Not long ago, as part of a review of Toyota ’s new 2008 Sequoia full-size SUV, we reported that Toyota offered no fewer than six SUVs and car-based crossovers ranging from compact RAV4 through the mid-size Highlander, 4Runner and FJ Cruiser and full-size Sequoia and Land Cruiser.

Ooops! We completely forgot the seventh and smallest member of Toyota ’s extended family, the Corolla-based Matrix, which arrived in 2003 before “crossovers” were in vogue and hordes of practical-minded Americans began rushing to them.

We could be forgiven for forgetting it, though, since the previous generation Matrix was, let’s be frank, a fairly forgettable vehicle. It was mostly a somewhat aggressively styled small tall wagon offering a cooler, more youthful look and more cargo capability than its supremely boring compact Corolla siblings.

There was a sporty XRS version powered by a high-revving but torque-challenged (Yamaha-built) higher-horsepower 1.8-liter four, which most reviewers drove and wrote, then quickly forgot. That was discontinued after 2006, leaving just the standard 126-hp 1.8-liter four that (under) powered ordinary Corollas.

The Gen I Matrix was notable as the mechanical twin of Pontiac ’s Vibe, which was being built (along with Corollas) at the California GM/Toyota joint-venture assembly plant known as NUMMI. While we personally preferred the Pontiac’s styling, the Matrix outsold it due mostly (we believe) to Toyota ’s much stronger brand image.

This new Canadian-built, Gen II Matrix benefits from a welcome restyling and numerous upgrades and improvements throughout. Most important are first time availability of a 2.4-liter four and all-wheel drive.

“The Matrix concept is based on blending the functionality of an SUV, the style, image and performance of a sports car and the affordability of a subcompact sedan,” says Toyota Marketing Manager Tim Morrison. “It may have the body of a five-door hatch, but it comes with the soul of a two-door sports car.”

Really? We’ll see.

A coupe in wagon duds?

Toyota says the ‘09 Matrix offers “coupe-like styling with enhanced interior utility and improved dynamic performance.” It is lower and wider than the previous model with virtually the same interior space, meaning reasonably comfortable room for four. You can squeeze in a third rear-seat occupant, but make it a smallish one. In side view, the new look is distinguished by a full-length, wave-shaped shoulder swelling over its wheels, ebbing along its doors.

When the Gen II Matrix hits the streets in early 2008, it will be offered in three grades: Standard, S and sporty XRS, with the option of all-wheel drive (AWD) on the mid-range S. Both S and XRS sport a front chin spoiler with a large mesh fog lamp bezel and a rear underbody spoiler, and the XRS wears a rear deck spoiler as well.

The redesigned interior offers improved appearance, comfort and utility with more comfortable seats, which are lowered slightly to maintain the previous amount of headroom within the lower-profile cabin. Dash, door and headliner materials seem better than before, though still somewhat cheap in look and feel in some places. The new three-spoke steering wheel has good size and feel, and the XRS version is leather-trimmed with spoke-mounted audio controls and available Bluetooth capability. A new, high-efficiency air-conditioning system offers reduced power consumption and larger vents for improved directional accuracy.

On all but the base model, the right-front seatback folds flat, a cup support section on the console is movable and removable, and the cup holder area can be used as a tray when the divider is removed. Importantly for that (small) fifth passenger, the 60/40 split folding rear seat includes a middle-seat headrest.

Good economy, mediocre speed

While the standard 16-valve, DOHC 1.8-liter four-thanks mostly to addition of Toyota’s Dual VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing with intelligence) on both intake and exhaust sides-puts out six more horses and six more lb-ft of torque than before at 132 hp and 128 lb-ft, that seems barely adequate to haul around the 2800-lb Matrix.

Representatives from the world’s leading governments began Monday to unveil the potentially conflicting agendas they will seek to advance during an international climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia.

Leaders from the European Union kicked off the UN-led conference Monday by declaring that they will seek ambitious international emissions reduction targets of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

“It would be sensible, to give direction to the negotiation process, but we have to see how far we get,” said Arthur Runge-Metzger, leader of the European delegation.

EU member states have already committed to reducing emissions by 20 percent by 2020, and a spokeswoman for the European Commission told SPIEGEL ONLINE last week that they would seek a 30-percent international decrease in the new contract.

Officials from over 180 nations have gathered in Bali to start drafting a new international treaty to govern greenhouse gas emission reductions.

There was good news for environmentalists already on the first day of the conference, as newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol. Australia is now the 37th country to make a binding commitment to reduce emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. Rudd’s decision to ratify the treaty reverses the position of his conservative predecessor, John Howard, who refused to sign the pact.

“I think I can speak for all present here by expressing a sigh of relief,” said conference host and Indonesian Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar during the conference’s opening session.

Australia’s decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol isolates the United States as the only developed nation that has not signed the treaty. The leader of the US delegation in Bali, Harlan Watson, said the US would respect Australia’s reversal and stressed that their goal in Bali was not to sidetrack the negotiation of a new treaty.

“We’re not here to be a roadblock,” Watson said during a press conference. “We respect the decision that other countries have made and we would, of course, ask them to respect the decision we have made.”

President George W. Bush rejected the pact in 2001, saying that it would hinder the US economy and that it unfairly excused some of the world’s largest polluters, like the developing economies of China and India.

Watson said Monday that the US would openly discuss the possibility of a new international emissions reduction treaty, but that any binding commitments would need to cover those major developing economies as well. Leaders in China and India have said in the past that it is unfair to impose emissions restrictions on their rapidly growing economies as they attempt to lift hundreds of millions of their citizens out of poverty.

The conference in Bali, which runs until Dec. 14, is the first meeting to establish a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires after its commitment period ends in 2012. While broad issues will be discussed at the conference, concrete expectations are modest.

UN officials hope that delegates will set 2009 as the deadline by which a new treaty must be drafted, which they believe would leave enough time for it to be ratified and enacted in 2012. That would leave no gap between the parameters of the Kyoto Protocol and the requirements of a new treaty.

When a disgruntled customer of a New York City dry cleaner posted his complaints on neighborhood leaflets and created a derogatory Web site, the small business owner decided to fight back, suing for defamation and getting an injunction to keep the man out of his Upper East Side establishment. Entrepreneurial firms that rely on Internet and word-of-mouth referrals could be seriously harmed by angry clients, says Debra Guzov, managing partner of Guzov Ofsink, the law firm representing the dry cleaner. She recently gave some tips to Smart Answers columnist «www.businessweek.com» about how to respond to customer complaints.

Most small business owners have to deal with unhappy customers, including some that bad-mouth the business. Did this situation go farther than that?

Yes. Unfortunately this turned into a kind of extreme situation. The customer took his complaints public by making up leaflets complaining about the company, posting them around the neighborhood, and then posting a Web site about his complaints. It comes up very high in the search results when you Google this company.

Most companies—even the small ones—are being discussed on Internet sites that solicit consumer reviews of products and services. What’s the effect been?

It’s a double-edged sword. The Internet is a wonderful tool for businesses and consumers, and it’s also a very dangerous thing. One negative thing that’s written about a business or a professional can immediately hit 60 million people. Even if it’s not true, once people see it in black and white it suddenly has a lot of importance. Since our whole judicial system is based on free speech, it’s very difficult if not impossible to take something off the Internet once it’s there.

How do you recommend small business owners respond?

In this case, we went to court in August and got an injunction keeping this individual off the property. The remainder of the case, which is for defamation, hasn’t been litigated yet. But in general, situations like this do not have to happen, let alone wind up in court.

The first thing I’d recommend is for the business to post its own Web site or blog, showing how wonderful its service is and including accolades from other customers. This is one way to counteract the negativity of one individual who’s upset.

What can you do when first handling a complaint, before it escalates?

The first step is to investigate any complaint thoroughly and confirm its accuracy. What helps is to have a written-complaint policy in place. If it’s a serious complaint, get it in writing, investigate it promptly, and respond to the customer in writing.

Make sure your employees know about your policy, and that they take it seriously. They may be the ones who have the initial contact with the upset customer. Part of your policy should include a protocol for questioning your employees about a complaint and checking the equipment or other factors that could have contributed to the problem.

You also need to make sure this is an isolated problem. Check with other customers to see if they have had the same trouble. You may find that 50 other people are upset but they didn’t complain; they’ll just go somewhere else. Most of the time, once the issue is explained there is a simple fix to the problem.

What about the old saying: “The customer is always right?”

Every business has to (BW SmallBiz, October/November, 2007) of that, depending on what kind of complaints it’s getting. Customers are interested in knowing that you’re taking their problems seriously because their business is valuable to you. Things generally go well if you stay in touch with the customer, explain what you’re doing about their complaint, and show that you’re striving to do the best you can. That kind of personal interaction really wins a business a lot of points and it makes the customer feel much better, whether the problem was real or perceived.