Rockingham Motors

I would like to take this opportunity to address our customers and give you my prospective on the recent Toyota recalls.  First, let me apologize for any inconvenience or uneasiness this may have caused.  This is truly not the "Toyota Way" that so many of us have grown accustomed to over the years.  My personal involvement with Toyota has been nearly 40 years.  I can honestly say that my experience with Toyota has shaped my strong belief about the importance of placing the customer as the most important ingredient in our daily business.  We have developed our philosophy based on Toyota's strong belief in Kaizen, continuous improvement.  I might suggest you read this article which was authored by Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, which appeared in the Washington Post.  I believe it conveys the true spirit of Toyota and how he views what has transpired over the last couple of weeks.

The entire team at Rockingham Toyota has taken these recent events very seriously.  We have been in constant contact with those customers who have inquired about the recalls.  We have been open extended hours including last Sunday to respond to those customers who were concerned and wanted to have us check their vehicles.  I hope we have been able to make those customers feel more at ease and better understand what are our mutual concerns.  It is unfortunate that the press seems to be focused on Toyota and magnifying the recalls.  In some cases the facts have not always been straight forward and correct.

I would like to thank our customers for being so understanding about this situation.  Recalls are a very uncommon occurrence for Toyota.  If you read the article by Akio Toyoda you will see he makes reference to the "andon cord".  I have seen this first hand in the Toyota factories in Japan.  This is simply a cord which empowers any team member to pull and halt production if they witness a problem.  Last week, Akio did precisely that with the factories whose production was halted here in the United States.  He, not the U.S.Government, like some would like you to believe, stopped the production lines because they did not want any potential problem vehicles to be produced and then have to use parts to correct them on the production line when they should be initially shipped to dealers for use in customer vehicles.  I, in my years of experience with other manufacturers, have never seen that done before.  I feel this is a testimony of the true concern by Toyota for its customers.

Again, please accept my sincerest apology for any stress or concerns these recalls may have caused.  I can only ask that you retain your faith in this great product and Rockingham as your dealer.  To quote Akio,  "Great companies learn from their mistakes and we know we will have to win back the trust of our customers by adhering to the very values on which that trust was built." 

Emmett Horgan

Rockingham Toyota Scion Nissan

Rockingham Honda

Owner

We had an instant rush of phone calls today as DOT Secretary LaHood said during a conference to stop driving your Toyota if it is part of the gas pedal recall.  There is no official recommendation by Toyota or the government to stop driving your Toyota.  However, if you have any direct concerns please contact us. Service hours will be extended to handle this recall. We will be booking appointments as early as today.  Fill out this from if you would like us to call you and book an appointment.

From the Wall Street Journal -

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--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."

DOT spokesman Bill Adams said in an email, "The DOT is advising owners of recalled vehicles to contact their local dealerships to arrange for fixes as soon as possible." -Source: WSJ 02/03/2010