Remember that girlfriend or boyfriend that was just too clingy for you? Insecure, always seeking approval, or going overboard in trying to make you happy? Or worse yet, one date, and the person treats the relationship as if you're married.

Apparently, Toyota has the same problem -- only it's the one in the relationship being overly clingy, according to Stanley Bing, columnist for Fortune magazine.

He recounts in his latest column, Toyota, I love you. Goodbye, of how the automaker's marketing efforts following his purchase of a RAV4 smothered him.

It's an important reminder that the customer doesn't want a relationship with us. I don't want a birthday card from my dealer, nor do I want to be friends with the dealership on Facebook or follow it on Twitter. And I suspect most customers feel the same.

I would like to get an email from the dealership reminding me it's time for the oil change -- with a coupon or offer. And it would be great if the email included a link to a real-time service scheduling tool.

I wouldn't mind an email letting me know the dealership would like to buy my vehicle for its used vehicle inventory -- provided the dealership included an attractive offer for a new vehicle.

Other than that, why else would a customer want to hear from the dealership?