WASHINGTON — Apologies are starting to come from Toyota, months after safety questions began to be heard about the company's products. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. chief Jim Lentz said, in prepared remarks for the U.S. Congress, that Toyota has "not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect." He is scheduled to testify before a congressional hearing today, the first of two days dedicated to the issue of Toyota safety recalls and the speed with which the company addressed complaints about its products. Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda will testify on Wednesday.
The official statement by Lentz follows by one day an op-ed piece by Toyoda that was published in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. In it, Toyoda writes: "The past several months have been humbling for all of us at Toyota. We are taking this experience to heart, making fundamental changes in the way our company does business."
In contrast to Lentz's more formal apology statement, Toyoda, grandson of the man who made Toyota into an automotive company, waxes personal: "All Toyota vehicles bear my name. When cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I love cars, and...I, more than anyone, want Toyota's cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they drive our vehicles." Toyoda said the automaker intends to "set a new standard for transparency and speed of response on safety issues."
Lentz's statement, however, clearly reiterates Toyota's continued belief that unintended-acceleration issues are not related to Toyota's electronic throttle control system.
Inside Line says: Whether this is the return to Toyota's long-heralded quality commitment or simply a well-worded bunch of damage control can't be certain yet. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Add A Comment »