Toyota Boss Apologizes for Recalls

Toyota's president apologized today to customers for the massive recalls and safety concerns about his company's cars. “I deeply regret that I caused concern among so many people,” said Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder. "We will do our utmost to regain the trust of our customers.” Amid reports that the company will announce a big Prius recall, he said the company would announce steps soon regarding a potential brake defect, reports the New York Times.

The company said earlier it's looking into similar brake problems with the Lexus hybrid. At the surprise news conference, called at 9pm Japan time, Toyoda promised to set up a global quality task force and to cooperate fully with US safety authorities. Ford, meanwhile, also said it's looking into trouble with the brakes on its Fusion hybrid, which uses the same type of so-called regenerative brakes as the Toyota hybrids.
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