Quotes from Autoextremist

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

Paul Atkinson. Toyota's U.S. dealer council accused GM of using "taxpayer dollars to fund… a nationwide predatory adver tising campaign.” Its leader, Paul Atkinson, had this to say about it: “It is outrageous that GM is using our taxpayer dollars against us, making me and oth er Toyota dealers pay to un dermine our own businesses.” And that's our AE Quote of the Week but, oh really, Atkinson? This after you and your cronies have wallowed in profits for years that were blatantly fueled by Japan Inc.'s predatory money manipulation policies, which gave you and your fellow Toyota dealers advantages of hundreds and even thousands of dollars per vehicle in this market over the U.S. automakers before your vehicles even hit the ground? In case you haven't noticed, Atkinson, this is war. And if GM wants to mess your $h! up in the market while you're down, well, pal, that's just the cost of doing business in the big city right now. In other words: Boo. f@#king. Hoo.

Yukio Hatoyama. The Japanese Prime Minister tells Akio Toyoda in a 20-minute meeting that he would like Toyota "...to continue to work to improve its trust." Gee, thanks. We all feel better now.

Toyota. The above item still doesn't excuse Toyota for taking a gratuitous shot against the Detroit automakers concerning their quality performance - or lack of same - during the hearings in Washington. Toyota was trying to deflect attention away from its burgeoning quality-safety issues by throwing the Detroit automakers under the bus. Nicely done. It seems that Bush League Bull$h! is Bush League Bull$h! no matter what the language.

Toyota. The automaker formerly known as "The Juggernaut" comes out swinging and defends itself against the allegations by professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University, saying he had rewired the circuitry in a way that would cause uncontrolled acceleration not only in Toyotas but in any motor vehicle. At least they aren't sitting around waiting for things to happen. Audi tried that during the infamous "60 Minutes" witch hunt and it damn near put the company out of business for good in this market. Toyota - to its credit - isn't going to let it go.