Archive for January, 2010
Most Read Stories of the Week
Posted on 31. Jan, 2010 by admin.
Surprisingly, the most read story of the week had nothing to do with the Toyota recall. Although the ongoing brouhaha with Toyota’s sticking accelerator pedals occupied four of the top five slots, the most read story of the week was the details of the 2011 Ford Explorer to be built at a plant in our home base of Chicago. Check out all five for a roundup of the big news in the auto industry this week.
1. More Details on the 2011 Ford Explorer
2. 2009 Pontiac Vibe Added to Toyota Recall
3. Toyota Recall: Answering Your Questions
4. Recall Alert: 2010 Toyota Corolla
5. Toyota Recalls 23 Million Vehicles Over Sticking Accelerator Pedal
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NADA Launches ’100 Trucks for Haiti’ Campaign
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
In response to former President Bill Clinton’s urgent request for 100 pickup trucks “yesterday” to help with earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, the National Automobile Dealers Association is calling on dealers around the U.S. to answer this urgent need for trucks to deliver food and medical supplies to earthquake victims in Haiti.
The delivery of food, water and medical supplies has been limited by a lack of trucks to distribute supplies throughout the capital of Port-au-Prince and communities around the country.
Donated pickup trucks can be new or used. Four-wheel drive is especially useful to get around ruined streets and highways.
If you can make a tax-deductible contribution of a pickup or other light truck, please e-mail trucks@clintonfoundation.org.
[Source: National Automobile Dealers Association]
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Owners Still Waiting on Toyota Fix
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
Reports earlier today pointed to Toyota announcing a fix for owners of 2.3 million vehicles over a defective accelerator pedal. However, as of this afternoon no fix has been announced. USA Today is reporting that while new and improved pedals are being sent to factories, there are still questions on how to repair the cars already on the road.
One remedy has been sent to the NHTSA for approval, and Toyota says it is waiting for a decision before making a final call on a fix.
Even if a decision came today, there would still need to be time to produce the proper parts and train technicians before any vehicles could be repaired. We’ll post as soon as we learn of an update.
Toyota sends new gas pedals to factories (USA Today)
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Where Do Recalled Pontiac Vibe Owners Go?
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
There are currently 99,293 2009 and 2010 Pontiac Vibes on the road that are also part of Toyota’s floormat and accelerator pedal recall, according to General Motors. If you’re a Vibe owner, you should expect a letter soon from GM explaining that you’ll be able to take your car to a local GM dealership once it has been informed from Toyota about repairs to address the recalls. As of now, there is still no official word of a timeframe for a fix, but owners will not be dealing with Toyota dealers directly for the repairs.
The two recalls that affect 2009 and 2010 Vibes revolve around unintended acceleration. One recall is for floormats that can interfere with the accelerator. Toyota recommends removing the floormats until repairs can be made.
The other recall is for a potential faulty accelerator pedal, which could feel balky, stiff or slow to return to idle position. If your pedal suffers from any of these symptoms, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says you should contact Pontiac at 800-620-7668 or visit GM’s owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Currently, GM says it hasn’t identified any incidents or customer complaints of sticking accelerator pedals with the Vibe. Like Toyota, GM has halted sales of Vibes, though at Cars.com we show only 13 Vibes in our national inventory.
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Hyundai Offering $1,000 Rebate for Toyota Owners
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
Current Toyota owners thinking of buying a car this weekend have a new incentive from Hyundai: $1,000 in cash back on top of other current incentives. It’s good on only three models — the 2009-2010 Elantra, Elantra Touring and Sonata. This matches a similar incentive GM launched earlier this week and runs through Monday but may be extended.
Hyundai spokesman Dan Bedore says the company is not looking to capitalize on another automaker’s misfortune but has to stay competitive while other automakers offer similar deals.
There is currently $1,500 cash back on the 2009 Elantra Touring, $1,000 cash back on the 2010 Elantra Touring, $3,000 in cash back on the 2009 Sonata, $3,500 cash back on the 2010 Sonata and $2,000 cash back on the 2009 Elantra and $1,500 cash back on the 2010 Elantra. These amounts are in addition to the $1,000 Toyota incentive. You can be a current owner of any Toyota model, not just a competing one to the three eligible Hyundais.
Cars.com Incentives: Rebates & Financing Offers
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Specific VINs for Recalled Toyotas Released
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
An easy way to determine if your specific Toyota model was included in the accelerator pedal recall of 2.3 million cars is to locate your vehicle identification number (VIN) under the windshield on the driver’s side of the car. With the exception of the 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, which we explain later, the recalled cars will have the following VINs:
2005-2010 Avalon with VIN starting with 4T1
2009-2010 Matrix with VIN starting with 2T1
2007-2008 Tundra with VIN starting with 5TB
2007-2010 Tundra with VIN starting with 5TF
2008-2010 Sequoia with VIN starting with 5TD
2009 Corolla with VIN starting with 1NX or 2T1 CTS*
2010 Highlander with VIN starting with 5TD CTS*
2009-2010 RAV4 with VIN starting with 2T3 CTS*
All 2007-2010 Camrys with VINs starting with 4T4 CTS are also included, but owners of Camrys with the VIN 4T1 need to have the car’s pedal inspected to know which part was installed.
The asterisked vehicles above, as well as the Camry, are also built in Japan. Any VIN for those specific models starting with JT are not included in the recall. Every single Avalon, Matrix, Tundra and Sequoia in the recall are assembled in the US and all have these VIN numbers.
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Cars.com’s Super Bowl Commercial
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
For the third consecutive year, Cars.com will air a commercial during the Super Bowl. This year we bring back the theme of confidence, with a new character, Timothy Richman. He’s a very confident child, adolescent and adult — because of all the knowledge he’s got — but he still needs help when shopping for a car. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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Pickup Trucks 101: What You Need to Know Before Hitching Up a Trailer
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
By Justin Fort for PickupTrucks.com
Pickup trucks are simple, right? Not always. If you want to make casual motorists sweat, ask them to hook up a trailer. Hitching up a trailer can be intimidating but we're here to give you an introduction to a few basic things you might not know.
Frequently Used Towing Terms and Abbreviations
First, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with some common terms related to your truck’s weight ratings. (Please see our earlier story on this topic).
Gross combination weight rating, or GCWR, refers to your vehicle’s maximum loaded weight (gross vehicle weight rating, or GVWR), plus the trailer’s maximum loaded weight (gross trailer weight, or GTW).
Gross trailer weight is a loaded trailer's maximum weight. It's primarily dependent on a trailer's gross axle weight ratings but the trailer's tongue weight should be considered too.
Tongue weight, also known as tonnage weight or hitch weight, refers to the amount of weight pressing down on your truck’s hitch. It shouldn't exceed 10 to 15 percent of the trailer’s weight for a conventional hitch or 20 to 25 percent for a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer. See, your truck doesn't just pull a trailer, it bears a portion of the trailer's weight too.
When loading a trailer, be sure to keep about 60 to 70 percent of the load in front of the trailer’s centerline instead of trying to spread it out 50/50 over the full length of the trailer. Remember, let the truck help with the load.
Hitch Types
Weight-Carrying Hitches:
Weight-carrying or conventional hitches are common with light-duty pickups and are frequently used for smaller trucks with a tow rating up to 5,000 pounds. The ball on a truck’s bumper or a square receiver underneath the bumper usually indicates a weight-carrying hitch. All the trailer’s tongue weight is put on the ball. That weight directly affects truck handling and braking, and that’s one of the reasons why they’re limited to lesser loads.
Weight-Distributing Hitches:
The weight-distributing hitch is an interpretation of the standard ball and receiver hitch, with additional parts that reach back from the ball point on your truck to the frame of the trailer.
A weight-distributing hitch’s equalizer bars connect truck and trailer redundantly and redistribute the leverage placed by tongue weight on the ball to more of the trailer and more of the truck frame. Also adjustable, a weight-distributing hitch is installed and then set for each trailer and truck.
Weight-distributing hitch and mechanical sway control
Weight-distributing hitches can be modified with mechanical friction sway control, a useful feature when dealing with heavier trailers. The regulating devices found on a weight-distributing hitch can also be purchased separately and installed on weight-carrying hitches for improved towing.
Weight distributing sway control is different from electronic sway control, which has been introduced recently in Ford and Ram pickups. Electronic sway control uses a truck's ABS system and a trailer's electric brakes to counteract dangerous sway conditions.
Fifth-Wheel and Gooseneck Hitches:
The heavy-duty alternative to a weight-carrying or weight-distributing hitch is the fifth-wheel hitch, which relocates the point of contact for truck-to-trailer to a more centralized spot in the truck's cargo box instead of at the bumper, most often over or before the rear axle.
Fifth-Wheel hitch
The fifth-wheel receiver looks like a giant horseshoe. It’s the same style of device you would find on the back of a semi tractor. A gooseneck hitch looks like a ball mounted on a plate in the bed.
The inherent weight-distributing setup of a fifth-wheel or gooseneck
hitch helps improve towing stability compared with conventional hitches.
With a fifth-wheel, a larger portion of the mass of a heavier trailer is placed onto the truck’s suspension itself, again via the trailer’s tongue or king pin. If you’ve ever ridden in a Heavy Duty pickup and commented the ride was stiff, such as with a 2500 or 3500 Dodge or GM product or a Ford F-250 or F-350, now you understand why. These trucks are designed to handle a heavy trailer, with the load either handled by a weight-distributing hitch or a fifth-wheel attached directly to the frame.
Gooseneck hitch cutaway
An Important Note About Trailer Hitch Balls
You should also be aware that most trailer hitch balls come in three different sizes, depending on the size of your trailer's hitch and the load you're pulling. The sizes are 1 7/8-inches, 2-inches and 2 5/16-inches.
Hitch Classes
Hitch classes run from Class I to V and not exactly congruent with the aforementioned hitch designs. Each class has a maximum for tow weight and tongue weight and is subdivided again for the type of hitch, carrying or distributing, because a weight-distributing hitch can handle more weight.
Speaking of calculating actual truck and trailer weight, truck and trailer-size scales are easy to find in the Yellow Pages or online, if you don’t know exactly how much you’re hauling.
Conventional hitches are split into the following classes:
Class I:
Towing capacity of up to 2,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 200 pounds tongue weight.
Class II:
Towing capacity of up to 3,500 pounds gross trailer weight and 300-350 pounds tongue weight.
Class III:
Towing capacity of up to 5,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 500 pounds tongue weight. Also sometimes used to refer to a hitch with any two-inch receiver, regardless of rating.
Class IV:
Towing capacity of up to 10,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 1,000 to 1,200 pounds tongue weight. Although many times any hitch with a capacity greater than 5,000 pounds gross weight is referred to as a Class 4.
Trailer Connectors
7-pin magnetic trailer connector
Last, but not least, after hitching up your truck and trailer, you'll have to connect the electrical systems of both together using either a 4-pin or 7-pin connector.
A 4-pin connector provides power from the truck to the trailer for left and right turn signals and taillights. It's also an electrical ground point.
A 7-pint connector provides all of the functionality of the 4-pin, plus it adds a connector for a trailer brake controller and break-away switch for a trailer's electric brakes if it accidentally separates from the truck, it provides power to charge a battery for the breakaway switch and it provides reverse lights.
Final Word
This article is a quick introduction to trailer hitches. Help from a local trailer retail or repair facility is indispensable and expert advice is always worth getting.
The numbers in this story should be taken as guidelines — There is some overlap in hitch classes, and different states will rate and govern hitches differently. Some states permit certain trailer and hitch combinations without special license, while other states require certification for the exact same kit. That overlap also provides that Class IV and V might be lumped together in Class IV, while Class V could refer to fifth-wheel applications. Ask an expert if you're stuck!
It’s crucial to match your hitch with the weight capacity of your truck and weight of your trailer. A hitch that’s rated for more weight than your pickup will not increase the pickup’s capacities, and a stronger hitch will not fix an overloaded or poorly loaded trailer. Your hitch must be able to handle a trailer’s capacities while not exceeding a truck’s capabilities. Tow with the right hitch.
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New Study Has Ford Overtaking Toyota in Quality Perception
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
The situation just keeps getting stickier, so to speak. On the heels of its latest mass recall, a study released Wednesday reports Toyota fell to seventh place for 2010 models — from second place in 2009 — among 20 mainstream brands in perceived quality. Ford, meanwhile, moved from eighth place last year to sixth for 2010. The study ended on January 17, a week before the most recent Toyota recall, but began after the recall of 4.2 million cars over floormats.
Bandon, Ore.-based CNW Market Research conducted the study, which asked 150,000 new-car shoppers, on a 1-to-10 scale, how well they perceived the quality of cars from 36 brands. CNW has been conducting the study for more than a dozen years, with shoppers asked to opine regardless of whether they could afford the brand’s cars.Of the 20 non-luxury brands, Toyota and Honda have ranked first or second from the 1997 to the 2009 model years. But for the 2010 model year, Toyota’s perception dropped to seventh place, with an average score of 8.51 out of 10. In 2009, it was 8.97.
Meanwhile, Ford — whose announcement Thursday of a profitable 2009 blew away analysts’ expectations — vaulted from 14th place as recently as the 2006 model year to sixth for 2010. Here’s how the 20 non-luxury brands stacked up:
1. Honda
2. Buick
3. Mazda
4. Volkswagen
5. Saturn
6. Ford
7. Toyota
8. Hyundai
9. Subaru
10. Chevrolet
11. Nissan
12. Mercury
13. Kia
14. Mitsubishi
15. Dodge
16. Jeep
17. Pontiac
18. Suzuki
19. Chrysler
20. Isuzu
“The problems really began with a small problem: The T100 ‘full size’ pickup was scary bad,” CNW President Art Spinella said in an email statement. “A variety of other recalls on vehicles such as Tundra and warranty issues such as the Multi-Function Display in the Prius added their own black marks. Consumer Reports’ halting a long-time practice of giving an automatic ‘pass’ on any new Toyota product was a major blow.
“The ‘Halt Sale’ directive to dealers impacts not only new vehicles but the used vehicles,” Spinella continued, referring to Toyota’s decision to halt sales of models encompassed by last week’s 2.3-million vehicle accelerator pedal recall.
CNW didn’t return our requests for additional comment, so we chatted with Erich Merkle, president of Autoconomy, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based consulting firm.
The recent recalls have affected consumer perception “to a certain extent,” Merkle said. But another underlying reason for Toyota’s perceptual slide, he said, is its competition — including Ford.
“I don’t know that Toyota’s quality has degraded as much as it means that the bar has just moved higher,” Merkle said. Indeed, the CNW survey shows brands like Mazda, Volkswagen and Ford having steady perceptual gains over the past few years. Toyota, meanwhile, hovered in the same range from 2007 to 2009 before sliding for 2010.
“If you look at things that GM has done, and what Ford has done, and now what Hyundai and Kia are doing, they really provide that look and feel of quality,” Merkle said. “You look at where interiors have gone, and I don’t think that Toyota interiors have gotten worse. In fact, I think they’ve gotten a little better. But you look at the interior of the new Ford Taurus, and it’s outstanding.”
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Results of Cell Phone Study Surprise Researchers
Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by admin.
A recent study on cell phone use by the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, has left researchers puzzled. According to the findings, banning cell phone use in cars not only failed to reduce crashes but appeared to make no difference whatsoever.
The researchers studied crash data from California, New York, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., following the bans those states implemented on hand-held cell phone use while driving. The number of crashes occurring before and after the ban were virtually identical despite decreased cell phone use by drivers. As one researcher put it, “We can’t even see a blip in the data.”
The researchers measured cell phone use by going to street corners and exit ramps and counting how many drivers were holding cell phones to their heads before and after the bans took effect. They estimated a decline in cell phone use of 41% to 76%. Because previous studies demonstrated that drivers using cell phones were four times as likely to crash, the researchers expected to find fewer crashes.
Researchers now must ferret out what this means. One possibility is that drivers in those states switched to hands-free phones, which, it has often been noted, are just as distracting as hand-held devices.
The more daunting possibility is that cell phones are just one example of driver distraction that happened to get a lot of attention because it’s a relatively new technology. In this case, we are all living in a driver-distracted world, and everything from fiddling with the stereo or trying to read street signs in an unfamiliar neighborhood bring their own set of risks.
Results of Study on CellPhone Use Surprise Researchers (Wheels)
