The Auto Writer

Dealer group punishes ABC affiliates via ad removal

The Toyota Motor Corporation is in a world of hurt, feeling the effects of a massive recall, the halt in sale of eight models, and uncustomary criticism from some of its most loyal fans. Still trying to get ahead of the news curve, the company recently killed off its “Portfolio” ad campaign where Toyota stressed in TV ads its safety, reliability, and quality.

Social Disaster

Toyota gets a big “F” in the area of social media and networking as Twitter and other sites have been flooded with updates from critics and concerned owners while the company comes across defensive, off message, or simply out of touch. Unlike rivals GM and Ford who are accustomed to taking the heat, Toyota’s online representatives have built their collective presence on the back of good news.

But Toyota hasn’t lost touch with what is going in major media outlets including ABC News who has been running successive and some would argue excessive stories about runaway Toyotas and other issues. According to ABC News, that fact has upset a group of 173 Toyota dealers in the southeast who have decided to punish ABC News for their focus on Toyota.

Regain Trust

Instead of showing its new campaign designed to “regain the trust” of customers on ABC affiliates, the dealer group shifted those ads to competing stations in the same market. 22Squared, the Atlanta advertising firm responsible for managing the dealer account, was told to make the change despite their opinion that the move was not a wise one.

ABC News has come under fire for their coverage of problems with Toyotas dating back to at least last August when the runaway Lexus ES350 story made headlines. In that incident, a California Highway Patrol officer and his family were in a loaner Lexus when it suddenly surged out of control. Unable to stop the car, calls were made to 9-1-1 shortly before the Lexus hit the back of another car, crashed, and tumbled down an embankment. All four people in the Lexus died as a result of a fiery crash.

Pressing In

Follow up reports by ABC News were led by Brian Ross whose team interviewed Toyota and Lexus owners, spoke with government officials, contacted consumer advocates, and pressed hard on Toyota to respond. Even when the issue appeared as if the federal government would allow it to fade away, ABC News, the Los Angeles Times, and a handful of other media outlets pressed on. Likely, their collective efforts resulted in the massive recall and subsequent shut down of sales for eight affected models.

The move by the Toyota dealer group has been designed to hurt ABC at least in the short run, but it does underscore the anxiety the company is feeling in light of the massive media attention and customer fall out. Don’t count on ABC News or anyone else for that matter backing away from one of the top news stories of our day. Instead, the focus is on Toyota who finds itself under one spotlight it desperately wants to have turned off.

Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary for The Auto Writer, a site I founded to coincide with most things automotive. Okay, I humbly leave the highly technical repair stuff to the pros, knowing that they have the interest and skills to articulate the finer points of automotive maintenance and repair. Instead, I focus on what I am most familiar with: news pertaining to the auto industry, particularly from a US perspective.

All but a few of my top visited articles from the first two years of this blog can no longer be found here. That is because I encountered some problems from having updated WordPress over the years. Earlier versions of this content management system haven’t always updated posts cleanly, leaving strange symbols and characters in the place of some of the lettering.

Modified 404

Being the nick picky guy that I am, I manually went back in to clean up a number of posts but with 700 to review, that project was a real time killer. Thus, I decided to leave behind a few of my popular articles from the first two years while continuing with everything from 2008 on. If you happen to click on a link, you’ll be taken to a modified 404 error page which includes links for you to help find your way around this site.

Going forward, I plan to continue writing about the topics you like to read, but I also will dig a little deeper with some in order to draw out certain ancillary, but relevant information. For example, everyone is writing about Toyota, but wouldn’t you really like to know what goes on behind closed boardroom doors?

Many Thanks!

Last but certainly not least, I want to thank each of you who stops by here. Without your readership and participation, there would be no reason for me to press on. Please subscribe to this site’s feed and also take note of the little box at the end of each article that allows you to subscribe to individual posts. By checking the ones of interest you can follow the conversation for as long as you want.

Photo Credit: Michael Lorenzo

Good news seems to have been avoiding the Chrysler Group for some time now. GM is flourishing post bankruptcy while Chrysler continues to struggle, casting doubt that the smallest of America’s Big Three automakers can survive for the long term, despite a government bail out and subsequent partnering with the Fiat Group.

New Products

While GM’s problems have been mostly administrative, the company has continued with its aggressive restructuring, ditching unneeded brands while pressing forward with new products.

Chrysler, who has been through several owners over the past three years just does not have the resources available to update new products though the 2011 Jeep Gran Cherokee will prove to be one notable exception.

Perhaps the healthiest part of Chrysler’s portfolio is its Ram line of pickup trucks. Those trucks continue to finish a strong third in a very competitive as well as lucrative segment. Indeed, Chrysler recognizes this having recently spun off the Ram brand to market it separately from Dodge.

Diesel Agreement

The Jeep Gran Cherokee will make its global debut next week at the Chicago Auto Show and go on sale in May. But that news follows something announced earlier this week: the diesel engine supplier for select Ram pick up trucks, Cummins Inc., has extended its multi-year agreement with the Chrysler Group to continue to supply its 6.7L liter turbo diesel engine for Ram heavy duty models.

Cummins first began to supply diesel engines for Dodge back in 1989 and has delivered 1.7 million since. They claim that 80 percent of heavy duty Ram truck buyers choose the engine, enjoying excellent torque and decent fuel economy as a result.

Clean Burning

Today’s 6.7L turbo diesel replaces the earlier 5.9L diesel, delivering 350 hp and a whopping 650 lb-ft of torque. Compared to the earlier engine, this one enjoys a 118 percent increase in horsepower and 86 percent increase in torque while achieving a reduction in exhaust emissions by 90 percent. Cummins met the fed’s 2010 emission level requirements in 2007 and continues to produce the cleanest diesel engine in its class.

The Cummins decision had been expected for some time, but it is a welcome announcement nonetheless. In a press release announcing that decision Dave Crompton, VP and General Manager, Midrange Engine Business for Cummins said, “Cummins is proud to supply engines for the award-winning Ram Heavy Duty and to continue working with Chrysler to develop best-in-class products that customers can trust and depend on now and in the future.”

A much needed display of support from one the Chrysler Group’s top suppliers.

Source: Cummins Inc.