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Toyota's Problems Far From Over

The lead stories on all three network news broadcasts focused on the start of testimony in the House Energy and Commerce Committee's hearing into safety issues at Toyota, which also generated heavy print and online coverage. Major themes include the emotional impact of the testimony of Toyota drivers who reported incidents of unintended acceleration and statements from Toyota on whether the incidents are caused by mechanical or electronic faults. ABC World News (2/23, lead story, 3:10, Sawyer) reported, "Families made tearful accusations, congressmen hurled questions, and the US president of Toyota shifted his position today on what may be causing those runaway cars." ABC's Brian Ross reported that "Toyota USA President Jim Lentz acknowledged the runaway car problem still had not been fixed." Rep. Henry Waxman: "Do you believe that the recall on the carpet changes and the recall on the sticky pedal will solve the problem of sudden unintended acceleration?" Jim Lentz, Toyota USA President: "Not totally." Ross adds that despite past assurances that there was no electronic cause of the unintended acceleration, "Toyota told Congress that its engineers had replicated the demonstration ABC News broadcast last night" in which professor David Gilbert demonstrated that a short circuit produced unintended acceleration without triggering an "error code" in the car's computer.

        The CBS Evening News (2/23, lead story, 3:00, Couric) also reported on Lentz' "grilling," noting that he "never did say exactly what he thinks is causing the problem and the best he could do was to promise that the company will continue to study the issue." Meanwhile, despite "armed Capitol Hill police officers...nothing could protect him from Rhonda Smith." Rhonda Smith, survivor: "Shame on you, Toyota, for being so greedy." Reporter: "Mrs. Smith told the committee of the night in 2006 when her new Lexus ran away with her and how nothing seemed to slow it down. Not standing on the brakes or throwing it into reverse." This piece also reports Lentz' "less than heartening" response about whether the recalls are guaranteed to fix the problem.

        NBC Nightly News (2/23, lead story, 4:10, Williams) added that Toyota "is in big trouble over safety, over secrets, over what they knew and when they knew it, and what to tell all the Toyota owners about gas pedals and electronics and repairs." NBC reports that Smith testified that she and her husband "say they desperately tried to get Toyota's attention, but were ignored." Eddie Smith, husband: "We were called liars and actually accused of ruining our own brakes and transmission." NBC also focuses on testimony from Gilbert. Rep. Henry Waxman: "How long did it take you to discover this problem? Did you spend billions of dollars? Did you spend years studying it?" David Gilbert, professor: "I discovered it in about 3 1/2 hours." In a second segment, NBC Nightly News (2/23, story 2, 5:35, Williams) broadcast a lengthy portion of Smith's testimony, which "stopped the hearing cold." The piece segues into a discussion on electronic devices supplanting mechanical ones in systems like the accelerator in modern cars. CNBC automotive reporter Phil Lebeau: "Really, it's the main question Congress is trying to get to, are electronics the problem for Toyota?

        The AP (2/24, Raum, Manning) reports that Lentz "conceded" that "massive recalls of popular Toyota cars and trucks still may 'not totally' solve frightening problems of sudden, unintended acceleration," noting that "House members listened in rapt silence Tuesday to the tearful testimony of" Smith before they "pressed" Lentz "on the company's efforts to find and fix the acceleration problems - actions many suggested were too late and too limited. Lentz apologized repeatedly for safety defects...and he acknowledged the changes the company is making probably aren't the end of the story." Several members, the AP reports, rejected "Toyota's insistence that the problems are mechanical, not linked to the vehicles' sophisticated electronics," such as TX6 Rep. Joe Barton, who said, "In my opinion, it's a sham." The AP notes that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified that DOT investigations would focus on "the electronics questions."

        McClatchy (2/24, Douglas) reports that Lentz "insisted...that electronic problems weren't the cause of sudden acceleration problems," though LaHood countered "that the possibility of an electronic problem couldn't be ruled out."

        On the front page of its business section, the New York Times (2/24, B1, Maynard) explains that Toyota has recalled over 8 million vehicles over the acceleration issue, and that Lentz has "previously said the company was certain [the recall] would resolve the issue." The Washington Post (2/24, Whoriskey, Ahrens) also covers the recall.

        Lawmaker criticizes witness for accepting funds from plaintiffs' firms. Law.com (2/24, Ingram) reports, "Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., suggested that Democrats and plaintiffs' lawyers were using the hearing to gather materials that could later be used in litigation. He criticized one witness, auto-safety advocate Sean Kane, for accepting money from five plaintiffs' firms." Kane, "head of the for-profit Massachusetts company Safety Research & Strategies Inc., said the sponsorships did not affect the credibility of his research into Toyota."

        More commentary. An editorial in the New York Times (2/24, A26) rejects Toyota president Akio Toyoda's explanation in his prepared remarks that Toyota's "'priorities became confused' in its quest for growth" as insufficient, arguing that he "owes consumers a complete explanation of why his company failed - for years - to fully respond to complaints about its cars' sudden and uncontrolled acceleration, a problem that may have caused 34 deaths since 2001. He must disclose full details on when the company first learned of the problem, why it waited so long to address it and why it believed that a series of minor and inexpensive fixes would be enough - even after complaints continued to pour in." Moreover, the Times writes, Toyoda must fully divulge his company's communications with NHTSA on the issue, because "Americans have good reason to fear that regulators failed to do their job."

        The Washington Post (2/24) editorializes that Toyoda and NHTSA both bear responsibility and owe consumers explanations. "Reports have portrayed a regulator as too cozy with the regulated. Either NHTSA discounted problems or depended upon the car company to voluntarily take steps to correct them."