accelerator pedals, and another was related to gas pedals that could become caught under floor mats. Both problems were seen as possible sources of potentially dangerous sudden acceleration. But the automaker has steadfastly maintained that electronics are not to blame for its vehicles suddenly gaining speed. Exponent, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based research firm, has been conducting a study into the electronics, according to The Wall Street Journal, which said it had obtained a copy of the study dated Feb. 4. The preliminary study said that Exponent had been unable to cause sudden acceleration by making electrical disturbances to Toyota vehicles’ electronics systems. Congressional investigators have been looking into a connection between the reports of sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles and problems with the vehicles’ electronics systems. On Friday, two lawsuits were filed against the automaker alleging that sudden acceleration caused deaths.

Shares of Toyota ended up $1.05 at $77.05.

By TSC Staff

GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Before Toyota arrived here more than two decades ago, Georgetown was a sleepy town of 10,000. Its population has since swelled to 25,000, and most of those people owe their livelihood to the sprawling Toyota plant outside of town on Cherry Blossom Way.

People here are eager to see the company’s recall problems blow over. “I think they can get it worked out,” said Jeni Gruchow, co-owner of Fava’s restaurant in the heart of town. “It happens to other companies. It’s horrible that it’s happening to Toyota.” In Georgetown, which is about 15 miles west of Lexington, and other cities where Toyota operates plants in the United States, life is starting to return a bit more to normal this week, as they resume full production after weeklong shutdowns to fix a problem with accelerator pedals. In interviews, residents here expressed confidence that Toyota would thrive again. The town and the automaker are inextricably linked – the first Camry rolled off the line in 1988 – so it is of course in everyone’s interest to see Toyota out of the headlines. “Toyota’s past will take care of its future,” said George Lusby, the county judge-executive who holds the top administrative post in the county. The mayor, Karen Tingle-Sames, was just as optimistic. “Really, the community has a lot of confidence in Toyota, that they will be able to work through and fix everything they need to fix and get on top of everything,” she said. Just down the street from Fava’s, Jason D. Mays, a regular at the Lock and Key Cafe, drained his mug of coffee and speculated about the muted response here to Toyota’s woes. “In my honest opinion,” he said, “I do not think it’s as important to people as the Friday night Scott County game or the Saturday Georgetown College basketball game because they have enough faith in that behemoth of a plant three miles down the road, they are really not worried about it.” Perhaps residents were heeding the editorial last Thursday of the local newspaper, The Georgetown News-Graphic. “Rest easy, Toyota is on the job,” the headline said. Mike Scogin, the publisher, said he wrote it to encourage everyone to take a deep breath because he felt “there was a little bit of piling on going on.” Toyota’s reputation was not earned overnight, he wrote, nor was it “bestowed because the company is reckless.” “In many parts of the country, Toyota is a brand,” the editorial added. “But to those of us here in Georgetown and in Kentucky, we know Toyota because we are Toyota. Our friends, neighbors and family members manufacture the cars in question.” For more than a week, Mr. Scogin said, Toyota news has dominated the front page of the newspaper, which is published three times a week. By Saturday, coverage of the murder of a former school bus driver was the top story. There is hope here that the full-court press on Toyota will peter out. As Doug C. Smith, a regular at Fava’s, said on Friday. “This, too, shall pass.” But the coverage is likely to continue with a House committee scheduled to hold hearings on Wednesday about Toyota’s handling of the recalls. If the tone is anything like the remarks of Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary, who last week briefly advised Toyota owners to stop driving their cars, confidence here may give way to anger. “Why is this different than any other recall?” asked Jack Conner, executive director of the local chamber of commerce. “Why the magnitude of this concern, when this is something that happens in the business a lot?” Ford, General Motors and others have had problems over the years without the national media attacking them, added Mr. Lusby, the judge-executive. Meanwhile, not even the beloved Kentucky Wildcats provided total escape from the sting of Toyota criticism. During a game Saturday afternoon, the announcer praised Kentucky’s standout guard, John Wall, by comparing him to a Toyota: ?He hits the acceleration, then slams on the brakes,” he said, then added “Even better than Toyota. The brakes work, so does the acceleration.”

By MICKEY MEECE