Marty Woody, who probably knows more about Toyota automobiles and trucks than anyone else in Chattanooga, has told the story to his close friends so perhaps you need to hear it, too. When the nation's new media sensationalized the fact the huge auto maker recalled almost a million vehicles earlier this year, he saw about 3,000 of them come to Capital Toyota.

Marty is the service manager at the Lee Highway dealership and he will look you right in the eye when he says that not one -- not one -- of the recalled vehicles his technicians inspected was faulty in any way.

"I think there are some misconceptions about recalls. They may be an inconvenience to a Toyota client but they are done for one reason, to assure the owner he and his family own one of the safest cars in America," said the likable Woody. "I welcome recalls because of that alone -- I want my family to be safe."

In February the giant auto maker was castigated by the Federal government. There was even a  Congressional hearing  that caused company president Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the founder, to apologize profusely. Since then, there is compelling evidence that the problems weren't nearly as dramatic, or as tragic as the public was led to believe.
Toyota has recalled 11 million cars and trucks worldwide this and the best response was evidenced in first-quarter earnings of $2.2 billion dollars and projected sales of 7.38 million vehicles in this calendar year. "You can't fool people. The reason that Toyota is now the largest auto manufacturer in the world is because they have good cars."

How good? "At Capital Toyota we have a parts truck that now has over three-fourths of a million miles on it and it still runs like a champ. I consistently see cars and trucks come through the shop with 2,3, and 400 thousand miles on the odometer and our used-car sales will prove mileage pretty much doesn't mean anything."

Woody says the key to any engine is sound maintenance. "Change your oil every 5,000 miles. It's as simple as that. People who drive older-model Toyotas should replace the timing belt somewhere between 60,000 and 90,000 miles, depending on how hard they drive, but most of the new engines all have chains now so we rarely have the occasional problems like we once did."

"Cars are just like anything else. But the great majority of what we do is preventive maintenance and that, believe it or not, is a bit more complex than it used to do. We have some cars that have as many as nine different computer systems. Your new radio systems, cruise control, automatic air conditioners ... there are always going to be little problems.

"We find the only reason we hardly ever keep a car longer than a day is because we need to have a part 'over-nighted.' We have a huge parts inventory but if we need some part that isn't here, I can have almost anything by the next day"

Marty said the new automobiles are far more complex that the 1966 Toyota Corolla that proudly sits in the Capital Toyota showroom. "That is the very first car Bob McKamey sold in Chattanooga. Mr. McKamey tracked that car down, bought it back, and it runs perfectly.

"But now we have five Master Service Technicians among the 14 who work in our repair facility and each of them go to 'college' in Cincinnati for a week three times a year. This is more certified technicians than almost any dealership our size but the McKamey family is very committed to excellence throughout the dealership.

"What people never see is the fact Capital Toyota and Lexus of Chattanooga have about 175 people who work together every day. We see each other more than we do our own families and the strength of this place is in the team."

All of Capital's service writers are longtime employees at the dealership. "They probably know our cars better than I do," he bragged, rattling off the names of Donnie Thacker, James McGuffee, Richard Levi, and Jennifer Graham.

Charity Ball-Farmer, who is married to the famed Mississippian Larry-Gene Farmer, heads the body shop while Sandy Leamon, who Marty says "is famous for her smiley face," is the head cashier. "We have a great bunch of people here!"

Marty and his wife Connie have two sons, Nolan and Garrett, who are active in athletics. His hobby is "chasing the boys from one field to another all year long. I know the success of any organization is teamwork and we all feel that way -- I haven't hired a technician or a service writer in about four years.

"We all know we have a great product and work for a fine family. That really means a lot and that's why it means something to everybody when a lady buys a car from a salesman. We look at it differently; she bought that car from all of us. Doesn't it stand to reason we want to treat her special?" he laughed.

"Toyota buyers are tremendously loyal. The cars keep their value better than many other brands and I just read Toyota sold about 170,000 cars in the United States last month. Some people think of Toyota as being a foreign car company -- and there is nothing wrong with that -- but most of the cars we sell are actually assembled in the United States."

Asked if he was aware that there was not one car for sale at Capital Toyota -- on this given day -- with a standard transmission, Marty said today's trend towards automatic transmissions is just like roll-up windows and hubcaps. "We still have them available but we have to order them. Some of our truck buyers prefer manual transmissions but as times change, Toyotas do too."

Gene McGee, still a longtime employee who now serves as Capital's Director of Operations, is over the service, parts, and body shop. He was the service manager when Marty signed on with the company 18 years ago and, between the two of them, Capital Toyota has earned the Toyota Service Excellence Award for 15 of the last 18 years.
"I can't remember the last time when didn't win it. There is a lot of pride that goes with that because it reflects how you do business 365 days a year. We simply don't have service customers who are not completely satisfied.

"When we had the big recalls earlier this year we did everything we could do to let our customers know that just because a car is recalled doesn't mean there is a problem. The only thing we couldn't explain was why we replaced some parts when there was nothing wrong with what they had. That's just Toyota's commitment to safety and excellence."

Marty Woody said the most important "part" on a car is the person who drives it. "Our commitment is to provide the safest, the most dependable and the best vehicle possible. Everybody at Capital Toyota knows we do that. And that is the way the McKamey family will always do business."