If you ask us, a good CEO should have more than a passing knowledge of his company’s products, and should be able to demonstrate them competently. In the early 1990’s, a television series called “TV Nation” put this to the test, and challenged CEOs of major corporations to demonstrate their products on live TV. The only one who agreed was Ford’s CEO, Alex Trotman, who changed the oil in a Ford Explorer on camera.

Trotman’s willingness to get his hands dirty spoke volumes about his work ethic, and I’ve admired Ford ever since. After watching the video below, I feel the same way about Toyota and Aston Martin. As the script says, instead of playing golf, Akio Toyoda and Dr. Ulrich Bez go racing, and both men are accomplished drivers who are passionate about motorsports.

That message comes through on Aston Martin’s cars, but it’s lost in translation on the current crop of Toyotas. Let’s hope that changes when the FT-86 (or Scion FR-S) finally makes it to market; besides, we know that Toyoda-san himself wants to see enthusiast-targeted cars in Toyota’s product line.

In the mean time, enjoy the video, found on Autoblog, below.

I’ll preface this video by saying that it’s just wrong on so many different levels. In case you don’t know, Steve Nash is in the NBA, where he plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns. If Nash really does drive a Prius, I’d be willing to bet he’s the only one in the entire NBA. In fact, Nash may be the only pro athlete in the world who drive’s Toyota’s popular hybrid. The car in the video doesn’t even have alloy wheels!

I won’t spoil the ending, but the video (filmed for Toyota of Canada) is about Nash’s drive to make it as a top-tier pro player. Doing so requires total commitment, and there’s never a time when you’re not competing. With somebody. Over something. Check out what I mean in the video below, and I dare you not to laugh.

Source: You Tube, via Autoblog

Ford's MyFord Touch interface. Image: Ford Motor Company

Last year it was Toyota’s turn to get a beat-down in J.D. Power’s annual study of initial quality, thanks to ever-present headlines about unintended acceleration and a string of product recalls. This year it’s Ford’s turn, but their disappointing showing has little to do with product quality; instead, it’s more about Ford taking the lead in vehicle infotainment systems.

In 2010, Ford ranked fifth for initial quality. In 2011, the complexity of their MyFord Touch and SYNC systems saw the automaker plunge to 23rd position in the initial quality report. Despite a few well-documented problems with MyFord Touch (such as the occasional screen freeze), much of their fall stems from the fact that consumers simply can’t grasp the operation of MyFord Touch systems, and the specific sequence of voice commands required by SYNC isn’t always intuitive. To remedy this, Ford is borrowing a page from Apple’s playbook and launching a Genius-Bar-like service at Ford dealers, where product experts will (patiently) guide customers through the operation of MyFord Touch and SYNC.

As for actual product manufacturing defects, Ford fared well and earned two quality awards for their Taurus sedan and their F-150 pickup. Toyota, who had fallen to 21st overall in last year’s study, climbed back to seventh position, with above-average quality (fewer defects) on their vehicles.

Source: J.D. Power & Associates

Rod Millen is a rally and hillclimb racing legend, best known in the United States for his long-standing Pike’s Peak hillclimb record time of 10:04.06, set in 1994 and unbeaten until 2007. Millen’s since turned his attention to building race cars, but that’s not to say he doesn’t still enjoy spirited driving. In fact, Millen’s built the ultimate driveway at his property in Hahei, New Zealand, and the ribbon of asphalt recreates some of the most challenging corners from Millen’s years of competitive racing. His driveway features straights, decreasing radius corners, elevation changes and even blind entry, decreasing radius corners with elevation changes. You’d better be on your “A” game to visit Millen, especially in bad weather.

Millen recently celebrated his 60th birthday, so he did what any of us with an equally impressive driveway would have done: he invited friends and family over to celebrate. Better still, he encouraged them to bring their most entertaining rides, including an Audi quattro Group B replica, a V8 powered Ford Escort, Millen’s own record setting Celica (seen in the video below) and the family’s Toyota race truck. Dubbed the “Leadfoot Festival”, I’m personally hoping this evolves into an annual event. I’ve always wanted to see New Zealand, so now I need to figure out how to get an invite to Rod Millen’s house.

Source: Jalopnik, via Autopia

Toyota's FT-86 II concept. Image: Toyota

If Japan’s Best Car magazine is correct, Toyota will show a production version of the FT-86 sports coupe as soon as this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Held in December, the Tokyo Motor Show is usually considered one of the industry’s most significant, and it’s often used by Japanese manufacturers to highlight both concept and new production vehicles. Toyota showed a re-styled FT-86 II at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and the concept met with mixed reviews. Some (like myself) felt that it was too busy and departed from the clean lines of the original prototype. Others (likely Toyota’s target demographic) liked the edgy styling of the FT-86 II.

Image: Toyota

If the car does debut in Tokyo, look for sales to begin within a few months (let’s say late spring, 2012). We still don’t know if the car will be sold here as a Toyota or as a Scion, and we don’t know what the final horsepower number of the Subaru sourced boxer engine will be. Speaking of Subaru, they’ve been strangely silent about their own version of the car, said to come in higher-output turbo flavor with an AWD drivetrain. I’ll go out on a limb and make this prediction now: if Toyota is showing a production version of the FT-86 in Tokyo, look for Subaru to roll theirs out at the same time.

Source: 4 Wheels News

It used to be so simple: cars had radios, and you tuned the dial to the station you wanted to listen to. Then came in car phonographs (really), followed by tape players, followed by CD players. By the time MP3 player integration became standard in all but the lowest end cars, the writing was on the wall: infotainment systems, like Ford’s SYNCH, would become the next evolution of in-car entertainment. Now Toyota is joining the party with the launch of Entune at this weeks Consumer Electronics Show, and the automaker is clearly determined to one-up Ford SYNCH.

Entune, like SYNCH, works in conjunction with your mobile phone’s data plan, to provide you with up to the minute information on restaurants, movie times, shopping, news or sports scores. IHeartRadio will find you a local station that plays what you want to hear, or you can use Entune to stream Pandora. Want to find the hottest sushi-fusion-greek cuisine place in reasonable driving distance, or are you looking for a vibrating adult novelty shaped like the Statue of Liberty? Bing can help you with that, and Open Table can find nearby restaurants that have available seating. You can even buy movie tickets from the car, just in case that ten foot walk to the box office window tests the limits of your endurance.

Like Ford’s Synch system, Entune will allow uses to interact via a touch screen display or via voice commands. Voice commands will require you to learn Entune’s own unique sequence of commands, which takes a lot of trial and error or a lot of time reading the owner’s manual (like THAT would happen). I haven’t used Entune, but I’ve used Synch, and find the voice commands to be neither intuitive nor easy to remember. Until someone builds a system that will recognize a command like “tune to XM, Lithium” or “find the nearest Starbucks”, voice command systems will never live up to their hype. I promise an unbiased opinion of Entune, just as soon as I can test it out.

Source: Jalopnik

A 1997 Toyota 4Runner. Photo: AutoPhoto

The hits keep coming for Toyota, but  this latest round was hardly unexpected.  Back on May 7, the NHTSA began an investigation into Toyota for covering up steering defects in 4Runner, compact pickup and T100 models built between 1989 and 1998.  The models, which were found to have a defective steering rod, were recalled in Japan in 2004.  Despite 41 documented complaints from U.S. customers, the same recall wasn’t initiated on these shores until the third quarter of 2005, nearly one full year later.  According to Autoblog, a federal grand jury in New York has subpoenaed Toyota for any and all documents relating to this steering rod recall.

Toyota’s original explanation for the delay centered on the difference between driving in the United States and driving in Japan.  Japanese drivers are harder on steering components, thanks to narrow roads and tighter corners.  Toyota also claimed to be unaware of the 41 complaints about steering defects filed with the NHTSA.

The current maximum fine from the NHTSA is $6,000 per vehicle affected, so the question becomes, “How many trucks did Toyota sell in the U.S. between 1989 and 1998?”  Multiply that number times $6,000, and you have the amount of the next check Toyota will be writing to the NHTSA.

Ever since the introduction of the Lexus LF-A there has been a buzz about how highly priced it would be and then other rumors started circulating on how it would be a lease-only vehicle. Well, the leasing rumor has been put to rest because if you are one of the lucky 500 potential owners, then you can have your very own Lexus LFA outright for just under $400,000.

And if you are wondering about the options, that does not include the sticky gas pedal. Okay, bad joke I know, sorry Toyota… I hope you come out of this situation okay… God Bless you.

Lexus LFA Pricing Press Release

Lexus Announces Price of All-New LFA Supercar

TORRANCE, Calif. (Feb. 24, 2010) – Lexus today announced the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $375,000 for the all-new 2012 LFA supercar. The MSRP does not include a delivery, processing and handling fee.

LFA, the flagship for the F portfolio of Lexus performance models is the fastest Lexus production car ever built and delivers world-class design, performance, and cutting-edge technology. The LFA is only available as a two-year lease with the intent to purchase. Only 500 LFA will be built worldwide.

“The LFA has more passion and character than any Lexus built and we’re excited that we’re finally able to give U.S. customers official pricing,” said Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager.

All LFAs will be hand-built to customer specifications and production will begin December 2010. Customers will be able to choose from three-configurations included in the base MSRP:

• Configuration 1 – Leather or Alcantara®-trimmed seats.
• Configuration 2 – Leather or Alcantara-trimmed seats, Lexus Navigation System and Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound system.
• Configuration 3 – Leather or Alcantara-trimmed seats, Lexus Navigation System, Mark Levinson Premium Surround Sound system, and Lexus Enform™ with Safety Connect™.
• Customers will be able to customize the LFA with 30 exterior colors, six brake caliper colors, and 12 interior colors. Some choices carry an additional cost.