Car Buyers Beware

Several months ago it was reported that Fiat/Chrysler was using sub-standard auto transport companies to deliver new vehicles to dealers. Many photographs documented improper transporting of new cars that can cause damage to frames, axles, tires, suspensions, and more that can cause safety problems and lead to high repair bills for consumers.

New audit teams have found that these unsafe practices are continuing. These photos, below, show that new Fiat/Chrysler vehicles are still being transported by inexperienced, sub-standard auto carrier companies. 

Toyota’s plan to close its plant in Fremont, California could cost the state over $2 billion.  A report commissioned by California state treasurer Bill Lockyer finds that’s what it would cost to replace the 25,000 jobs that are threatened by the plant closure. 

But the true costs of the plant closing are even higher.  Hundreds of thousands of vehicles that were being produced in the U.S. will now be produced abroad, then shipped back to be sold here, increasing Toyota’s carbon footprint and, by billions of dollars, our trade imbalance.

And that’s still not all. The federal agency that protects pension benefits will then be responsible for $131 billion of retirement benefits that Toyota had promised its workers.

The San Francisco Chronicle's editorial page editor writes, "For an even more searingly personal look at how Toyota lost its way, go to the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, where the most profitable automaker in the world is preparing for its first major plant closure, bidding farewell to 4,700 workers who bought into the idea that they would have job security if they did their jobs well."

The consumer advocacy group, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety (CARS), joined with labor advocates today as they began a revolutionary grassroots safety program to help ensure that new cars delivered to consumers are transported properly. Both groups have concerns about the quality of service being performed by automobile transport companies Fiat/Chrysler has started using, after moving the work away from experienced, professional carriers.

With millions of cars and trucks on Toyota’s massive recall list, several drivers whose vehicles have been to the dealer and back are saying that their cars are still experiencing problems with sudden acceleration and bad braking.

A blue-ribbon commission appointed by California State Treasurer Bill Lockyer met in San Francisco to examine the effects of Toyota's planned NUMMI plant closure, and to examine options to keep it open. The commission appointed by Lockyer included:

At auto shows across the country the weekend of January 29-31; in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Texas and Washington, D.C. – union carhaul drivers and consumer advocates spoke out about auto makers that are threatening good jobs and auto safety.

Leaders from the Teamsters, the United Auto Workers (UAW), Friends of the Earth, Safety Research & Strategies and Jobs with Justice rallied at the Japanese Embassy asking Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to hold Toyota accountable for threatening public safety, the environment, and American jobs.