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Jim Lentz

Jim Lentz is the president and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor Sales, USA. He is responsible for sales, marketing and distribution for Toyota, Scion & Lexus vehicles in the United States, in addition to overseeing all corporate matters in the company. He has been with Toyota since 1982, when he joined as the merchandising manager for the Portland region, and has held various roles within the company since then. Lentz holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Economics as well as an MBA – Finance from The University of Denver.

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Digg Dialogg: Jim Lentz

With the recent controversy surrounding the Toyota vehicle recall, Jim Lentz, President and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, is answering the Digg community’s top questions for a very timely and topical Live Digg Dialogg. He’ll be sitting down with Digg to provide perspective on what happened, what they’re doing about it and what consumers need to know about the recall.

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  • mathieubeaudet, on 02/05/2010, -48/+337What do you drive?
  • adamrl07, on 02/05/2010, -45/+264How far along is Toyota on moving into some truly gas free cars in the future? Are these kinds of vehicles even possible or feasible in our current lifetime?
  • rlulov, on 02/05/2010, -50/+248I was a General Manager of one of your largest dealerships in the US. I was aware that this problem dates back to 2004. In fact, there was a death involved in a sudden acceleration incident at an Atlantic City Hotel in a Camry that our dealership sold. At this point is Toyota's posistion going to chage as to the dates involved?
  • drunkCatholic, on 02/05/2010, -103/+231When will Toyota start making hybrid cars that aren't ugly as sin?
  • JeffCole55, on 02/05/2010, -34/+161A former Toyota attorney has stated the company has known about these issues for at least three years, yet did nothing. He charges that Japanese Toyota executives instead covered up the problems. Are these charges true? And, whether or not they are, there are reports that Toyota has known since 2007 of the gas pedal problems. Why wasn't this dealt with sooner?
  • FAHQ2, on 02/05/2010, -43/+164It has been years since Toyota had a sports car (Supra) available for sale in North America.
    Are there any plans to bring back the Supra or come out with a new afordable sports car?
  • Traut1Ca, on 02/05/2010, -38/+156Mr. Lentz, I'm currently in the market for a new car, and until the recalls, the 2010 Prius was at the top of my list. I'm now back to square one and researching other manufacturers' hybrids. While Toyota's issues with acceleration and braking issues may be isolated, it has become clear that your company did not address these issues proactively or in a timely fashion. What is your message to non-Toyota drivers who may still be interested in your cars, but are very concerned about Toyota's response to the current crisis?
  • tuffy777, on 02/05/2010, -24/+141Toyota has electronic data recorders in the cars -- yet they refused to release the data when I was in a crash, and it would have proven that the accident was not my fault. So I lost my car, my health and thousands of dollars. And now you say you can't track down the cause of this problem. Why not release the electronic data?
  • fastguyrules, on 02/05/2010, -65/+175In the world of today, why does Toyota still produce 5 types of SUV's, is that not excessive?
  • brad3378, on 02/06/2010, -22/+87Mr. Lentz,
    In light of the recent unwanted acceleration and braking recalls,
    Does Toyota have any plans on changing its slogan from "Moving Forward" to something else?
  • Echuu, on 02/05/2010, -61/+120Did you hear about Steve Wozniak's software problem with his Toyota Prius?
  • nmook, on 02/05/2010, -38/+94Do you believe Toyota is being unfairly maligned due to this recall and the brake problems on the hybrids? Ford has had similar brake problems on its Fusion hybrid but nobody is paying attention to those issues. Why is Toyota getting all of the attention? Do you believe the United States is taking a harsh position against your company due to the state of the US car industry and Toyota's dominance in the past 5 years?
  • PigPong, on 02/05/2010, -49/+101How does Toyota maintain a minimal presence of union activity in its factories?
  • SickIcarus, on 02/05/2010, -16/+66Toyota has reported that vehicles manufactured in Japan are not affected. Yet the European recall includes models manufactured in Japan. Why is this different for the US?
  • Tiraspol3, on 02/05/2010, -26/+72How much money do oil companies pay the auto manufacturers for them to keep making gas guzzling vehicles? With today's technologies, I am positive that our brand new cars should already all be achieving at least 50 MPG, without even going into the hybrid stage. Do the oil companies have an influence on auto manufacturers under the table?
  • sherimcnear, on 02/05/2010, -16/+49The accelorator pedal of my 2008 Prius got stuck TWICE one morning on the freeway shortly after a bought the car. I took it to the dealer IMMEDIATELY. After they were unable to recreate the problem, the Service Department returned my car, suggesting that I remove the floor mats. When I insisted that this was an extremely dangerous problem, and that they should report it to Toyota, the Service Manager himself came out and insisted that he'd never heard of one single other incident of the gas pedal getting stuck under the floor mats (Toyota Marin, San Rafael, CA, USA).

    Over the past few months, I've received a stack of recall notices and warnings from Toyota, but when I called my dealer again to ask about repairing the gas pedal, they told me that the Prius is not currently being recalled. WTF?
  • americanpenguin, on 02/06/2010, -12/+45Toyota's president Akio Toyoda was recently spotted driving a black Audi away from an economic conference in Switzerland. If the your company's president won't drive a Toyota, why should we?
  • LtGenPanda, on 02/05/2010, -31/+64i. Once Toyota fixes all the problems and the cars are again ready for sale, how much discount/rebate/cashback (other marketing jargons) do you think you should offer, to again pull back people?

    ii. Can you tell the number one reason (non-monetary) why people should buy Toyotas once the problem is fixed.
  • ryan112ryan, on 02/05/2010, -17/+36Mr. Lentz,

    Electric cars are, arguably, where we are ultimately headed. The biggest issue of course is batteries: their cost, weight, shelf life, capacity, environmental impact and size. How is the industry overcoming these (be specific) and when can we expect to see mass produced all electric car sold in every state of the USA?
  • solidclaude, on 02/05/2010, -14/+32I have a Prius. I use it to drive around both of my children (ages 6 and 4 months), sometimes our family cat, and our family to the mountains. We drive in the snow, we drive it everywhere. Needless to say, we love this car. Why would you wait for so long to say anything and put all of the above in danger? As a consumer, I purchased a Toyota product because it had a conscience - because it was a thoughtful product. How are you going to right what's happened and alleviate the concerns about Toyota's integrity?
  • yigali, on 02/07/2010, -12/+29Would you open source the car software? This way, many people could read it, find bugs and make it safer.
  • minnesotayoyo, on 02/05/2010, -26/+42The U.S. government is now a major stakeholder in both G.M. and Chrysler. In light of the recent Toyota recalls, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has made official statements regarding the reliability and safety of Toyota vehicles. Do you think LaHood and the DOT are unfairly biased against automakers that the government does not have vested interest in?
  • Pobrito, on 02/07/2010, -4/+19I bet this Digg Dialogg ends up being a big waste of time,

    Lentz is a salesman and will give saleman answers. In terms of credibility, salesmen are ranked down there with politicians and lawyers. Look for canned PR responses to questions cherry picked by and also answered by his minions while Lenzt is drinking lattes in his office.

    Even if it were a live town hall with real-time questions, all you would get is obsfucation, dancing and the answering of questions other than those that were actually asked.

    Don't expect anything of substance out of this.
  • CMAuw85, on 02/06/2010, -7/+21Toyota's 2009 North America Environmental Report states "With a new administration in the United States, the landscape surrounding climate change legislation has changed. Toyota supports the U.S. government’s initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel efficiency through a single national approach."

    Yet, Toyota is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has aggressively lobbied against comprehensive climate change legislation in Congress. Why will Toyota not join other companies like Apple and Exelon and quit the Chamber?
  • MosaicBrandon, on 02/06/2010, -13/+27How do you feel about your market position now that the following jokes are re-branding your company?

    Toyota, we stand behind our cars...just not in front of them.

    Toyota, moving ahead...even if you don't want to.
  • lalangozij, on 02/06/2010, -16/+28For years, Toyota has had a reputation for being one of the most reliable manufacturers of vehicles in terms of maintenance and performance. What will you do to regain that reputation and restore that trust and confidence in your vehicles?
  • diggnaway, on 02/05/2010, -8/+20Toyota employs a lot of Americans in its plants. I have family members and friends who work at the Georgetown, KY, plant and the community and those employed depend on Toyota. Obviously the recalls are costing the company quite a bit of money that will have an effect on the bottom line. Will there be any layoffs as a result of this extra expense? How else might this affect those with jobs at Toyota and the communities that depend on these jobs?
  • 2redbulls, on 02/06/2010, -11/+22Dear Mr. Lentz, Are you aware of the problem with Toyota FJ Cruisers having cracks or bulges in the inner front fenders? There seems to be hundreds of reported issues with Toyota not officially responded to the issue. In some cases owners had to pay thousands of dollars for repairs with no evidence of abuse or damage by the customers. If you are not aware of this issue, will you at least agree to investigate this issue and respond to our concerns? Thank you!
  • coredump0x01, on 02/06/2010, -15/+26Why is Toyota and other automakers using an electronics-based "drive-by-wire" system for acceleration control instead of the more traditional cable and pulley system?
  • diggjvulg4n, on 02/06/2010, -16/+26The brakes on my 2010 Prius lock up intermittently about 2 times a month. This only happens when I first use the car in the morning. After applying the breaks 3 or 4 times, or if I just drive away, it clears up. Is there any danger that the brakes will lock up when I'm on the freeway?
  • APennysWorth, on 02/05/2010, -7/+17Would you drive a Toyota if you didn't work for the company?
  • lynnanns, on 02/06/2010, -6/+15First of all, I would like to tell you that my wife and I own two Japanese cars. A 1993 Honda SE with 294,000 miles on it and a 1999 Toyota Sienna with 190,000 miles on it. They are our daily drivers. We can depend on them therefore we are very happy with them,

    Second I have been an Automotive Quality Engineer for the past 21 years. Eighteen of those yearswere spent working in Detroit as a supplier and customer Quality Representative. I have been involved in many new car launches, We were always taught to protect the customer,

    Third My questions regarding the "R" word as it is known in Detroit, why because there is a cost is associated with it. When we ask for a corrective action to be put in place for a defective part, we follow the 8-D Methodology,

    1. When the defect was discovered why wasn't it contained at that time?
    2.Why was there a wait to notify all customers at potential risk due to this type of defect?
    3.Why wasn't this caught during the reliability testing/who was design responsible? Supplier or Toyota?
    4. Why wasn't this detected during Life Cycle Testing?
    5.How many vehicles are at risk for this failure mode: models and vin numbers and why hasn't the customer been notified by mail?
    6.What is the current status? They should be telling everyone how you should go about stopping the vehicle properly. Or are you going to keep on playing the risk management game and hope it just goes away?
    7. Why would you put other people at risk knowing that if thi failure mode occurs even at low speed that you might injure or kill other people?
    8. So you and others at Toyota feel you have done your due diligence with regard to proper containment of these suspect vehicles?
    9.Can you go to sleep at night knowing you have put our customers at risk of being killed by this failure mode? It needs to be contained properly to assure the customer that Toyota is doing the right thing. Ask yourself this question: would you put your family and friends into a vehicle with this type of failure possible?
    10. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
    Thank you for taking time out to review my questions.
  • ashwininande, on 02/06/2010, -12/+21What steps is the company taking to ensure that such a serious blunder is not repeated?
  • ZenPirate, on 02/06/2010, -5/+13How does Toyota plan to expand product testing and/or methodology to deal with possible technical issues caused by all the technology being put into automobiles at such a fast rate?
  • jamak, on 02/06/2010, -6/+14Why is Toyota not re-examining its drive-by-wire systems in its models which have accelerating problem ? It seems obvious that it was not a floor mat problem and it will not be due to pedal problems. It seems to be due to faulty drive-by-wire system or a bugt in the software inside this system. No point in blaming harmless things in the car while ignoring the hidden problem.
  • boriotti, on 02/08/2010, -1/+8My dealer has not contacted me to notify me of a recall or warn me about the accelerator problem with my leased 2009 camry. Why not?
  • Spinfusor, on 02/07/2010, -2/+9Why have you and other Toyota executives repeatedly avoided answering the question of how long Toyota knew about these problems?
  • boredco, on 02/08/2010, -1/+8If I get caught speeding in a Toyota, mind if I blame the accelerator pedal?
  • krishnac, on 02/05/2010, -10/+17What did Toyota know, and when did they know it? Please explain how long it took from the time you heard rumors of acceleration problems to the time you took action -- via recalls, or stopping sales.
  • SmilinGoat, on 02/07/2010, -4/+11I have a good question. why is it that every time Toyota recalls something as of late (which has been a few times) they claim its "because we care about our customers" but if you do any digging you'll find that the company was forced into the recalls by multiple governments, and Toyota basically made these recalls because they could not hide the problems any longer?

    Several car companies, Honda, Hyundai, GM, and Nissan to name a few have actually come out with safety recalls in the past few years, WITHOUT being forced into them. Why is Toyota taking the low road when it claims to "care about the wellbeing of its customers"?

    It obviously does not.
  • Antiman1337, on 02/05/2010, -21/+28At what point did you make the decision to publicly announce the defects in your Toyota models? Do you feel the impact of this recent controversy will directly correlate to the great loss (in sales) for your company?
  • MrNatural, on 02/07/2010, -4/+10Are the parts or systems at fault in the Prius' braking problem actually made by Toyota or by an outside vendor? My concern is that other hybrids may be using similar parts that may prove vulnerable as well.
  • Zeratul256, on 02/08/2010, -2/+8Are you certain that the solution you are coming up with will last the rest of the life of the vehicle, which could be as long as 250,000+ miles and/or 10 to 15 years?
  • suzyq1958, on 02/06/2010, -4/+10I think the unprecedented media coverage of this recall event is proof that Toyota is the top automobile company in the world. Number two doesn't get this much attention. That being said, why did Toyota USA neglect to order the recall and sales and production interuption? Why did NTSA have to travel to Japan and meet with TMC to get agreement?
  • sjbdallas, on 02/06/2010, -12/+18How do you feel about the US government attacking the quality of your product now that they own a stake in GM? Isn't that kind of like Microsoft being responsible for determining the quality of Apple's products?
  • ArsenalFanatic, on 02/07/2010, -2/+7Mr. Jim Lentz - I purchased a 2010 Toyota Prius in July of this year. Additionally, I have a 5yr old son and as you can imagine care for his safety above my own. Since the brake issue was made public, I have hesitated every time I step into the car. Will it fail, will it work. Countless thoughts enter one's mind when something like braking are in question. How will I know (or feel confident again) that the fix you have in place to rectify the current issue to my car is complete?

    Thanks for your time.

    Chris Toronyi
    Los Angeles, CA
    Prius owner since July 2009

  • yurbud, on 02/08/2010, -3/+8Do you think Toyota is having its current problems because it has been infected by MBA short term thinking, putting accounting gimmicks to manipulate quarterly profits ahead building quality cars?

    What can Toyota do to assure us that Wall Street type scammers are not in charge of the company and people that actually take pride in the company's product are?
  • mutations, on 02/06/2010, -10/+15I'm looking to buy a brand new car, and up until this recall I was seriously looking at Toyota. How would you convince me to continue looking with Toyota and not side with the competition?
  • Jencat18, on 02/06/2010, -2/+7How do mistakes like this happen, Are the vehicles tested, and if so to what extent.
  • pantana, on 02/07/2010, -1/+6Can I just return it and get my money back?
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