Toyota Recalls: Toyota Goes Gunning for Critics

TORRANCE, California — Toyota will mount a major offensive against its critics on Monday, now that its humiliating experience before Congress is behind it. The Japanese automaker, which has been beset by massive recalls, will host a Webcast technical demonstration for journalists to debunk expert testimony that its electronic throttle control could fail, triggering unintended acceleration.

Toyota intends to duplicate the scenario by David Gilbert, an associate professor of automotive technology at Southern Illinois University. It is turning to Chris Gerdes, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford University, for help. Gerdes "will show that the sequence and nature of manipulated faults in the Gilbert demonstration are completely unrealistic under real-world conditions and can easily be reproduced on a wide range of vehicles made by other manufacturers," said Toyota in a statement.

In the meantime, Congress continues to hammer Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about "post-correction vehicle complaints" in the aftermath of the recalls and the automaker's congressional testimony.

On Friday, a congressional committee said it wants "answers" about recalled Toyota vehicles that were mechanically corrected but continue to experience sudden-acceleration problems.

"According to recent media reports, some Toyota drivers continue to experience unintended-acceleration problems even after corrections are made to their vehicles," wrote Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) of the House committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "We want to ensure that the steps Toyota is taking to correct the sudden-acceleration problem are working."

Among other things, Towns is asking for a monthly report that documents the number of complaints by Toyota drivers who are having trouble with unintended acceleration after their recalled vehicles have been repaired.

Toyota also has until Friday to respond to the committee to allegations that it deliberately withheld records about problems with its vehicles in response to discovery orders in litigation.

As the controversy about its recalls continues to swirl around Toyota, its president on Monday wrapped up meetings with the Japanese prime minister. In the unusual meeting, Akio Toyoda told Japan's prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, that his company is working to regain the trust of customers, according to media reports. The Japanese government has been putting pressure on Toyota to fix its recall problems to avoid any kind of sanctions against the country.

Inside Line says: Toyota takes the gloves off and — with the help of independent experts —goes on the defensive. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent