Page 150 - Toyota Under Fire

THE RECALL CRISIS

Toyota, a Tundra). After the hearing, the NHTSA followed up
with the family that had purchased Smith’s Lexus. The owners
reported no problems with the vehicle. Still, the NHTSA bought
the car for further testing and turned it over to NASA engineers
as part of the thorough investigation of Toyota electronics. NASA
engineers determined that there were no electronic issues with
the Smith vehicle, and the NHTSA stands by its original diagno-
sis of floor mat entrapment.
When Akio Toyoda’s turn to testify before the House Over-
sight and Government Reform Committee came, on February
24, he faced a gauntlet of hostile questioning. His testimony
included apologies to anyone who had been hurt in a crash in-
volving a Toyota and a pledge to better listen to customers and
further improve the quality of Toyota vehicles:
As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and
all the Toyota vehicles bear my name. For me, when the
cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more
than anyone, wish for Toyota’s cars to be safe, and for
our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles. . . .
I intend to further improve on the quality of Toyota ve-
hicles and fulfill our principle of putting the customer
first. You have my personal commitment that Toyota
will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust
of our customers.

Akio Toyoda was in a no-win situation. He knew full well
how extensively Toyota vehicles are tested and that no evidence of
an electronics failure had ever been found in the real world. But
anything that he said in defense of the company’s engineering
would be taken as excuses; those who assumed that Toyota had
major problems that it was trying to hide were hardly likely to

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