Norman — A letter released earlier in the week by a group of Toyota dealers, including Norman-based Fowler Toyota, blasted the federal government for allegedly using taxpayer dollars to harvest Toyota owners scared off by the bad news associated with the Japanese automaker’s recalls.
Paul Atkinson, president of the Toyota National Dealer Council and owner of a dealership in Texas, said recent incentives offered by General Motors — 60 percent of which is owned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury — are “reckless, unfair and detrimental to the entire auto industry … and to the country.”
“It is outrageous that GM is using our taxpayer dollars against us, making me and other Toyota dealers pay to undermine our own businesses,” Atkinson said.
Rick Burgess, general manager at Fowler Toyota, said he agreed with Atkinson’s statement, adding that he feels like the government overstepped its bounds.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” Burgess said, referring to the federal government’s investment relationship with one of his company’s biggest rivals.
For the past several months, GM and a number of other automakers have offered special financing and rebate incentives for Toyota owners, hoping to exploit the apprehension caused by the Japanese automaker’s seemingly endless stream of bad press, including runaway cars blamed for as many as 39 deaths.
The government’s role
The government has indeed invested about $50 billion in the nation’s largest automaker, beginning in late 2008 toward the end of the Bush administration.
But according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Web site, the government, which takes a “hands-off” role despite owning 60 percent of the company, “has no desire to own equity stakes in companies any longer than necessary, and will seek to dispose of its ownership interests as soon as practicable.”
As the largest shareholder, the government has a vote, but says it only gets involved in key issues, like adding board members or voting on major transactions.
General Motors spokesman Tom Henderson confirmed the limited role the government plays in the company’s day-to-day operations.
“We’re left to run the business autonomously,” he said.
As for the incentives questioned by the Toyota dealers, Henderson said he doesn’t see what the big deal is — especially in the notoriously cutthroat car-selling racket.
“Offers like this are pretty common in the auto business,” he said. “These measures have been a part of the automobile industry for decades.”
Henderson wasn’t sure what the government plans to do with GM, or when. He said he wouldn’t be the one to ask about that.
“It’s an investment for them,” he said. “I assume they want a return on their investment.”
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
