Hysteria: A federal report indicates that the runaway Toyota problem was mainly driver error, not a manufacturing or design issue. So when do the official government and media apologies begin?
Toyota is now thought of as the company that makes cars that suddenly and unintentionally accelerate and bolt out of control. Under great pressure, it has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles since last fall. Accelerator pedals and floor mats, which are thought to jam accelerators — one mat was apparently responsible for the San Diego accident that caused four deaths — were replaced on many of the recalled autos.
In recent years, there have been roughly 3,000 complaints about sudden acceleration in Toyotas. More than 100 plaintiffs have filed lawsuits against the company, and the government has blamed 93 deaths on the alleged accelerator problem.
But the blame might have been affixed prematurely. Early findings of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) analysis of Toyotas that were supposedly wrecked due to sudden unintended acceleration point to driver error. Onboard data recorders from a dozen cars show that accelerators were open and there was no braking when the cars crashed.
Toyota isn't the first car to be blamed for taking lives through sudden unintended acceleration.
In the mid-1980s, the Audi 5000 was known as a killing machine.
"Moms in runaway Audi 5000s were mowing down their little kids in the driveway and pinning granny against the far garage wall," Paul Niedermeyer, managing editor of The Truth About Cars blog, colorfully recalled three years ago.
But, as Niedermeyer noted, the German automaker was cleared.
The same NHTSA that appears to be uncovering the real cause of Toyota's problem found that Audi 5000 drivers were pressing the gas instead of the brake.
As it was with Audi, the rush to judgment against Toyota has been ugly. The government, owner of Toyota's domestic rivals GM and Chrysler, played the role of public protector, fining the Japanese company $16.4 million, telling the public, as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood did, to keep Toyotas off the road, and hauling CEO Akio Toyoda into a humiliating congressional inquisition.
In search of sensationalism, the media went along for the ride.
If NHTSA's probe leads to a full exoneration for Toyota, will these groups apologize for the mugging? Will they help Toyota restore its name? Unlikely. They've moved on, looking for the next company to take down and vilify for its success.
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