So a few of us here at The Urban Nerd will randomly have some thoughts on the current market, but with a focus on certain companies. Today’s focus will be on Toyota.
If you have not heard yet, but Toyota has recalled about 2.3 million cars in the US due to a situation that the gas acceleration pedal was sticking. The cars that were recalled were: 2009-10 RAV4 crossovers, 2009-10 Corollas, 2009-10 Matrix hatchbacks, 2005-10 Avalons, 2007-10 Camrys, 2010 Highlander crossovers, 2007-10 Tundra pickups and 2008-10 Sequoia SUVs.
Toyota said the sticking gas pedal situation is unusual and “generally does not occur suddenly. In the rare instances where it does occur, the vehicle can be controlled with firm and steady application of the brakes.”
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Toyota owners Wednesday they should stop driving their vehicles, then quickly took back his words, adding to confusion over the safety of millions of recalled cars. Toyota, for its part, tried to reassure drivers that sticky gas pedals have been rare — and the cars can be stopped in any event by firmly stepping on the brakes.
The final word from LaHood: “What I meant to say or what I thought I said was, if you own one of these cars or if you’re in doubt, take it to the dealer and they’re going to fix it.”
The back-and-forth played out as word surfaced that Toyota Motor Corp. also has been the subject of more than 100 complaints in the U.S. and Japan about brake problems with the popular Prius gas-electric hybrid, which is not part of the recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 100 complaints, two of them involving crashes that resulted in injuries. In addition, Japan’s transport ministry said it had received 14 complaints.
Here are my thoughts:
So we were worried about driving cars that took up a lot of fuel, and then we had the cash for clunkers deal – where we traded in our cars for more fuel efficient cars such as Toyota. So let me say this again – we traded in our cars so we can get KILLED WITH THE NEW ONES!!!
Toyota being the lead in the the automobile market in the US, will be taking a HIT in the market. If I were Jim Cramer, I would be yelling “SELL SELL SELL.” Toyota which was trading at $80 a share 2 days ago is now at $71.90. I would say that TM stocks will dip a bit lower for the next few days, but I don’t see them taking a tumble down. Maybe when it bottoms out after this whole recall – probably best time to invest in TM longterm.
Who knows – What are your thoughts?
