'Toyota Friend' Links Driver, Car, Dealer and Factory

Toyota has developed a new telematics system called “Toyota Friend”, which looks to bring interactive social media into your Toyota automobile.

Developed jointly between Toyota and Salesforce.com, the system allows communication between the driver, the car, the dealership and the factory via instant messaging. The goal is to keep car owners aware of their car’s condition, and to allow direct communication between owners.

Toyota Friend will advise you when it’s time to schedule an oil change, and may even go so far as to advise of your dealership’s service schedule. Recalls could be handled in real time (assuming there were no replacement parts involved), since the factory would be able to communicate directly with the owners of specific Toyota models. Conversely, owners would be able to advise their dealership and the factory of a breakdown or problem as it occurs, potentially shortening the amount of time between the origin of a problem and the recall to resolve it.

For plug-in hybrid (or eventually, EV) owners, Toyota Friend can advise you of the ideal charging schedule to reduce demand on the electric grid. If that time isn’t convenient for owners, Toyota Friend can be used to schedule a delayed charging via any internet-connected device. A separate telematics project with Microsoft will use cloud-based computing to monitor systems such as a hybrid vehicle’s state of battery charge.

Akio Toyoda, Toyota’s president, is a big proponent of onboard telematics and social networking. Toyoda sees the implementation of such technology as necessary, saying, “Social networking services are transforming human interaction and modes of communication. The automobile needs to evolve in step with that transition.”

The Toyota Friend system will be implemented in Japan beginning in 2012. Toyota will introduce it first on the Prius plug-in hybrid, followed by their new electric vehicle. While Toyota ultimately has plans to launch the system worldwide, there is no current timeline for a rollout beyond their domestic market.

[Automotive News]

View the original article here

Feds Host Roundtables, Launch Investigation Into Dealer Practices

With the price of a new car averaging more than $28,000 and the average dealer-sold used car running around $14,000, most vehicle shoppers opt to either finance or lease.

While dealer-arranged financing is certainly more convenient, it's not always fair, and it's not always straightforward. And certain types of dealerships have been discriminating against minorities, members of the armed forces, and military families—causing them to pay thousands of dollars extra over the long run, in return, in some cases, for kickbacks to the salesperson.

All this is of course forbidden by current laws, yet in many cases not enforced, says Consumer Reports.

And the situation didn't look poised to become better anytime soon. Last year as part of the financial regulatory overhaul bill, Congress decided not to hold auto dealers to the same stricter new rules as for other types of lenders, with the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Credit Bureau. Instead the FTC was given authority over vehicle financing issues.

But it appears that the FTC is being proactive. To address all this unhappiness, and to gather information on what's happening at the consumer and dealership level, the FTC is hosting a series of roundtables, all free to the public.

The first roundtable will be held at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit April 12. For more information on the roundtables, their locations, and how to register, see http://www.ftc.gov. In the meantime, the FTC also maintains a complaint assistant, or you may call 877-382-4357.

If you've been taken advantage of by one of these scams, or you feel that you weren't given the same deal as another customer, blow the whistle, show up, or at least pick up the phone. And let us know below: Should the states be doing more to enforce issues such as these?

[FTC, via Consumer Reports Cars Blog]

View the original article here