Commenting Tuesday (February 5) on the Toyota gas pedal situation, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood used an interesting choice of words: “We’re not finished with Toyota…” Herein lies the heart of the matter.
We are familiar with the problems Toyota is having. The company is struggling to replace defective gas pedals on several of its models as fast as it can. As will most company crises of this magnitude, facts detailing how the crisis occurred and how it could have been avoided will disseminate in the coming weeks and months. For now, we must focus on the basics.
Toyota clearly erred in producing cars with the defective gas pedal. This is a serious problem, and Toyota bears the responsibility for resolving it as soon as possible. By all indications, the company is taking drastic steps to do just that. Offering no excuses, Toyota halted sales of affected vehicles while its engineers rapidly developed a solution. In Asian fashion, the company hesitates to defend itself and even apologized to its customers and asked for a second chance. Toyota’s crisis response appears to be responsive and appropriate.
Secretary LaHood’s response to Toyota, however, is suspect. Although it is LaHood’s responsibility to investigate the situation and take appropriate action, talking down the company is clearly inappropriate. In Tuesday’s statement, he added that DOT officials flew to Japan in December to remind the company “about its legal obligations,” as if Toyota was not keenly aware already. Meanwhile, a Congressional hearing is planning to investigate whether Toyota’s U.S. President Jim Lentz misrepresented the recall remedy. Expect CNN to cover this grilling intently. Like LaHood, the Democrats are seizing this opportunity to pile on. As Rahm Emaneul advised, one should “never let a good crisis go to waste.”
There are several reasons why this is happening. First and foremost, because the U.S. government has a controlling interest of GM, it also has the perverse incentive to use government power to beat down its competitors whenever it can. As I warned in a previous blog, the government will do whatever it has to do to make GM profitable again. The Toyota crisis also represents a golden opportunity to remind the public that corporations will cheat them whenever possible if the government doesn’t regulate them heavily. We’ve heard the “capitalism bad-government good” mantra ad infinitum for over a year now.
As we watch this crisis run its course, it’s worth considering two key questions. First, given the fact that vehicle recalls are commonplace, while do Democrats and the DOT feel the need to demonize Toyota in this particular case? Second, if the DOT (or more specifically, the NHTSA) is charged with protecting the safety of the general public, then why is the agency only taking aggressive action now, six model years after the earliest reported problem? Be careful…if your answer to the first question is that Toyota is getting what it deserves because its negligence was so gross and this particular problem is so widespread, then our government should have been on top of this a long time ago. Will the DOT be investigated for delaying action to “save the public?” Certainly not.
Early indications suggest that the problem is primarily with vehicles built in the U.S., not Japan. Regardless, rest assured that interesting facts will emerge in the next few months that shed light on the crisis. Some might not bode well for Toyota, but others will likely detail problems with federal regulators. You can also rest assured that the DOT will blame any shortcomings related to its response on Bush and/or budgetary problems, and will simply ask for more of your tax money to do a better job controlling the evil capitalists in the future.
This demonizing of corporations and capitalism has to stop. Toyota should fix the problem, but the company is not evil. I drive a Toyota and would buy one again. Even if the company was dissolved, I don’t think I could ever buy a GM. Maybe a Ford, but not a GM.
I don’t drive a Toyota, but give ’em their due. They’ve built the best cars over the past 20 years. They’re a good company and they employ lots of American workers. Hold ’em accountable yes, but destroy them no.
heard you on wilkow today-you two are way ahead of the curve this time!!!
I am wondering if these US built Toyota’s are built in right to work states. I imagine the unions are going to spin this into a “see, we are paid more because we are more skilled and don’t build flawed cars.”
Yes they are, and the UAW is already spinning it this way. Toyota has avoided heavy union influence over the years, making it a target of the UAW and the current administration.
Toyota is a good company but not perfect. I wish I could recall many decisions and actions our Federal Government has made but no way for they only cast blame.
I was a long time GM auto owner but never will I ever purchase another GM vehicle. I had a choice between Toyota or Ford. I finally choose the later but would have been pleased to own either and would still consider purchasing a Toyota the next time I am in the market for a new vehicle.