CASPER
New member
Congress may well have trouble passing ambitious legislation these days, but they remain masters at summoning indignation. As a piece of political theater, the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday into Toyota's troubles had everything you could hope for: testy exchanges, Clintonian hairsplitting, obnoxious grandstanding, tearful testimony and even multiple references to Marisa Tomei's automotive wizardry in My Cousin Vinny. But the spectacle failed to untangle the knottiest question looming over the proceedings: whether Toyota has definitively pinpointed the problem causing its cars to accelerate out of control.
By hauling the top brass of the world's largest automaker to Capitol Hill for a public flogging, House members got to vent their outrage at Toyota's sclerotic response to the crisis. So far the once revered company has had to recall more than 8 million vehicles for issues ranging from troublesome floor mats to sticky gas pedals to faulty brakes. But several committee members maintained that Toyota has failed to address the possibility that scrambled computers in its cars could be the culprit. In a blistering letter submitted to Toyota's U.S. president James Lentz before the hearing, Representatives Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak wrote, "Our preliminary assessment is that Toyota resisted the possibility that electronic defects could cause safety concerns, relied on a flawed engineering report, and made misleading public statements concerning the adequacy of recent recalls." (See pictures of Toyota's history.)
During his testimony, Lentz acknowledged that "it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good-faith efforts." But he insisted that Toyota has resolved the manufacturing defects responsible for some 2,600 instances of sudden unintended acceleration and 34 deaths since 2000. "We are confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle-control system in our vehicles," Lentz said in his statement, citing extensive testing of the system's fail-safe mechanisms. But under questioning from Waxman, Lentz conceded he was "not totally" certain that Toyota had fixed the problem. To safeguard against further occurrences, the company said it would install brake-override systems in its new North American vehicles by the end of year, and retrofit older models where possible.
When he takes his turn on the hot seat Wednesday, Akio Toyoda, the company's president - and grandson of its founder - will attempt to mollify his detractors with a heavy dose of contrition. "Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly," Toyoda said in a prepared statement that he will read at Wednesday's hearing. "Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick." He also said the company would give greater weight to customer complaints, mandate that managers drive the company's cars and improve communication between the company's international branches.
By hauling the top brass of the world's largest automaker to Capitol Hill for a public flogging, House members got to vent their outrage at Toyota's sclerotic response to the crisis. So far the once revered company has had to recall more than 8 million vehicles for issues ranging from troublesome floor mats to sticky gas pedals to faulty brakes. But several committee members maintained that Toyota has failed to address the possibility that scrambled computers in its cars could be the culprit. In a blistering letter submitted to Toyota's U.S. president James Lentz before the hearing, Representatives Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak wrote, "Our preliminary assessment is that Toyota resisted the possibility that electronic defects could cause safety concerns, relied on a flawed engineering report, and made misleading public statements concerning the adequacy of recent recalls." (See pictures of Toyota's history.)
During his testimony, Lentz acknowledged that "it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our good-faith efforts." But he insisted that Toyota has resolved the manufacturing defects responsible for some 2,600 instances of sudden unintended acceleration and 34 deaths since 2000. "We are confident that no problems exist with the electronic throttle-control system in our vehicles," Lentz said in his statement, citing extensive testing of the system's fail-safe mechanisms. But under questioning from Waxman, Lentz conceded he was "not totally" certain that Toyota had fixed the problem. To safeguard against further occurrences, the company said it would install brake-override systems in its new North American vehicles by the end of year, and retrofit older models where possible.
When he takes his turn on the hot seat Wednesday, Akio Toyoda, the company's president - and grandson of its founder - will attempt to mollify his detractors with a heavy dose of contrition. "Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly," Toyoda said in a prepared statement that he will read at Wednesday's hearing. "Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick." He also said the company would give greater weight to customer complaints, mandate that managers drive the company's cars and improve communication between the company's international branches.
