50 out @58

Driving my Toyota Matrix to work today—a 2007 model that is not part of the massive recall underway—I was keeping my ninja skills engaged in the unlikely event of gas-pedal stickage. Now it’s standard transmission, so I’m pretty sure that if anything like that were to happen I could do a simple clutch-in, shift to neutral, and brake to safety. Then I heard that they’ve uncovered a brake problem in the Prius. Assuming it’s only a matter of time before finding out that my Matrix is as defective as the rest of them, my worst-case scenario now is less brake-to-safety than drift-to-safety. Maybe using parked cars to slow me down.

Then it occurred to me that there are lots of Toyotas on the road, and some of them are right behind me. With dodgy gas pedals. And it was then that the Toyota logo and its brand had manifestly changed. Suddenly, all these Toyotas, which used to be stainless-steel eggs wrapped around sensible car-buyers motivated by safety and responsibility, were potential time-bombs driven by customers whose expectations and assumptions were massively betrayed.

Truth is, I’m not really all that worried about this problem. My wife is convinced she has experienced gas-pedal stickage. I’ve been driving the car much more than her lately and I’ve not noticed anything.

For me, I’m thinking more about how this situation might influence an upcoming purchase decision. A second car looms on the horizon, and the Matrix, in year 3 of a 5-year lease, might be up for an early renewal. I’ve always loved Toyota, and I was pretty much assuming that in both cases we’d stick with Toyota.

So should I operate with a World According to Garp mentality (‘what are the chances of another massive recall?’) and keep the faith? Should I seriously consider another brand? And either way, should I shift from loyal customer to consumer advocate and research my options for refunds or class-action litigation?

In the end I think I’m think it’s time to leverage Toyota’s postion of weakness. I don’t believe they’re in a death-spiral, I suspect they by and large remain company that will more often that not release quality cars. They’ll certainly be focusing on restoring that brand perception with very real initiatives and results. That said, I suppose the 2010 line may be one that’s worth passing on. Let Toyota get its shizzle together then get out of the Matrix lease a year early with a 2011 Venza or something.

And in the mean time, in the next few months when it’s time to get that second car (my commute-mobile)… maybe I can use this Toyota situation to justify the purchase of a Cooper S as a “safety-first” purchase decision.