March 2011

Thumbs Up for Toyota

At a recent press conference at the department’s headquarters, Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, announced that after an extensive investigation it is safe to conclude that sticky accelerator pedals and trapped floor mats were to blame for problems leading up to the Toyota recalls. The fact that Toyota’s problems were mechanical and not electrical came as great news for the brand. Even though Toyota dealers never lost faith in their product, this news was positive reinforcement. LaHood’s press conference allows the Toyota brand to put recalls in the past and continue their manufacturing of quality, safe Lexus and Toyota vehicles.

LaHood is so confident in the brand’s safety he mentioned that he recently recommended that his daughter purchase a Toyota Sienna. A pretty big endorsement coming from the transportation secretary himself. His daughter followed his recommendation and is now driving a Toyota Sienna. You could be driving one too :)

In case you are still skeptical, LaHood’s confidence in the Toyota brand comes with a great deal of support. As a follow up to Toyota’s recalls, Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and NASA investigated the situation through a ten month, extensive study. Their findings helped them to conclude that there is no available proof that electronic glitches or computer problems led to unintended acceleration in Toyota’s vehicles. In fact, they believe that some of the problems may have been due to human error on the driver’s part.

To avoid similar future problems, NHTSA may propose mandatory brake override systems on all vehicles. The good news? Toyota is prepared.  They are already making this system standard on all their new vehicles. Additionally, the brand has built a $50 million safety center in Michigan, showing that they are truly dedicated to the safety of their customers.