Ray LaHood’s loose lips
This is what happens when you put Chicago crony pork-stuffed politicians in charge of government bureaucracies overseeing businesses they know nothing about — and, per commenter Steve Egg, that are direct competitors to businesses the government owns.
Via the WSJ, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, whose specialty is earmarks, not engineering, walked back his scare-mongering this morning about Toyota’s pedal problems — but not before his loose lips sank Toyota’s stock:
Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) pared earlier declines after U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he had misspoke when he had advised in congressional testimony that people stop driving cars involved in Toyota’s recall, advice that had initially caused a steep drop in Toyota’s shares.
Testifying before the House Appropriations committee, where he was scheduled to talk about the fiscal 2011 budget, LaHood was asked what advice he would give to owners of Toyotas subject to the recall.
“My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it, take it to the Toyota dealer because they believe they have the fix for it,” LaHood said.
Afterwards he told reporters that wasn’t what he meant to say.
“What I said in there was obviously a misstatement,” LaHood said outside of the hearing room. “My advice is if you have one of these vehicles, if you are in doubt, take it to the dealership today.”
…Shares had sped up their declines after LaHood’s comments, falling as low as $71.90 Wednesday. They have now pared those loses since the clarification and were most recently down 5.5% to $73.87. The shares had been hovering closer to $75 since the opening bell, compared to the $78.18 Tuesday close, but started falling about 10:30 a.m. EST.
Perhaps LaHood should stick to what he knows: Swimming in his taxpayer-funded slush funds.
***
CYA:
Mr. LaHood’s comments Wednesday were the latest in an aggressive campaign by his department over the Toyota situation. Last week, Mr. LaHood took credit for the company’s decision to stop building and selling eight models involved in a recall over accelerator pedals that could potentially stick, saying Toyota did not take the step until urged to do so by the department.
Some safety advocates said, however, that Mr. LaHood might be trying to protect federal safety regulators from potential liability issues over their role in investigating defects.
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Maybe he knows the Government owns 61% of Toyota’s competitor, GM.
Drudge just posted an alert that Scott Brown is now demanding to be seated immediately.
Anyone think Soros might have bought Toyota stock at the dip after LaHood’s comment?
Nothing would surprise me anymore.
Hate to have to correct you, but I must…
Toyota is Government Motors’ biggest competitor, after all. OTOH, LaHood also doesn’t know the first thing about actually running a business.
adults in charge
I have owned Toyota’s for decades, and currently own a Venza (designed and manufactured in America) and a Prius (I can see where gas prices are headed and it isn’t down).
I think this is a great time to buy a Toyota and Toyota stock. Conversely, I will not buy a GM or Chrysler product because they are union and government owned.
Time to buy Toyota stock!
Get the man a teleprompter!
Duly noted, steveegg!
Publius beat me to it. Stay with Toyota. Toyota is more American and does far more for America than the thieves in the US government and the UAW.
CONSPIRACY ALERT!
I know I know, it’s dumb. I’m going to say it is dumb before I even type it. But the thought entertains me so I’m sure I’m not the only one who has it.
Does it occur to anyone that it is possible that the gas peddle problem was instigated by the union/American auto companies? How hard would it have been for the US company that supplies the parts for Toyota to have been complicit in giving them faulty gas peddles? Wouldn’t GM and Ford have the research that might show what could cause such a problem?
I’m dealing with a situation where a shady mechanic was breaking things on my vehicles so he’d have something to fix. There’s no evidence other than problems started happening that shouldn’t have. The gas peddle manufacturer could have just been this on a much higher scale. You won’t be able to prove it, but it sure looks suspicious.
Needless to say, I have a different mechanic now.
CNBC in favor of Lahood’s statement….. until he withdrew it. Phil Lebow said it was not based on populist dogma. Bet he wishes he had kept his mouth shut until Lahood had time to back down.
More like he took a short position then handed LaHood a script.
If you’re in a union and call yourself an American, get out of it and work to get public employee unions decertified.
Another shady thought. Watch out at stoplights for Toyotas behind you. Great way to get on the gravy train would be slamming into someone at a light.
Way out of my comfort zone on “things I happen to know alot about” but I thought I had heard that European Toyota manufacturers knew about the “problem” and put a $1.00 part on the affected pedal while on the production line. But, as the report continued, American manufacturers did not… now what’s up with that?!?!
Clown College can’t graduate em fast enough for this Administration.
When this entire administation is gone their legacy will be summed up in one word,MISSPOKE.
Could Toyota sue for the damages caused by this “missstatement” by a government official?
Thacker – I worked for Chevron U.S.A. when they still had repair shops on site at the service stations. Actually worked in an area where we investigated various complaints across the country for mechanics that would slice hoses & tires, not add coolant but charge for it and a host of other potentially life threatening crimes (especially out in the desert areas)- one numbskull owned the tow truck too. Always surprised me how inventive shady characters like that would operate. So, yea. Something is off about this whole deal with Toyota but we’ll never find out.
Does every single one of the people ‘Bambi has appointed have a case of motor mouth with no pre-thought of how it’s going to sound or be taken by the public?
Good thing the organization he works for is not a direct competitor of Toyota.
/sarc
Rahm would approve wholeheartedly of this exploitation. Probably referred to Toyota execs as “F’ing retard”s.”
It fits, considering the Socialism gas-pedal is stuck. Look for a re-call in November.
Errah thank god I traded in my Ford Excursion for a new Camry under CFC!
/sarc off
I’d rather drive a recalled Toyota without the fix than a GM any day! But that’s just me, I live on the gleaming edge! That’s right, I’m a Bad Boy, easy girls, one at a time now!
Dexter #23
About rolled off my chair with your response. That’s funny and I’m going to steal the line.
Teddy, if you had owned a VW you’d have been President.
The Official History will read misinterpreted, poor babies.
Great point!
Can we find out how many of LaHood’s friends and relatives bought options on Toyota stock just before he made his remarks? This has shades of Hillary and her anti-pharm remarks back in the early 90′s that tanked pharm stocks.
Could it be that GM (Government Motors) is trying to sabotage Toyota sales, so that GM sales don’t look too bad?
After all, this is Obama and the Left’s specialty?
If you can not lift the poor and middle class people to move up to the Rich, then cut down the Rich to the levels of the middle class!
Toyota of Plano Texas is just off the George Bush turnpike. Not a “smoking gun”, more like a “recently fired gun” but I think it’s pretty plain this is Bush’s fault.
*Ray the Hood is part of this administration because he is a RINO, and now is part of the “Death to America” party, the Democratic party; That is why the Tea Party movement must be just as active in targeting RINO’s for defeat in the primaries as the Dems in November; We must flush as many of them out of the system as possible!
You made me LOL LOL LOL here at work! Now THAT’s funny!
Is this the BHO administration bashing Toyota to support UAW? Jus’ askin’
There is absolutely no coincidence in my mind that these recalls are occurring after the govt took over GM. There are I believe a grand total of THREE incidents that were caused by this “safety issue”. LaHood confirmed that once again this govt is run by the mafia…the fact that Toyota had the most sales during the clunker fiasco will not go unpunished.
ANSWER: When have you ever seen the government react in such a public and shrill manner to an automobile safety recall?
So LaHood acted stupidly before he acted stupidly. This Administration is absolutely pathetic.
Yeah, you just have to hope that the vehicle in front of you is not a Ford Pinto…
It is interesting to see which one is getting the headlines:
•Chevrolet Cobalt, 2005 to 2009: Power steering could fail in as many as 905,000 vehicles, leaving them with steering that needs a lot more effort to operate.
NHTSA says it opened a preliminary evaluation, the lowest-level probe in its three-step process, which can end with a recall, because of 1,132 complaints, including 11 accidents and one injury.
By contrast, Toyota based its Jan. 21 recall of 2.3 million cars and trucks for sticking throttles on a handful of reports of gas pedals that didn’t return to idle promptly when drivers let off the gas.
NHTSA says the complaints involve Cobalts with electric power steering. The feature is becoming common as a fuel-economy tactic. It takes less engine power — thus less fuel — to generate current for electric steering than to run a pump for conventional hydraulic power steering.
GM spokesman Alan Adler says the automaker is cooperating with the government. He emphasized that a preliminary evaluation is only a first step in the process, and most preliminary evaluations by NHTSA don’t wind up as recalls.
•Ford F-150 pickups, 2004 to 2006. More than 1.5 million are the subject of an engineering analysis — the second of the three steps that could lead to a recall — because of 225 reports that steering wheel air bags popped out for no apparent reason, injuring 66 people. Two said they were knocked out.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-02-02-nhtsa-cobalt-steering-complaints_N.htm
“GM spokesman Alan Adler says the automaker is cooperating with the government.”
They sure are.
I think the events of the last 12 months or so teaches us that everything these thugs in power do is for personal gain. I believe that this gas pedal problem is mostly manufactured by the administration. Toyota did not submit to government takeover and is generally non-union. Obama the thug is not above floating stories weaken Toyota and Honda to strengthen GM and Chrysler. That’s what I think.
Don’t drive your Toyota to Vegas either.
This LaHood/Obama thuggery has led to my focusing a lot more attention on whether I want to choose a Camry or a Highlander. I’m not too worried about a sticking throttle; it used to happen all the time when I drove a Chevy.
The Whitehouse announced today that the administration will now take over Toyota. And Japan. And if they’re in the mood, China. Rham says they’re all “retards” anyway.
Film at 11.
Obama Motors spokesman, a government employee and part of the same team that tells Wall Street what to do, sinks the non-competitor’s stock.
Gee, sure didn’t see that one coming either
“Defective Vehicle” is a great way to reduce a speeding ticket.
This is what happens when
political hacks‘politicians’ dabble in science and engineering. Kind of like another issue dealing with CO2.When a person who is mentally challenged, in this case Rahm, uses a word to describe the mentally challenged, is that in fact an issue the mentally challenged person must apologize for?
From the story:
This isn’t Mayan Math but from Yahoo Finance:
Couldn’t find a stock quote for Chrysler….
Maybe Obama and his thugs should think about his own company and how lousy they are doing after all the tax dollars shoveled at them.
I don’t know Ray LaHood or all of the details, but I can tell you that Mr. LaHood acted stupidly.
I may just go buy a nice big, gas guzzling Toyota Tundra next week.
No chance I’d ever buy another Gov’t Motors car…..ever.
I swore I would never buy another Government Motors car either….ever
Listen to all the toyota apologists. Get used to it folks. Toys have been seeing recalls in Japan for several years now. Tundras and Sequoias were recalled for major steering problems almost immediately after their U. S. launch several years ago. What about the engine sludge situation? What the heck is engine sludge? They are not the holy grail of automotive engineering technology. Neither is Honda with all their transmission problems. The U. S. press never highlighted recalls unless it was the domestic builders because, you see, all things American are bad, bad, bad. To my knowledge, the only major daily to cover the many Bimmer and Benz issues was the Wall Street Journal. You drank the koolaid. In the meantime, if GM keeps building them, I’ll keep driving them. If they don’t, there’s a Ford product or a Jeep in my future.
I know I have said this before, but in the words of that GREAT AMERICAN spokesman, BUGS BUNNY, “WHAT A MAROOOON”!!!
Yeah, well, it evidently wasn’t “obvious” to you, was it, dumbass?