Osahar
Working on the swing
And of course, let's not forget that lovely report that was given to the (then) newly appointed president of Toyota in the US. You know, the one where they outlined how they had avoided having to initiate recalls on anything related to sudden acceleration back in 2007 by just replacing some floor mats - and that they put off any recalls for frame rust on Tacoma & Tundra pickups. And how they delayed new safety rules. And in doing so, had saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars?
Toyota Memo Brags of Saving $100M with "Limited" Recall - US News & World Report
As Toyota officials head to Washington for a series of Congressional hearings this week, a potentially damaging internal document is grabbing headlines. All three TV news networks and hundreds of newspapers nationwide led with the story this weekend, adding to a public relations nightmare for the Japanese automaker.
The Detroit Free Press explains, “Toyota’s leading U.S. executive boasted to the automaker’s Washington staff last summer that they had saved the company more than $100 million by limited any regulatory action on sudden acceleration to a recall of equipment such as floor mats, according to documents turned over to a key U.S. House committee holding hearings on the issue Wednesday.” The News notes, “Earlier this month before the hybrid recall, Toyota executives estimated that the unintended acceleration recalls would cost $2 billion in lost sales and cost of extra parts for repairs.”
The company did not turn over the documents voluntarily. Reuters reports, “The company said on Monday it had received a federal grand jury subpoena for documents related to unintended acceleration that led to the recall of millions of cars in the United States.”
The claim, the Wall Street Journal notes, was made in a presentation for Toyota executives titled “Wins for Toyota Safety Group.” Among the “wins” the document lists are the savings claim, as well as a federal government “decision to close safety investigations of the Toyota Tacoma truck without ordering recalls, and delays to new safety rules that saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars.” The presentation, the Journal speculates, “By linking safety issues to corporate profits, could prompt difficult questions for company executives, including President Akio Toyoda, who is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Oversight Panel.”