Toyota

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Feds: NY Prius Crash Driver Never Stepped on Brake

Local officials say data are inconclusive

(Newser) - Computer data from a Toyota Prius that crashed in New York shows that at the time of the accident the driver was not applying the brakes, safety officials say. But local police say the evidence is inconclusive and driver error has not been established. "For any agency to release...

Runaway Prius Driver's Account 'Inconsistent': Toyota

James Skies' car was operating properly, automaker says

(Newser) - Toyota is casting doubt on a California man's claim that his Prius sped out of control, saying the report is inconsistent with the findings of the company's preliminary investigation. The automaker said today the accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally and a backup safety system worked...

Feds Question 'Runaway Prius' Driver's Story

Investigators can't replicate incident; brake-wear patterns inconsistent

(Newser) - Investigators have not been able to replicate the incident of uncontrolled acceleration a Prius driver says he experienced last week, and the condition of the car's brakes is raising suspicions with federal investigators and Toyota engineers, the Wall Street Journal reports. James Sikes said he lost control of his car...

Older Drivers May Be to Blame, Not Toyota
Older Drivers May Be to Blame, Not Toyota
analysis
Mar 13, 2010 4:22 PM CST

Older Drivers May Be to Blame, Not Toyota

Toyota malfeasance may actually be 'driver errors' by senior citizens

(Newser) - The knock against Toyota goes something like this: Greedy executives ignored evidence of serious acceleration problems, putting profit ahead of their customers' lives. "Maybe so, but I doubt it," writes Megan McArdle. Building on the work of Ted Frank at the Washington Examiner , she took a closer look...

Police Help Stop 90mph Runaway Prius

Toyota is sending an investigator

(Newser) - In yet another runaway Toyota incident, a man called 911 yesterday when his 2008 Prius went out of control on Interstate 8 near San Diego, hitting 90mph and refusing to decelerate. When driver James Sikes tried to pass another car, he says the gas pedal “jumped and it just...

Toyota Workers Warned of Safety Lapses in 2006

Automaker ignored the signs leading up to crisis

(Newser) - The heads of a major Japanese Toyota union sent the company a memo in 2006 warning company executives that they were taking dangerous safety and quality shortcuts in their rush to meet the growing US demand for small, fuel-efficient vehicles. The letter noted that the company had recalled 5 million...

Solve Toyota's Acceleration Problem, Win a Cool $1M

Edmunds.com notes that Toyota itself isn't sure if problem's really fixed

(Newser) - Edmunds.com is offering a $1 million prize for anyone who can replicate, diagnose, and fix Toyota’s unintended acceleration problem. Sure, Toyota’s US president told Congress that the issue was fully resolved, but the auto information site isn’t convinced. “He said himself that he’s not...

GOP Senator: Ban Japanese Cars

Mike Johanns sees chance to settle score for Japan ban on US beef

(Newser) - One Nebraska Republican has a simple solution to the Toyota recall scandal: Ban all auto imports from Japan. Sen. Mike Johanns, a former agriculture secretary, called the ban a chance to even the score for Japan's multi-year ban on US beef based on fears of mad cow disease. "I...

Family of Cop Killed in Crash Sues Toyota

Mark Saylor's death put focus on Toyota safety

(Newser) - Relatives of the California Highway Patrol officer whose death sparked the first wave of Toyota recalls are taking the automaker to court. Mark Saylor was killed along with his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law when his Lexus ES350 was involved in a high-speed crash on a freeway last summer. The relatives...

US May Require Brake Override Systems

Obama administration 'looking at it,' LaHood says

(Newser) - The Obama administration is considering ordering automakers to install brake override systems in their new cars, Ray LaHood told the Senate Commerce Committee today. “We’re looking at it,” the transportation secretary said, in a hearing on the runaway Toyota problem. “We think it is a good...

Wrong Numbers Help 'Crammers' Steal Millions

Telecoms turn a blind eye, critics say

(Newser) - A major FTC case is exposing criminals who use the obscurity of telephone billing to steal millions. A practice known as "cramming" takes advantage of misdials—a recent scheme used a number accidentally misprinted in a newspaper for a Toyota recall hotline—to tack on charges to phone bills....

Toyota Mess Is the Price We Pay for a Modern World
Toyota Mess Is the Price
We Pay for a Modern World
charles krauthammer
Feb 26, 2010 12:20 PM CST

Toyota Mess Is the Price We Pay for a Modern World

Our industrial marvels are both 'wondrous' and lethal

(Newser) - Charles Krauthammer doesn't want to let Toyota off the hook for its dangerous cars, but he sees such "wondrous and potentially lethal" products as inseparable from the modern world. Problems are inevitable, and if we over-react and shut down all the factories over every complaint, "we'd have no...

Woman's 6-Mile Terror Ride to Open Toyota Hearings

Pressure mounts on Toyota as House investigation kicks off

(Newser) - A House panel probing acceleration problems with Toyota vehicles will begin hearing testimony today from safety experts, Toyota's American president, and a Tennessee woman who says her Lexus suddenly zoomed to 100 miles per hour while she was driving on an interstate, the AP reports. Rhonda Smith says the emergency...

'Humbled' Toyota Prez: We're Going Back to Basics

Akio Toyoda promises to make company a safety leader again

(Newser) - Toyota's president brushes up on his apologizing skills ahead of tomorrow's House testimony and outlines the steps the company is taking to become a leader in automotive safety in today's Wall Street Journal. Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, admits that the company has been slow to address customers'...

Feds Subpoena Toyota
 Feds Subpoena Toyota 
Feb 22, 2010 2:45 PM CST

Feds Subpoena Toyota

LA, NY juries may begin criminal investigations into automaker

(Newser) - Toyota may be able to add criminal investigations to its growing list of woes: Federal authorities have hit the automaker with subpoenas over the recently reported safety issues with its vehicles. A New York grand jury and the Los Angeles office of the SEC requested information about the problems of...

Toyota Snowed Regulators to Save $100M

Congress to grill Toyoda over internal document

(Newser) - For Toyota's president the timing couldn't be worse. The day before Akio Toyoda prepares to testify before congress on his safety-riddled products, an internal memo has surfaced in which the firm touts its savings by getting regulators to agree to a cheap but ineffective recall. The 2009 document claims Toyota...

Toyota Armed With Lobbyists for DC Showdown
Toyota Armed With Lobbyists for DC Showdown
donations won't hurt either
Feb 22, 2010 4:39 AM CST

Toyota Armed With Lobbyists for DC Showdown

40% of panel members have taken money from company

(Newser) - Toyota won't be alone as it testifies before Congress: The automaker brings with it an army of lobbyists and the potential goodwill generated by years of targeted political giving. The 32 lobbyists already working on the company's behalf will be joined by experts from two recently hired lobbying firms. They'll...

Toyota Chief Will Appear Before Congress After All

Akia Toyoda accepts formal invitation from congressman

(Newser) - Toyota's president has changed his mind and will appear before a House committee to answer questions about his company's recent troubles. The switch by Akio Toyoda came after he received a formal invitation from Rep. Edolphus Towns, reports Bloomberg . "I look forward to speaking directly with Congress and the...

Toyota Now Weighing Corolla Recall
Toyota Now Weighing
Corolla Recall
Feb 17, 2010 6:10 AM CST

Toyota Now Weighing Corolla Recall

Company mulls yet another callback, this time for steering

(Newser) - In a burgeoning Toyota recall crisis, the car maker is now considering calling back Corollas because of a problem with power steering. Meanwhile, the company president is refusing to attend the upcoming US Congressional hearing on complaints about the Corolla. "Our officials in the US will amply answer the...

Toyotas Linked to 34 Deaths Since 2000

Total complaints grow by 1,000 in one week

(Newser) - Complaints of deaths connected to sudden acceleration in Toyota vehicles has surged in recent weeks, with the alleged death toll since 2000 reaching 34, according to new data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While the government typically receives a surge in complaints following a recall, reports about...

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