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From: jose el fontanero on 15 May 2010 19:19
On May 15, 3:20 pm, RedStateRepug <slipuva...(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
> KEEP BUYIN' IT -- AND THEIR VEHICLES!
>
> ==========
> "Toyota had attack plan against congressional testimony, documents
> show"
>
> By Michael D. Shear and Peter Whoriskey
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Saturday, May 15, 2010; A10
>
> TOYOTA OFFICIALS sought to develop a public relations campaign to
> attack the credibility of key witnesses who have testified before
> Congress about acceleration problems with the company's cars,
> according to documents provided to the House committee investigating
> the automaker.
>
> The effort was based in part on polling conducted for Toyota by Joel
> Benenson, President Obama's chief pollster. His poll questioned the
> integrity of the witnesses: Sean Kane, a Massachusetts safety
> consultant, and David Gilbert, an auto technology professor at
> Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
>
> Congressional investigators have demanded to know from company
> officials whether a campaign to debunk or discredit their witnesses
> was put into action.
>
> The company says it never produced advertisements based on the
> polling. Still, plans for the campaign have drawn the ire of the House
> Energy and Commerce Committee, which, upon learning of them, told the
> automaker to hand over all related documents.
>
> Lawmakers "would take very seriously any effort to malign or
> intimidate witnesses who cooperate with our investigations," a
> committee spokesman said in a statement Friday.
>
> In November, Toyota announced that it would replace accelerator pedals
> on about 4 million vehicles in the United States because they can get
> stuck in floor mats, causing unintended acceleration. The problem has
> been linked to as many as 39 deaths.
>
> In news coverage and in public testimony, Kane and Gilbert have been
> highly critical of Toyota's response to the acceleration issue.
>
> Kane works with victims' lawyers and runs a blog that is critical of
> Toyota. Gilbert testified to Congress in February that he had
> conducted an experiment showing a flaw in the electronics of a Toyota
> engine that could explain some of the incidents of unintended
> acceleration. The company has denied that electronics are a factor.
>
> In a statement Friday, Toyota said Gilbert and Kane had made
> "assertions" that had "created unwarranted consumer concern."
>
> "Toyota, like most organizations, conducts regular public opinion
> research," the company said, adding that Benenson had "tested for the
> widest range of potential messages to measure effectiveness."
>
> Political candidates and companies often use polling to test the
> weaknesses of their critics or opponents. Benenson's survey, titled
> the "Kane/Gilbert Debunking Message Test," directed pollsters to read
> several negative statements about Gilbert and Kane. The survey noted
> that a study Kane had commissioned from Gilbert was "nothing more than
> a manufactured stunt -- a parlor trick that would affect nearly all
> cars the same way, not just Toyotas." Having heard that, respondents
> were asked to say whether that changed their opinion of Kane's and
> Gilbert's credibility.
>
> Benenson declined to talk about the matter, saying, "We have been
> doing work for Toyota for three years, and we don't discuss publicly
> the work we do for any clients."
>
> Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), the House committee chairman, sent a
> letter to Toyota's president in March demanding "all documents" about
> the poll. The matter is expected to be made public in a hearing next
> week.
>
> Attorneys for Toyota responded to the committee in an least two
> letters. In one dated April 9, the company's top lawyer acknowledged
> that Benenson's survey results were used "primarily to guide the
> company's advertising development efforts. Ultimately, Toyota chose
> not to place advertising relating to this issue."
>
> In their second response, on April 28, company officials cited a
> letter from Benenson submitted to the committee in which the veteran
> pollster said that "testing messages to rebut unfair or false
> assertions is a common and legitimate research practice and is no
> different than message testing our firm regularly does for
> Congressional candidates or Congressional campaign committees in
> response to critics or opponents."
>
> According to documents provided to the committee, Toyota received
> advice about how to respond to Kane and Gilbert from Benenson and New
> York public relations firm Robinson, Lerer & Montgomery. The documents
> show that Benenson's firm, Benenson Strategy Group, has conducted 25
> surveys about Toyota's reputation since December 2009.
>
> On Friday, Kane said he considered the automaker's attempts to
> discredit him as validation.
>
> "If we weren't finding something that was meaningful, they wouldn't be
> spending this kind of time and money," he said in an interview. "But
> what we're seeing is that they're willing to go to great lengths to
> discredit anyone who asks questions about their products."
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR201...

The Washington Post is not a credible source. They, like most of the
Media,
sings the Democrat Party line.
From: Hachiroku ハチロク on 15 May 2010 19:46
On Sat, 15 May 2010 16:19:45 -0700, jose el fontanero wrote:

>> "If we weren't finding something that was meaningful, they wouldn't be
>> spending this kind of time and money," he said in an interview. "But
>> what we're seeing is that they're willing to go to great lengths to
>> discredit anyone who asks questions about their products."
>>
>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR201...
>
> The Washington Post is not a credible source. They, like most of the
> Media,
> sings the Democrat Party line.

And they have to sell a *LOT* of Chevys to pay off the loans!

What's with all the friggin' cross-posting, anyway?

From: FatterDumber& Happier Moe on 15 May 2010 20:53
Hachiroku ハチロク wrote:
> On Sat, 15 May 2010 16:19:45 -0700, jose el fontanero wrote:
>
>>> "If we weren't finding something that was meaningful, they wouldn't be
>>> spending this kind of time and money," he said in an interview. "But
>>> what we're seeing is that they're willing to go to great lengths to
>>> discredit anyone who asks questions about their products."
>>>
>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR201...
>> The Washington Post is not a credible source. They, like most of the
>> Media,
>> sings the Democrat Party line.
>
> And they have to sell a *LOT* of Chevys to pay off the loans!
>
> What's with all the friggin' cross-posting, anyway?
>

I think it's Monkey Butt posting in disguise.
From: in2dadark on 16 May 2010 12:27
The newer toyotas feel cheaper to me when I go to browse. OTOH, my
2001 camry is running solid after 170k. I think toyota doesn't make
them like they used to. But an american car will NEVER be an option...
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