DETROIT — Three Michigan-based suppliers to Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. were raided today by the FBI, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.
The Journal reports FBI search warrants were carried out on Yazaki North America in Canton, Denso International America Inc., in Southfield and Tokai Rika, also known as Tram, in Plymouth.
Denso confirmed to the Journal that it was inspected by the FBI and said the investigation was based on allegations of violations of antitrust laws.
Denso supplies accelerator pedals for several Toyota vehicles. Toyota also uses pedals from supplier CTS. CTS pedal-equipped Toyotas are subject to the current unintended-acceleration recall, Denso pedal cars are not subject to the recall.
Yazaki Corp. supplies electronic components to Toyota.
Today in Washington is the second day of congressional hearings investigating Toyota's massive recalls. Secretary of State Ray LaHood testified today: "We will get in the weeds on this to find out if electronics are part of the problem," said LaHood. "If we find a problem, we will make sure it's resolved."
Inside Line says: Toyota's troubles are getting uglier by the minute. — Kelly Toepke, News Editor
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hollowtek says:
09:44 PM, 03/01/2010
Wow. FBI has resorted to raiding legitimate factories for funding... I guess that's a good approach as opposed to their former drug raids. They've completely eliminated the chance of getting shot at by semi-auto machine guns while pocketing the most cash possible. This is true genius on the highest heirarchy of lazyness. Those donuts must really taste good upstairs.
tbone85 says:
01:00 PM, 02/28/2010
"Interesting that many who were in the banking sector when it failed had positions in the Clinton Administration and that many more now have positions in the Obama administration."
The banking sector failed because the leadership of many of the large banks failed. When government fails, it's the fault of government. When the manufacturers fails, it's the fault of manufacturing. A lot of people make their living spreading fear, paranoia, and division on both sides of the political tribal line, but that doesn't make their nonsense true. There is no massive cabal of evil boogeymen to be captured in the next Zapruder film. There's only personal responsibility, and those who try to avoid it by playing the political blame game.
cz75 says:
10:51 PM, 02/27/2010
"And I've always wondered who was stupid enough to believe that they are better than people who work in government simply because they work in the private sector. We've had governmental failures, and we've had banking and corporate failures that have impacted the lives of virtually everyone who lives here. People are free to prefer foreign institutions to domestic ones and to make any assumptions they wish. The paraonoid belief in corporate or governmental boogey men is the primary food source for the charlatans that make their living by dividing our nation."
Interesting that many who were in the banking sector when it failed had positions in the Clinton Administration and that many more now have positions in the Obama administration.
tbone85 says:
12:51 PM, 02/26/2010
"I always wondered who among us were stupid enough to believe politicians and their taxpayer-funded promises, and now I have some idea of the answer. I guess I'm going to continue to believe that everyone who gets to elected office does so by lying to the public, are ambitious opportunists, and that many of these people enter public service because they lack the ability of those who aim for the better-paying private sector, hence they must enrich themselves at taxpayer expense to gain parity with those in their perceived cohort. Once again, at least foreign auto companies have a limit as to how much their malfeasance can affect me."
And I've always wondered who was stupid enough to believe that they are better than people who work in government simply because they work in the private sector. We've had governmental failures, and we've had banking and corporate failures that have impacted the lives of virtually everyone who lives here. People are free to prefer foreign institutions to domestic ones and to make any assumptions they wish. The paraonoid belief in corporate or governmental boogey men is the primary food source for the charlatans that make their living by dividing our nation.
mclinford says:
10:29 PM, 02/25/2010
You guys, these weren't raids, it's just a coverup..... What really happened was the their pedals failed while their floor mats jumped up and bit the drivers on the legs and the pedals got stuck, thus ending in a crash into the supplier's buildings.......it all hapened in their Toyota Sienna Hybrid SWAT vans.
cz75 says:
08:45 PM, 02/25/2010
"Probably makes more sense to move to a foreign country where you can trust everyone so much more. Better yet, stay here because there will be no end to the number of bridges that you will buy if you believe that somehow taking a job in the government transforms people to a different species whose sole goal is steal from you and screw you over."
I always wondered who among us were stupid enough to believe politicians and their taxpayer-funded promises, and now I have some idea of the answer. I guess I'm going to continue to believe that everyone who gets to elected office does so by lying to the public, are ambitious opportunists, and that many of these people enter public service because they lack the ability of those who aim for the better-paying private sector, hence they must enrich themselves at taxpayer expense to gain parity with those in their perceived cohort. Once again, at least foreign auto companies have a limit as to how much their malfeasance can affect me.
mediabias says:
11:20 AM, 02/25/2010
A former U.S.-based Toyota executive, Jim Press, broke his silence and said Wednesday that the "root cause" of Toyota's problems was that "the company was hijacked, some years ago, by anti-family, financially oriented pirates. They didn't have the character necessary to maintain a customer-first focus."
tbone85 says:
10:51 AM, 02/25/2010
"I'd rather trust foreign nationals than my own elected officials because the former aren't using my tax dollars to screw me over. I sure don't believe our elected officials are more trustworthy and think these raids are politically-motivated showmanship for the general public to be led into thinking something (useful) is being done."
Probably makes more sense to move to a foreign country where you can trust everyone so much more. Better yet, stay here because there will be no end to the number of bridges that you will buy if you believe that somehow taking a job in the government transforms people to a different species whose sole goal is steal from you and screw you over.
scottyscooter says:
08:53 AM, 02/25/2010
Does anyone know what Denso was doing that the FBI beleives is in violation with the antitrust laws?
aaykay says:
07:52 AM, 02/25/2010
@DCuerpoJr,
Let me be very clear.....I personally have a Honda Fit and a Subaru Tribeca. Not a single Toyota vehicle. However, I do quite a bit of business trips and during those trips, I specifically ask for Toyota vehicles as a defiance of this witchhunt they are being subjected to.
As far as the "dry and boring" and "factual" reporting by Associated press, my point is that I find the "factual" nature of some of the recent articles within MSNBC attributed to the "Associated Press", to be troubling.
Case in point is their deliberately and specifically naming lawmakers (including the senator from W.Va) who may prove to be favorable (or at least not unfavorable) to Toyota, during the hearings. Anybody with some basic sense knows that in every single such hearings, where representatives of automakers are led to the mat, there are lawmakers who are favorable, who in turn moderate the extreme views that come from the others who take strongly unfavorable positions. In fact, when it comes to automakers like GM, Ford and Chrysler, there are tons of lawmakers who are literally beholden to the UAW and make sure that they are not adversely affected by the "hearings" and thus directly and in-directly shield them. I have not seen a single AP article that has named these lawmakers in particular (beholden to the "domestics"), during past "hearings".
The second case in point is the internal Toyota document that was leaked by someone within the Toyota organization, to a supposed AP reporter (coincidentally based out of Detroit). The document stated about saving 100 million USD for the automaker, during the latest recall. Again, anyone with a minimum amount of sense knows that ALL automakers try to save money during recalls.....why single out Toyota for such a blaring headline article ? Isn't this trying to unfairly paint Toyota as some of kind a unique villain, indulging in egregious acts that supposedly no-one else does ?
Those are the types of reporting (specifically emanating out of Detroit) that I find troubling, which lead me to specifically show my support to Toyota by seeking out Toyota vehicles for my rentals during business trips.
Bottomline, the Japanese and German automakers have remained clean from nasty UAW "organising" till date, and I personally like it that way. What these Detroit "newsmen" (who I suspect are UAW union sympathisers or directly being paid for by them) are doing, is to indulge in "news" that is designed to weaken the Japanese/German manufacturers to the point where unions can then make their way into those plants, like they have done in the "domestic" GM/Ford/Chrysler plants. The unions are using their allies in the current US government (with whom I agree with on a lot of fronts), to facilitate that agenda. JMHO, of course.