The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) still cannot determine what caused the unintended acceleration of a Toyota Prius last week in which a police officer was able to assist in bringing the vehicle to a stop without injury to anyone. In fact, when Members of Congress grilled Toyota representatives in several hearings, one of the reoccurring questions from Members was: Why didn’t you address the problem sooner. A legitimate question given the volume of complaints over the years but there are some trends that may shed light into what …
Toyota has seen better months than February when the automaker recalled millions of vehicles amidst a sticky pedal and unintended acceleration problem that led to sales decline of 8.7 percent. To win back the consumer, Toyota offered incentives including extended warrantees, auto maintenance plans and zero percent financing, and it appears to be working as Toyota sales in the United States are up 47 percent for the first 8 days of March compared to last year. David Strickland, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), spoke in front …
Toyota’s Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda testified yesterday about safety and quality control after his company recalled 8.5 million cars and trucks worldwide – 6 million in the United States. A deeply remorseful Toyoda feared the company may have been growing too quickly and outlined how the company would move forward with the recall. Earlier testimony included an anecdote from Lexus owner Rhonda Smith, who avoided catastrophe after her vehicle unexpectedly sped to 100 miles per hour, but she managed to eventually pull over. Smith berated Toyota and the National …
