But people at Goldman Sachs suggests that while Ford will continue to gain market share this year, Toyota won't affect us much. They see Chrysler and GM as being the largest source of share gains while expecting modest gains against foreign brands.

"What comes around goes around" as my old fishin' buddies used to say. When we had a recall involving tires on our Explorers, Toyota was the loudest in exploiting it to make sales. Now it's happened to Toyota in a much more serious manner and to be honest both Ford an GM have been fairly sympathetic to their plight. After all, the people endangered by Toyota's action or lack of it are all future potential customers of ours.

My friends and customers have been discussing it openly and though I am biased there are some valid points. First Toyota blamed it on the floor mats~ then they found cars that had the floormats in the trunk. Now they are blaming the gas pedal and hope to fix it with a chunk of metal bolted to the inside of the firewall. CTS has emphatically stated that their product did not cause the runaway acceleration experienced by about 2000 drivers. I was giving Toyota the benefit of the doubt until they started recalling cars in Europe & Asia that don't have CTS parts installed. I sincerely hope this shim solves the problem. But I have my doubts as even if the accelerator were slammed against the floor and stuck someone like the California Highway Patrolman should have enough strength to get his shoe under it and free it. Or put both feet on the brakes and slow it down. Not die with 3 family members in a Lexus 350 while talking to 911.

I stated when I first heard about it that I suspected the PCM computer. My reasoning is that American emissions and safety standards are much stricter so the tolerances of the computer programs are much closer. A computer program also runs your cruise control. A car is basically a hostile environment for a computer. Americans have always been way ahead of the curve in inventions and technology while others exploit our knowledge for their own agenda. Computers crash all the time at home & work and it's hard to duplicate why sometimes. If the brakes and gas pedal mechanism all froze the computer could still cause the engine to run at top speed. Similar to the dieseling my VW Rabbit did. Every once in a while it would just run away from me in a cloud of black smoke and I would have to kill the engine and coast to the side of the road. Naturally I freaked the first time. But after that I always mapped escape routes as I drove. I was fortunate that it never happened in traffic but only when I was cruising in the country. Not having a VW dealer close by, I asked many garages if they had heard about it and could they fix it. They were all willing to work on it for big bucks but I parked it instead.

Talk around the customer service lounge is that it's related to the cruise control in some way. Steve Woz @ Apple is experiencing major problems with his Prius and blogging about it. Congress is investigating and Toyota is trying to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile Ford is staying the course to produce safer and more fuel efficient vehicles without aid from the Government. I'll continue to blog about this as it unfolds and add links and videos so that you know it isn't just my opinion driving this blog.

$1,000 Trade-In Assistance Cash
Ford of Ocala is excited to announce an incremental cash & incentive enhancement effective, January 28, 2010.
Ford Motor Company is providing a $1,000 trade-in assistance on 1995 or newer Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Scion and Acura customers with a trade-in or expiring lease. All 2010 Ford model year vehicles (retail or lease) are eligible.
Consumers are required to trade-in their current vehicle or have a lease expiring by June 30, 2010. This offer can be transferred to individuals residing in the same household. Please see your sales consultant for complete details.
Ford continues to gain momentum in the marketplace will all the positive press centered around the Drive One pillars- Quality, Green, Safe & Smart. Ford vehicles continue to be recognized for unsurpassed quality, safety and industry leading technology.
Thank you to all of our loyal Ford of Ocala customers for helping us achieve these high marks.

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 19, 2010 - The hot-selling 2010 Ford Taurus takes a giant leap into cyberspace today, starring in a new online interactive game that takes product placement in casual gaming to the next level by fully integrating the vehicle and its technology and features into the gaming experience.
The game, ''White Collar: Chasing the Shadow,'' an extension of the critically acclaimed USA NETWORK drama ''White Collar,''which follows a con artist and FBI agent who team up to catch bad guys. The Taurus is not only featured prominently in the television series but now in a new online game that allows players - acting as FBI trainees - to drive the Taurus and use its features to catch a notorious villain dubbed ''The White Shadow.''
''What makes this initiative unique is that the 2010 Taurus isn't just along for the ride,'' said Connie Fontaine, Ford Brand Content & Alliances manager. ''The new and class-exclusive technologies in the Taurus are used to interpret clues and collect evidence.''

If you would like to experience the Taurus in the new online game, please visit http://chasingtheshadow.usanetwork.com/ and click on the ''games'' tab at the top of the page.