Some general Questions for Toyota Owners, Helping a friend with a term paper Options

[barterj]

Here are some interview questions, please answer 1 or 2 of them, or all if you want. Copy and paste the question you are responding to so I know which question the response is for.

Have long have you had, or did you have, your Toyota, what made you buy it? What year, model?

Why do you like your Toyota, and what do you use it for (driving, racing, towing stuff)?

Do you know any myths, superstitions or conspiracies involving Toyotas? What about jokes, inside or about Toyotas (like the punch bug or dub, depending on the year, for VW)?

Is there any rivalry that you know of with other car companies?

Is there a special recognition factor you get from begin a Toyota owner (like the "Wrangler Wave" for jeep owners)?

If Toyota owners could fall into one or two "general" stereotypes what would it/they be (Like Subaru owners are known to be like outdoor hippies, and VW owners are generally awesome...)?

Their current Ad campaign "Moving forward", and their promises off reliability?

How do you feel about the Prius, and the people who drive them?

During the Cash for Clunkers thing, the Corolla, the Camry, and the Pruis were all in the top 10 sellers, ranking at 1, 3, and 7. Any thoughts, or comments regarding this info?

How do you feel about the current issues surrounding Toyota, such as the recalls, the guy with the "run away Prius guy" and the lawsuit, such as the recent $16 million one?

Why do you think the recall got so much media attention, and do you think the massive media coverage could have been part of a conspiracy trying to get people to buy American?

Are there any other noteworthy things that you've noticed about Toyota, or the people who drive them, or anything else you want to add?

[barterj]

Thanks so much for all the replies. My friend greatly appreciated the help. And her paper received an A! Again, thanks for your input and answers

[Keiri]

Thanks so much for all the replies. My friend greatly appreciated the help. And her paper received an A! Again, thanks for your input and answers

Tell her to give you a copy to post up here or place as an attachment; I would like to see what our responses helped contribute to.

[barterj]

Thanks so much for all the replies. My friend greatly appreciated the help. And her paper received an A! Again, thanks for your input and answers

Tell her to give you a copy to post up here or place as an attachment; I would like to see what our responses helped contribute to.

Here is the paper. Its actually a detailed outline thing for an oral presentation so quotes used would have been in the presentation but are not in the outline. Keep in mind that she is a VW owner, though she does like my Celica. I didn't know how to post this as an attachment, so I'm sorry about the length of the post. The presentation was about the relationship between a person and their car.



The relationship between a person and their car is a sacred one. Everyone seems to have a certain preference to what kind of car they own or drive, and each car company has their own legion of dedicated fans. I have owned two cars, a Jeep Wrangler, and a Volkswagon Rabbit. Both gave me insight into two unique communities. As a Wrangler driver, I quickly learned about the ‘Wrangler Wave’, which is you where you wave to any other Wranglers on the road, and Volkswagon drivers just view themselves as fun loving and just plain awesome.
My twin sister owns a 2009 Toyota Corolla, a recalled model in recent recalls that have been epically dominating the car world, and the general media for the past two months. I know several other Toyota owners, some of who were affected by the recalls, and some who weren’t. But all of them are still passionate and positive about their Toyota’s, and the community that surrounds them. Through on of my Toyota friends, I was able to interview several more Toyota owners, and I pretty much asked them the same questions, having to do with myths, jokes, and rivalries within the communities, and also some about the recent recalls, and how they affect their views on their cars.
Through the process of these interviews, I have learned a lot about Toyota owners as a group. They are a diverse group with ranging ages, sexes, and locations through out the country. I have also learned that they have ‘colorful’ vocabularies. I have never seen the word “douche”(describing Prius, and the occasional VW) used so many times, and in so many different ways then when I was reading the transcripts to my interviews. I also learned a new term, “Ricer.” A Ricer is a term, mostly used derogatorily towards the drivers of Asian cars or motorcycles. This term was used a few times in the interviews in reference to Honda owners, which is quite ironic considering that Toyota’s are Asian as well. And as for jokes, I didn’t get that much. A few had heard of jokes surrounding the recalls or jokes involving the Prius, and Prius owners.
I interviewed several people, and pretty much all of them (with the exception of my sister) had not been first time Toyota owners, and none of them (again, with the exception of my sister) have been directly affected by the recent recalls. Most of them have owned several Toyotas, and practically all of them were earlier models (older then 2000). Most used their Toyota’s for the commute from work. Most of the people I interviewed used their Toyota for mostly every day driving, and the commute to work. However, I do know some people who participate in races with theirs.
When asked if there were any rivalries with other car companies, I received a variety of responses. Though there doesn’t seem to be a set rivalry with another car company, it seems that Volkswagon, and Honda are the top contenders, unless you count the internal rivalry that is the Prius vs other Toyota owners. This rivalry seem to be brought on by the classic argument of New vs Old. The Prius seemed to make Toyota’s more popular as people began jumping on the environmental bandwagon. The owners of the older Toyota’s seem upset by this, and as I learned from my sister, the newer Toyota owners aren’t big fan’s either. It’s almost like the Prius has turned into more of a political statement that a car.
Speaking of politics, when asked about the rumors about the mass media coverage of the recalls being linked to a political scheme to shed good light back on the struggling American automakers, most had never really thought about it. Some said that recalls may affect some first time owners, or buyers that were looking at Toyotas at the time, but ultimately think that it wont affect business too much because of Toyota’s reputation of reliability. Because many of the people I interviewed owned models that hadn’t been recalled, it hasn’t really affected their views of Toyota when it comes to Toyota’s reliability claims. The only person I interviewed who might not purchase another Toyota was my sister, who was the owner of one of the recalled models, and recently, I am happy to say, has express interest in purchasing a Volkswagon Jetta. Which I think is awesome.