this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2025
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Fuck Akio and Toyota

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[–] thoralf@discuss.tchncs.de 115 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

Easy: So I can scratch Toyota from the list of potentially interesting car companies for my next car.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 70 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (5 children)

You can simply scratch every single new car from that list while you're at it. Every single one is a massive privacy violation with zero right to repair and corporations that soft-support the Nazi's in myriad ways. Buy used and repair yourself, or walk.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 23 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm learning a hard lesson that you can't fix much after ~2016 either. You can replace the parts, but good luck resetting the computers without proprietary dealership software.

[–] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 13 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah, you have to go back to the 2000s-2010s era and when abundant spare parts and junkyards start to run out, be prepared to invest new-car level cash in custom fabrication and mechanical work to keep it on the road. Cars don't really have to be as complicated or expensive as they are, but for now, they're always going to be. People have always been custom-building cars for show, for history, for racing, for performance, and pretty soon we're going to start doing it for daily drivers too, and it'll stay that way until they start changing the laws to try to force these cars off the road for environmental reasons. Until then, support your local custom car builders, they're going to become the future of repairable cars, at least when it comes to the pre-EV gas guzzlers.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 20 points 16 hours ago

Basically, start taking notes from Cuban car culture. They're custom fabricating everything to keep their yank tanks operating.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 3 points 14 hours ago

Should be a full business keeping pre 2014 cars on the road or resto modding them to use after market user serviceable ecus.

Really depends on the car though. You can do amything with any 5.0 mustang and keep it going forever. An 02 focus though, youre screwed and there's no parts avilable any more and no aftermarket for it

[–] mlg@lemmy.world 8 points 14 hours ago

soft-support the Nazi's in myriad ways.

Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Subaru, BMW, and VW: "Haha yeah, soft support, riiiight...."

[–] shiroininja@lemmy.world 2 points 41 minutes ago

I love my 14 year old vw with no smart system (what little smart infotainment system it has hasn’t worked since I bought it and I’m replacing it with a regular stereo eventually) that I bought with a little cash. It has no frills like blind spot detection, lane stuff, nor backup camera, and I love it. But it has the right frills like heated seats and a sunroof.

I’m not sure I want a newer vehicle.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Maybe not Slate. We'll see.

[–] Grimtuck@lemmy.world 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Isn't that the one created/owned by Amazon? I'm not sure you'll be correct.

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 2 points 41 minutes ago

Bezos is an investor, yes. I don't think he has actual direct control over anything though.

[–] vividspecter@aussie.zone -5 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Buy a used (ICE) car, and you're supporting the fossil fuel industry. Walk, cycle, and public transport.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 6 points 12 hours ago

public transport isn't really an option for me (though I regularly advocate for it in my area and vote for people that will fund it), so I go the route of inexpensive used car and avoiding driving as much as I can

[–] DarkAri@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

They are literally the only ones who make a decent car anymore. Every other brand is horrible and constantly breaks down.

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Hard disagree. Toyota has its lemons as well and people who bitch about problems far outweigh people who are happy and don’t say shit.

I’ve driven and owned Jeep (80-90 model), Eagle, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, and now Subaru and my vehicles have all been spectacular and lasted a long time with routine maintenance.

Do some model years or brands have some duds? Yeah. No one is perfect and plenty of other brands are just great.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 8 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

routine maintenance.

This is the real key here. I have had vehicles that have lasted forever because I took the time to learn what to check regularly and do a lot of my own diagnosis and basic repairs.

The idea of modern automobiles is actually absurd when you think about it. It's a massive combustion engine that starts up instantly, every day, multiple times and runs for thousands of hours, across huge distances at incredible speed and most of the time the operators never even think of it past refueling or cleaning the shell.

I owned generators and many other kinds of engines, and without incredible engineering they are a pain in the ass to keep running all the time. Heat and cold cycles, multiple fluids that have to interact, timing between components, a vast array of materials and different kinds of moving parts... we really take it for granted, and because of that the newer cars are designed to be more hands-off and harder and harder to actually maintain. They are now counting on people not giving a fuck and just buying a new one when it starts to "run funny."

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Yes, exactly this. Many people just don’t do the basics and part of that is money. The labor costs are what get ya. The complexity of narrowing down what’s wrong as the cars are more computerized and have more electrical components also makes it difficult to diagnose even for the pros.

Key detail is that routine maintenance is important. Spark plugs, oil changes, flushes, timing belt, radiator, tires, brake pads, etc.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 1 points 21 minutes ago

Take a look at Volvo or Mercedes

[–] BreakerSwitch@lemmy.world 66 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Reminder: Toyota is also the third biggest anti climate lobbyist in the world

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 23 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

collapsed inline media

Also largest supplier of mobile weapons platform aka Hilux pickup truck.

[–] CaptDust@sh.itjust.works 43 points 19 hours ago

I was that close to a GR Corolla too. Thanks for making this easier.

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 40 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Is this the same Toyota that sells like one EV model? Not exactly stunning leadership.

[–] CaptainPedantic@lemmy.world 33 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

One shitty EV they co developed with Subaru.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

And hydrogen cars that have almost a dozen available filling stations!

[–] cecilkorik@piefed.ca 14 points 16 hours ago

Ah, you mean the hydrogen that could theoretically be made from water but is actually in practice made from natural gas? The perfect infinitely renewable fuel indeed! Someday, it could even be zero-carbon! Someday in the future, after the oil companies have finished getting even richer and decide they finally have enough money now. Could happen any day now. Won't. But could!

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 13 hours ago

The Subaru models are better, too. Like, way better.

[–] miguel@fedia.io 36 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

The fact that I'll probably never be able to afford a new car again gets easier to accept every year it seems. Yay? I guess?

[–] lilas105@ttrpg.network 13 points 15 hours ago

That's okay, the people making money off of you are having a good time.

[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 4 points 12 hours ago

what would you want a new car for anyways?

they:

  • track you and harvest and sell your data

  • are not easy to repair because they are not designed for it

  • are designed as obnoxiously as possible (see: blinding headlights, blind spots, size, noise levels from weight and wheel size, etc)

  • have excessive amounts of shitty tech 'solutions' to fulfill simple requirements (yes Daddy I loooove navigating menus on a touchscreen for my climate control and headlights)

you couldn't pay me to drive the average new car. I just bought a 2012 that I don't even know if it passes safety yet, because it's better than spending twice as much in something newer and inevitably shittier, even after considering the unknowns that will pop up. at least the problems my 2012 will have will be fixable.

[–] crozilla@lemmy.world 30 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

Toyota lobbies hard against CAFE standards. They don’t wanna sell Priuses, they wanna sell TRUCKS!!!!

[–] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 19 points 17 hours ago

Of course. They're massively profitable.

  1. You can ignore half the emissions standards requirements

  2. People want them because they're scared of driving a smaller vehicle while the other massive trucks on the road can crush them.

  3. They always talk about the ability to move things like furniture or equipment or things like thag despite only doing that twice a year, and rentals existing, including directly from places like Lowe's and Home Depot.

  4. People are willing to pay a premium because they mistakenly think that bigger vehicles cost substantially more to make because bigger must mean a lot more material, despite most of a vehicle being empty space.

[–] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

This is absolutely true, but at the same time they killed the bulletproof 5.7 V8 and replaced it with a twin turbo v6 that just barely gives 200lbs extra towing and just craps all over itself every time ruining the Toyota worldwide name for reliability

[–] ohellidk@sh.itjust.works 28 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

Damn. Just finished up the payments on mine.

[–] lemmylump@lemmy.world 52 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

You purchased and paid it off before you knew, drive with a clear conscience until the wheels fall off and hope by then a better more ethical world exists.

[–] VieuxQueb@lemmy.ca 2 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I'm in the middle of my payment. I do hope, by the time I'm done, the world will have seen better leadership. But for now I will drive in shame nonetheless.

[–] oopsgodisdeadmybad@lemmy.zip 2 points 12 hours ago

Fuck, same.

[–] 50MYT@lemmy.world 23 points 16 hours ago

Cracking up that the photo is in front of a Ford

[–] CubitOom@infosec.pub 21 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

Is that the Mr. Toyota Trump was talking about?

[–] lemmylump@lemmy.world 10 points 18 hours ago (1 children)
[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 5 points 14 hours ago

I always confuse him with Akira Nissan

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 hour ago

The name isn’t a coincidence. Akio Toyoda is a classic generational wealth nepo baby, the grandson of the founder of Toyota.

The name of the company is read with a “ta” instead of “da” because of some Japanese numerology superstition reasons that I don’t fully understand.

[–] andrewta@lemmy.world 7 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

And sadly, Toyota about the only vehicle that I can comfortably sit in without my back being torn up.

[–] lemmylump@lemmy.world 13 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

You ever sat in a Volvo? Best seats ever.

[–] andrewta@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Honestly, no, I have not. I’ll have to check it out.

[–] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 16 hours ago

Don't knock preowned luxury cars either. 5+ year old used sedans with generally low mileage and usually comfort features (aka, old people who don't drive a lot), around the price of a low end new car these days

[–] haulyard@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

Just not their second row suvs that somehow don’t have arm rests.

[–] rothaine@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)
[–] coaldustremover@lemmy.world 2 points 36 minutes ago

Always has been.

[–] lechekaflan@lemmy.world 4 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

More Tundras sold = more money