In what I would term a slice of poetic justice, Prius continued their exceptionally strong sales history.
The current bizarre  issues that Toyota has  battled have a very strange odor about them, and it seems that consumers are trusting  their instincts–on this product, at least.
Toyota has been the best example of  ‘How Things Should be Done’ [...]

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without
strategy is the noise before defeat.
SUN TZU ‘The Art of War’

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

CAR- FU: Self-Defense For Car Buyers
THE CAR-FU PHILOSOPHY

RESPECT              KNOWLEDGE              [...]

No one would ever accuse auto dealers of being overly transparent in their dealings with the public, but there are times when the misdirection and malfeasance reach truly epic levels.
A few years ago, you could not turn on the TV without being overwhelmed by yelling, preening , cartoon-ish car salesmen touting their “no money down, [...]

It’s a fact that most people prefer to “negotiate” a
price. Though many dealers and dealer-groups have tried to
present the no-haggle option, with the exceptions of new cars from Saturn and used cars from CarMax, it just hasn’t proven to be popular.
As I was finishing this up, a
deal to purchase the Saturn
brand fell through. The ‘little
brand [...]

Ford became only the third automaker in 17 years to sweep the car and truck awards at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS).
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) scored a historic doubleheader today, capturing both the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year awards for the 2010 Ford [...]

Respect
When there is no respect, no recognition of another’s worth
in a conversation, how can there be communication?
For the salesperson that has been told that he must sell two
cars in the next two days or lose his job, how can he look at a
customer as anything more than an adversary, as someone he
must defeat?
When buyers have [...]

THE WAY IT IS: On the Lot
Overheard on car lots every single day, all across this great land:
Sales Manager: “Where did those people go?”
Salesperson: “Which people?”
SM: “Those people that were back there checking out the (anycar).”
SP: “Oh, they said they were just looking.”
SM: “Really. Did they talk to a manager before they left?”
SP: “Well…no.”
SM: “You’re [...]

It’s easy to surf the internet and find an endless litany of
bitter, invective-filled anecdotes of terrible experiences that folks
have had while buying a car. Is it always the fault of the dealer?
When you are on the lot, they know that you won’t be coming back to that lot, even if you don’t. They have to [...]

INTRODUCTION: For many of us, the act of buying a car is the most
unpleasant, traumatic experience of our lives.
It’s easy to understand why– it’s the single biggest expense
of our lives (at least our homes generally gain value), it must be
repeated over and over, and it takes place in a (seemingly)
hostile environment through an opaque process.
Many [...]