The Year of Recalls

Toyota has just announced it is recalling another 1.5 million of their vehicles for fuel pump and brake issues. This is on top of the 8.5 million they recalled earlier this year for unintended acceleration. Honda has the same brake issues and Ford has engine fire problems which will also lead to recalls for those companies. All the recalls are making drivers tune some of it out, especially if the problems are viewed as non-threatening.

(Why are the leading car companies having such a hard time making cars that function properly? How are recalls determined?)

Good news from auto industry

Gist: When U.S. economy may still be struggling to recover, Ford Motor Company said it earned $1.7 billion in the third quarter. It is going to pay down more its debts and cut cost. They also build more cars that customers want to buy. They are selling more cars in U.S. because they are introducing new products like fuel-efficient small cars, Fiesta, and heavy-duty pickup trucks. These are the vehicle that people are willing to pay for and want to drive. Ford has a full line for model segments that customers are willing to pay for, and that is going to make profit for it. Ford precisely catches the trend of the market.