GM, UAW Capitalize On Toyota's Recall Woes

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Back when GM was going through its recent bankruptcy bailout-related unpleasantness, Toyota’s Yasuhiko Ichihashi told the AP that “Toyota was only hoping for an overall recovery for the U.S. auto industry, including GM.” Months later, then-Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe even suggested that “it’s not something we would bring up on our own, and we don’t know enough about the restructuring plan, [but] if some talk about supporting GM comes up, we would like to consider it earnestly.” Now that Toyota is in a spot of PR trouble over its unintended acceleration woes, you might expect that GM would show the same class and tact that Toyota did just months ago… but you’d be wrong.

Dow Jones [via CNN Money] reports that GM is going for the jugular, offering $1,000 cash or zero percent financing for Toyota owners looking to buy a GM. The General isn’t going to be advertising the deal nationally, because of the obvious unclassyness of the move, and an “aw shucks” quote is all we get from GM retail General Manager Steve Hill.

It gets down to having customers in the showroom, and we have customers saying ‘We don’t want these cars anymore. There are some customers looking to find out more about us right now.

In a completely unrelated story, the United Auto Workers have decided that Thursday would be a good day to protest Toyota as “a danger to America” (in cooperation with the Teamsters) in front of the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC. The accusation?

After receiving millions in the taxpayer-funded Cash for Clunkers bailout, Toyota plans to close its New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) assembly plant in Fremont, CA, which will mean a loss of 5,400 direct jobs and up to 50,000 jobs at suppliers and other supporting businesses. This would be the biggest factory layoff in California since the beginning of the recession. Toyota is also endangering 5,000 middle class jobs in the carhaul industry.

Environmental advocates at the event will express their disappointment that Toyota, a company that markets itself as a leader in emissions reduction, will greatly expand its carbon footprint by shipping vehicles once made at NUMMI back to the U.S. from Japanese plants.

Toyota‘s management decisions come at a time of much concern about the company, which had more recalls than any other auto maker in 2009 and has just halted production and sales of 8 models until its spontaneous acceleration problem is resolved.

Hooo boy.

1) Toyota didn’t “receive” a “C4C bailout.” Cash for Clunkers was a consumer incentive. 2) GM pulled out of NUMMI, leaving Toyota with little choice but to pull out. 3) GM did “receive” billions in TARP bailout before pulling out of NUMMI. But why would the UAW protest a company they own roughly 15 percent of? Finally, 4) You stay classy, domestic auto industry!

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Steven02 Steven02 on Jan 28, 2010

    I think that many people would be saying that if GM didn't do this, they would be missing out on an opportunity to get potential clients. If you like the move or not, it is a good move for them.

  • Moparman426W Moparman426W on Feb 19, 2010

    Seems like no one ever mentions the billions of dollars in incentives our government gave to the japanese and german car companies when they built plants in the south. And you can be sure that they got big tax breaks from our government. Maybe if our government did some of these things for the domestic automakers in the past they might not have been so inclined to move plants to Mexico? Does anyone think that the japanese automakers care about us? Just a year or so ago an employee died at one of the toyota plants in japan from overehaustion from working long hours. The newspaper article stated that in japan Toyota workers are reguired to work long hours without overtime pay "because it's job security." If Toyota could get away with it over here you can be sure they would do it, if they don't even care about their own people.

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