The top management of Toyota is in the middle of a US Congressional hearing. With Mr. Akio Toyoda getting ready to take the concerns of the Congress in an attempt to re-build the shaken trust in the Toyota brand, it is expected that the Toyota Empire may escape with a chance to redeem itself after the recent recall fiasco.

However, the backdrop of this US Congressional hearing does not bring any confidence to the lawmakers and the erstwhile owners of Toyota cars. This makes a going bit tougher than Toyota would have expected. Given the extent of massive recall of 8 million vehicles and subsequent flaws in Anti-Braking system of Toyota Prius, Toyota?s bosses will have to do lot more to earn the trust of lawmakers.

And one must also consider the backdrop to this present imbroglio. There are multiple lawsuits that have been filed in the US Courts by erstwhile Toyota car owners. These lawsuits seek damages from Toyota for the losses incurred by drivers who were driving Toyota cars. And the quantum of damages is varying considerably.

An admission of the fact that all was not well at the manufacturing plants in the shape of flawed manufacturing processes or quality check processes, Toyota is likely to assure the US Congress that it is taking steps to ensure consumers do not meet the same fate in the future. In other words, Toyota management will be talking of lessons-learnt and subsequent measures that it will take in preventing such fiascos at a later date.

To alleviate the bruised image and reputation, it is likely to apologize to the US Congress and its customers for all the inconvenience and damages caused to the consumers. Obviously, it will have to still deal with multiple law-suits that have been filed in the US Courts to make good the loss incurred by some of the owners. However, this will be a small damage control measure that Toyota will happily undertake to protect its long-term interests.

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Toyota is bracing for lawsuits in the US and Canada, and the impact of a recall of 8 million vehicles is starting to hurt the operations of the world’s largest manufacturer. While, Toyota recalled the cars on account of gas pedal issue it has faced criticism at home in Japan and in the US for its inept handling of the entire situation.

The result of this recalls is that the sales of Toyota have fallen and gone under by about 8%. Realizing that the complete impact may be more apparent in the coming weeks and months, Toyota has embarked on a cautious plan to get itself out of the muddle. To overcome the immediate sales drop and attain operational efficiency, Toyota has decided to temporarily halt the production of Toyota cars at its UK and French facilities.

If you were to infer the consequence of this decision, then there is a very clear attempt to control costs by reducing production at facilities that are more expensive to run and maintain. The company has decided to halt production for 8 days in the months of March and April. There are unconfirmed reports that this halt is expected to stretch to 2 weeks time in the UK, with both facilities being impacted completely. However, Toyota has not stated the duration for a halt in French operations.

And now, it has declared that it will be halting production at the Derbyshire and Wales manufacturing facilities in the UK. Initial reports suggested that the manufacturing units at Burnaston factory in the Derbyshire and Deeside unit in the Wales will be shut for 8 days. However, unconfirmed reports suggest that Toyota is look at a 2 week hiatus in assembly lines at both the plants in UK. This move is expected to impact 4000 workers and a Salary Review is currently under discussion. It intends to halt French production though it is still not clear as to how long the halt will be in case of French plant.

While the drop in sales has had impact on the bottom-line of the company, the company had already decided in January that it will halt production at its Japanese facility for 11 days in February and March and the employees will be paid as part of the paid company holiday scheme.

One also needs to spare a thought for the workers at different Toyota plants. They have had uncertain times, but this period is sure to rate as one of the worst periods for the company and its task force. We hope that Toyota manages to pull itself out of the self-inflicted damage sooner than later, at least for the sake of those workers who are at a jeopardy of a threatened future.

Robin Smith is a passionate automotive analyst. He is a strong advocate of fleet fuel cards for businesses of all sizes. A fleet fuel card from Shell, Esso, Texaco, or Keyfuels is a great way to control fuel costs.

Toyota’s prized hybrid car is likely to be recalled sometime this week.

Toyota Prius was supposed to be the hybrid car of the millennium and it had managed to get a lot of good press in the past few months. However, as of today, some 270,000 Toyota Prius cars are likely to be recalled to fix an issue with the braking system of the car that can possbily cause instances of brake failures, leading to safety risk for drivers. It is not sure as to how Toyota will recover from this onslaught because it has already been reeling under immense pressure due to an earlier recall notice that affected 2.3 million vehicles.

Toyota’s first recall notice happened due to accelerator pedal issues and it was issued on 21st January. The latest issue has happened with the anti-lock braking system of Toyota Prius 2010. Most of the model has been sold in Japan and the US. After receiving complaints of delayed-braking, the Japanese Government asked Toyota to investigate the complaints. Based on the initial investigation, it was found that the brakes have some sort of a software problem.

Toyota has admitted to the glitch, though it has yet to issue a recall notice. Analysts believe that the recall should happen sometime soon, and possibly this week in the US and Japan. Since most of the Prius hybrid cars were sold in these 2 countries, the recall is going to be accorded the maximum priority in these 2 countries. Europe is likely to get a recall notice at the same time or may be after the initial recall notice goes through.

The impact on Toyota’s business is supposed to be longterm. As of today, the market cap of Toyota has gone down by 22$ since 21st January. In other words, the company’s wealth has eroded by $33 Billion in the past 2 weeks and the Prius saga is going to accelerate further erosion in market cap of the company. The company is facing 29 lawsuits in US and Canada that are claiming damages. And the cost of addressing the recall is expected to be in the range of $1.1 Billion.

While these financial figures do tell a sorry tale for Toyota, the company will do well to calculate the losses or erosion in value that may take place over next 3 to 5 years on account of the lost customer-confidence and loyalty. The company will eventually need to come up with a strategy to address the loss of trust that is likely to face over next few years. For now though, the company has yet to come up with a strategy to minimize the brand-damage that has been inflicted with the glitches in its premium cars.

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Every business is struggling in the slowed down marketplace of today’s economic state. Shoppers are being smarter and spending less everywhere. Without business, however, most places will close because they are not making a profit. This is especially true with credit cards. People do not want to fall into a trap with their credit and many of them are just not spending their money. Credit cards offering gas rebates are a smart plan to keep people using their credit cards.

Most credit cards have been offering incentives to people for using their cards for a long time now. People today, however, are simply not using their cards for frivolous perks like vacations or jet skis. They want a reward that is more useful to them and many of them will choose to receive a gas rebate card for their troubles.

These credit cards know that people are going to use their cards much less often and only spend money on the same things every week. In order to stay in business, they will have to convince these people to use their credit cards offering gas rebates for those same purchases. The gas rebate card that a card member gets could convince them to keep spending.

Your credit card company may offer you a gas rebate card on all of the fuel purchases that you make. When the time comes to pay your bill, the amount you need to pay could be slightly less than the rate the fuel was priced at. This is because the credit card company will give you a rebate since you used their card to make the purchase.

The gas station that you buy your fuel at may have their own credit card program. If you sign up for one of their cards and use it to make gas purchases, they will give you a cheaper rate on the fuel you are buying. This can turn into you saving money every time that you need to buy fuel and can help you be smarter about all of your purchases.

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With the way that the economy seems to always be changing for the worse, financially responsible people are beginning to look far and wide for ways in which they can save money. If you are such a person you will want to consider the use of KW gas rebate cards. There is truth when it comes to spending less on fuel with gas rebate cards. Millions of people throughout the world have discovered this already.

There is no denying the fact that people spend great amounts of money on fuel each and every week. Due to work responsibilities and other travel obligations, people always find themselves at the pump filling up. In most cases, such as work, people have no other choice but to use their personal car to get too and from work.

There are very few people who have alternatives to actually driving their own vehicles and spending money on fuel. Without spending this money on fuel most people would find themselves out of a job and unable to provide for themselves and family.

With the use of KW gas rebate cards people are beginning to discover how much money they can save each and every month! There is truth when it comes to spending less on fuel with gas rebate cards. You simply deposit the money you would be spending on fuel into your KW gas rebate card account. Then every time you use the card to make fuel purchases you will receive various awards.

The savings that you will receive when using your card are simply astonishing! There have been people who have saved hundreds of dollars each month by simply reaping the benefits of spending less on fuel with gas rebate cards. If you travel often or plan to in the future, then you need to stop forking over cold hard cash for your fuel and get a rebate card today!

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The auto segment was shocked by unexpected developments in the past year. And now is a good time to evalaue the failures and shocks of the last year.

Though the things did improve in the later half of the year, the year will be known for some of the most shocking news you could expect for the automotive industry.

When we entered 2009, we were in the great recession and the overall impact of the recession on auto industry across the world was largely unknown. But, it was the failure of General Motors that can be considered as the worst moment of auto industry in the past year.

When GM filed for Bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, the doomsday sayers sounded the death knell of the automotive sector. Greatly enough, GM’s bankruptcy was seen to be coming in the offing and it got proven at the end of the year that the industry survived inspite of the failure of GM. However, the analysts were proven right in writing obituary of GM.

Once the Bankruptcy protection was invoked, it was the Treasury that started playing a pivotal part in controlling the rot in GM. Fritz Henderson did do his bit to try and stem the rot in his 6 month. He was shown the door and replaced by Ed Whitacre. Now, Whitacre is known for a strong support from the US Treasury and his rank of CEO will see many proactive and express steps being taken to control GM more efficiently and then possibly turn it around for a resurrection.

Whitacre assumes a position of importance as being a CEO of the much-troubled company and although his elevation seems like an interim arrangement the task is cut-out for him to stem the tide and ensure GM’s resurrection. His management style is very pro-active and a lot is expected of him by the Treasury. Let us hope for the sake of Global Automotive industry that Whitacre survives and ensures that GM will survive and turnaround in these tumultuous times of action.

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Autoexpo started in New Delhi, India. Being the first automotive show of the new year, we can expect a grand launch of some of the smaller cars in India. Infact the show has gained credence on account of the special appeal for small car segments comprising of Asian countries and the Latin America. And hence, there is awe and speculation for the events that are supposed to unfold in the next few days.

Traditionally, the show has been known for new launches from Suzuki because the company has a very strong footprint in India. However, Toyota seems to have gained a lot of awe in this show after it announced its intentions to launch Etios. Etios is a small car from Toyota that is expected to be priced under 10000$ or 6000 GBP and should be commercially available in 2011.

Before you write it off, let me tell you about another small car that is designed and marketed with a seating capacity of 4 people. Known as Nano, it is manufactured by one of the bigger automotive players of India -TATA. And this is the same company that bought Jaguar from Ford and Rover in the UK. So, knowing all this the launch of Toyota Etios is a step in the direction where Toyota is trying to diversify its market presence by designing, launching and maintaining cars for specific markets.

For the folks in US and UK, the price may look like a shocker but it is not. While we need to understand that the mid-size and high-value cars are still going to enjoy a place of significance in the scheme of things of manufacturers like Toyota, the small cars must be considered as a way for Toyota and some of the other players to minimize their risks. Recession seems to have driven the need to diversify and reduce risks. Small cars have a huge scope, especially in the high volume markets.

And this can be seen as one step ahead for Toyota. Remember that the Detroit Show is all set to welcome the Toyota Prius Hybrid car. It has already attained rave reviews by the analysts and things can go only north for the brand called Toyota.

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The UK Department of Transport seems to have outrun every other department in going green. By setting up a $49 million green bus fund the Department has signalled in the right direction; that it cares for the environment and wants to take steps to cut back on CO2 emissions in the UK. While the move may look small at this time, consider it as a test stage and if everything goes well, we may see many more buses being bought for the same.

This budget should buy 349 low carbon buses and it is expected that the major chunk will be hybride buses. Though no official confirmation is available on the number of electric buses, but at least 55 electric buses shall be bought as well.

This entire move is aimed towards attaining greener environment levels and cutting back the CO2 emissions levels in the UK. And with the impending Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark this budgetary allocation and a resolve to use low carbon buses will establish UK’s credentials as one of the most environment friendly countries that is willing to cutback emissions for the sake of environment. Though the move is small when you compare it against the total fleet size of UK buses, it could become a precursor to bigger plans.

The decision to go in for low carbon buses will not only add to the green cover, but it is also likely to increase employment in the manufacturing sector. Initial estimates point towards a 1000 jobs being safeguarded with this move; and hence the manufacturing sector has welcomed the move of the Department of Transport. It allows them breathing space in the times of recession.

The low carbon buses are fabulous from the fuel efficiency point of view. They consume up to 30% less fuel than normal buses and this alone will control fuel usage and pollution of buses. The most logical inference that you can draw out from this is the fact that the emissions of CO2 will be lower by at least 30% of the current levels. We sincerely hope that the project succeeds. With an existing 0.2% level in total fleet size, low carbon buses have a huge potential to aid in greener environment and overall fuel management.

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All electric cars are not the environmental panacea they are often made out to be - that’s the shock conclusion of a major new report from the Environmental Transport Association (ETA). And indeed, it calls for some introspection to find out about the expectations from electric cars and the unintended consequences of completely moving over to electric cars.

If everyone started driving electric cars tomorrow, the amount of additional electricity required would increase rather than decrease pollution, the ETA claims.What this implies is that you will need more electricity to be generated and more raw materials will be needed to do so.

The ETA states that the electric cars do not automatically cut CO2 pollution, and the process of meeting increased demand of electricity to run electric cars is still undefined. This makes it very difficult to predict the impact of increased electricity generation for meeting electric cars’ needs and we need to study and analyze the problem in totality rather than treating it in isolation. Global vehicular pollution is a threat for the entire globe and it is significant that any alternative fuel has to address the problem of environmental hazard before being effectively used as a commercial alternative to the existing fossil fuels.

Andrew Davies, ETA Director, has opined that the electric cars should not be considered as a panacea for global pollution. Without causing any intended dampening of enthusiasm for electric cars, he goes on to say or suggest that we need to make changes in the way we produce and tax power. And he seems to be logical in his thinking because we need to understand and address the increased demand of electricity. If we do so, we can gain long term environmental benefits for everyone.

In essence, electric cars are a good alternative to current situation; however, we need to analyze the complete impact on the environment by considering the increased need of electricity and we need to define the steps that will be needed to meet the increased demand of electricity. It is as good as asking yourself 2 questions - a) Who will produce the increased levels of electricity? b) How will the electricity be produced? And if you are able to answer these effectively, do not forget that you need to calculate the compounding effect of increased electricity generation on the natual resources and green environment.

For now, a hybrid car seems as a likely option to control pollution and help the green environment.

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Prepaid gas rebate cards are gas cards that have a specific amount of money pre-loaded on them. Many times it works like a savings account so you must make a deposit before you can start using the card. Once there is money on the card you can then spend up to the amount of money deposited on that card.

Prepaid cards are useful if you want to keep your fuel spending within a limit each month. You can purchase a prepaid card each month and just use that card for gasoline purchases. Once you have used up the card you will have to find other transportation options to get you where you need to go.

The prepaid card may have a fixed price in which you can purchase gasoline. So no matter what the actual price of gasoline is you will always pay 3 cents less. Or instead of receiving a discount at the pump you may get a discount when you actually purchase the card.

Prepaid gas cards do not have any bills as you pay for them up front. Many times these cards will expire so you need to make sure you use them before they expire. There are some prepaid cards that are sold at a discount so you will not only get a discount when you first purchase the card but you will also get a discount when you purchase gas using that prepaid card. There are many options and ways you can use prepaid gas cards to get the maximum amount of savings.

The best-prepaid gas rebate cards are the ones that offer saving son all gas station purchases not just on gas. You may be able to receive even more savings by purchasing your prepaid gas rebate card with a gas rebate credit card that offers a rebate for any gas station purchases. Depending on the rate you may be able to save up to %11 on your gas purchases this way.

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