Car Buyers Beware

Toyota has just announced a new recall of 2.3 million cars and trucks due to a defect that can cause throttles to stick and lead to unintended acceleration. They have been forced to stop selling these models, and have halted production as well. This follows another recent recall of 4.2 million vehicles due to gas pedals that can jam, causing sudden acceleration. Toyota's sudden acceleration problem has caused at least 19 deaths and numerous crashes. Toyota does not have a fix for the newly-announced defect, but curiously is not advising owners to stop driving these cars.
 
Eight different Toyota cars and trucks are in the new recall, including the new 2010 model years of the RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra and Sequoia.
 
According to an article in USA Today, Toyota is advising owners, should the gas pedal stick, to put steady pressure on the brake, pull over, shut off the engine and call a dealer - who for now could not fix it. Not exactly words of comfort.
 
USA Today quotes an auto industry analyst as saying "This situation is slowly spiraling out of control." For Toyota owners, or those considering buying a Toyota, the words "out of control" are likely not what they were hoping to hear.
 
In addition to endangering lives, Toyota is also endangering good American jobs. This news follows criticism of Toyota's plans that will put longtime auto delivery drivers out of work - a move that could put several carhaul companies out of business, endangering 5,000 middle-class jobs with good benefits.