19 April 2010

So much criticism has been levelled at Toyota this year – this week the US Consumer Report put the Lexus GS460 on the ‘don’t buy list’ ? it is a wonder that the Americans aren’t blaming the Eyjafallajökull eruption on the carmaker.
Having been under a cloud of one sort of another for most of this year, Toyota has at last managed to see some brightness creeping through the haze which has grounded many of the world’s airlines.

Whilst a Boeing 747 won’t go within spitting distance of the volcano, it must have pleased Toyota officials to learn that the scientists monitoring the eruption knew that there was only one vehicle capable of the job of taking them to the source of the world’s biggest cloud – the Toyota Hi?Lux.
As soon as the scientists learned that the volcano was about to blow its top, they packed their Toyota Hi?Lux pick?ups with equipment and set?off. They’d probably seen the Top Gear episodes when Jeremy Clarkson did his level best to destroy the vehicle (nothing new there, then).
So far, none of the fleet of Toyotas in Iceland has been sucked into the vortex, or has driven into a lava?flow with the accelerator jammed?on, or has rolled?over.
So pleased with this result are the Toyota officials that they issued a press release on the subject on Friday. Attaboy! That’s the way to save your brand.
 

Tags: Ash, Barry's Blog, Toyota, Volcano