Toyota Halts Lexus GX 460 Sales, Stock Drops

Toyota’s Lexus GX 460 has been taken behind the woodshed by consumer reports. The SUV re-emerged with two black eyes. CR issued a “Don’t Buy” rating and declared the GX 460 a “safety risk.” Said TTAC’s Edward Niedermeyer: “Expect GX460 sales to fall off a cliff until the model is fitted with an electronic straitjacket.” Fall off a cliff? Sales are zero as of this morning.

Toyota “suspended sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460” reports Automotive News [sub]. Toyota will be “vigorously testing” the luxo-SUV until they will know what’s going on.

“At this time we have asked our dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the 2010 GX 460,” said Lexus Group Vice President Mark Templin. If you have a Lexus GX 460, and you are worried, then your friendly Lexus dealer will provide you with a loaner until the matter is resolved, said Toyota in a statement.

Citing the obvious, IHS Global Insight analyst Aaron Bragman said the matter “certainly does no favors for Toyota and adds doubts in people’s minds as to the safety and reliability of Toyota vehicles.”

For as long as one can remember, Consumer Reports had been under suspicion of being a Toyota fanzine. “Past endorsements from Consumer Reports have been credited as one reason for Toyota’s steady sales growth in the United States over the past 15 years,” says AN. That friendship seems to be over. Last time Consumer Reports had issued such a damning statement was in 2001, when CR told consumers to avoid the Mitsubishi Montero Limited. Mitsubishi never recovered.

The Nikkei [sub] reports from Tokyo that “shares in Toyota Motor Corp. continued lower Wednesday morning, after the automaker said Tuesday U.S. time it will suspend sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV … Investors sold the stock on concern about a possible recall and the impact on earnings.”