Toyota, once reputed to be one of America’s most trusted auto brands, keeps digging itself deeper in trouble as more revelations come out about its bungling of its car recall. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a bigger debacle for an auto maker. The debacle has taken many lives. Hopefully, those killed or injured during the sudden acceleration of their Camrys will ultimately get justice in courts. But if Toyota and other corporations don’t learn from these mistakes, they will just keep happening.
In the latest twist in the convoluted Toyota story, The New York Times wrote Monday that the Japanese auto maker figured it could save $100 million by getting lawmakers to agree to a limited recall for the 2007 Camry and Lexus ES cars.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/business/22toyota.html?hp
That recall was for the same issue that has plagued Toyotas now, namely accelerator pedals getting stuck and cars racing out of control.
The information about the limited recall, part of a presentation, was part of the documents subpoenaed by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, according to The Times.
So far Toyota has recalled more than 8 million cars globally about the issue of accelerators getting stuck. The company has also stopped making and selling the vehicles with suspected accelerator problems.
The $100 million is savings figure was part of a confidential presentation that the president of Toyota’s North American operations, Yoshimi Inaba, made to his staff in Washington.
The car maker said it had gotten several favorable federal rulings regarding a 2007 recall of the Camry and Lexus ES 350 sedans for faulty accelerator pedals. Toyota boasted that by negotiating an equipment recall with the finding of a defect, the company saved $100 million. It also said it had delayed the imposition of federal safety rules impacting other models, saving it millions.
As it turns out, that $100 million savings may not have been such a bargain for Toyota.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
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