Did Toyota Plant DOT Driver Error Story?

Oh, nooooo

We thought we were out, but they keep pulling us back in.

If this "allegation" is true, Toyota deserves another thrashing and a stiff fine.

Toyota "planted" the story? Um... is the NHTSA disputing the preliminary findings? Or is Ray LaHood still out to show that the DOT is "tough" under his watch?

What is the story supposed to be getting at?

You're telling us that Toyota is the source of information that says sudden acceleration claims were related to driver error??
Yesterday I was here at this very webpage reading that independent tests BY THE D.O.T are showing all but 1 case can be tied to driver error, to date. ( http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2010/07/feds-say-toyota-owners-confused-brake-with-gas-pedal-in-all-but-one-unintended-acceleration-crash.html )

I don't get it? If i owned a multi-billion dollar worldwide company, and was facing HUGE PR issues and potential class-action lawsuits all because the idiots who drive the cars I make can't figure out left from right then yes i would go on the defensive too and lay blame where it is due. What exactly is so wrong about coming out and saying the truth? Because the truth is a handful of people crashed their cars after planting their foot into the accelerator and then a bunch more jumped on the bad news bandwagon and blew a problem way out of proportion. Who else is going to come out and say that it was Driver Error? Surely not the lawyers representing the "victims"

This is shotty journalism at its best, and yellow-journalism at its worst. Secondly, what is this source you have noted? Just-auto.com ...who is that? I've been following edmunds blogs for two years and read elsewhere too and I have never come across their site or published articles by them.

Weak stuff Mike Magrath....

Toyota did not plant the story.

Toyota said data from the black boxes inspected showed the drivers were pressing onthe throttle and not the brake pedal during the unintended-acceleration events.

Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that NHTSA had found that in many cases of unintended acceleration, drivers were actually pushing on the throttle pedal, not the brake pedal. But NHTSA declined to comment on the report.

Now how did Toyota plant the story?

Audi all over again . . .

?
Wall Street Journal planted the story.
How is Toyota involved in this at all?

For real Toyota sourced news, go to:
http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/default.aspx

As with all manufacturers, they have their own news sites.

Wow, whoever is buying this crap is just as stupid as the ones who went along with their previous allegations against Toyota. This is just sad, and yet people still believe this corporation-controlled mass media garbage.

I think it just means that Toyota was the source of the story to the NYT. If anything it was probably some low level guy at Toyota working with the NHTSA on the investigation and the findings so far showed that it was driver error and he got a little overzealous and leaked it to someone early.

It never said that Toyota fabricated those results or that they released an official statement. Its entirely possible that the NHTSA will conclude the same thing. They just want to make it clear that they have not ruled yet and the statements did not come from them.

Seems to me all of Toyotas "problems" have occured since it's biggest rival for top automaker became government owned.

Now anyone out there old enough to have been through an election must have noticed the way politcians deal with rivals is through attack ads and rumours aimed at destroying their opponents good reputation. Doesn't matter if the rumours are true or not, they plant seeds of doubt and that's all it takes.

Did no one else wonder why Congress held hearings on something that hadn't even been investgated yet? Did you listen to some of it? It was a witch hunt with afternoon talk show witnesses.

I'm not a fan of Toyota cars (boring beyond words) but I can regonize BS when I see it.

firstwagon: "Seems to me all of Toyotas "problems" have occured since it's biggest rival for top automaker became government owned."

Seriously? I didn't realize you were a conspiracy theorist. I find it hard to believe that this has anything to do with government "ownership" of GM.

The reality is that the Feds aren't done with their investigation. Understandably, they're not going to release preliminary conclusions. Whoever caused this story to be released is in the wrong.

The problem is that earlier stories (namely the WSJ story) were attributed to information from the NHTSA. An NHSTA spokesman denied the information for the story came from NHTSA, but from Toyota and that NHTSA is still studying the claims.

This doesn't seem to be anti or pro any manufacturer, it appears to be an error with WSJ reporting (which has, unfortunately, noticeably changed in quality over the last couple of years). The WSJ article cited NHTSA or DOT as the source of the information rather than Toyota. Maybe it is a function of declining news paper revenue and reigning in expenses, but the quality of the WSJ and its reporting are noticeably inferior (but more sensational, even if not accurate) to the product they produced just a few years ago.

"Seriously? I didn't realize you were a conspiracy theorist:"

I'm not but I'm at a loss to explain the lynching Toyota has received over the past year.

The media I can understand. They are a bunch of sheep who jump all over tabloid stories but the action of the government is more questionable.

firstwagon, perhaps the legislature is a bunch of sheep too. They were looking to grab onto something and this fit. I just don't see the feds being organized enough to buy GM and then create this.

It doesn't help that Toyota did give them some ammunition. Not so much in faulty vehicles, but in covering up problems.

"I'm not a fan of Toyota cars (boring beyond words) but I can regonize BS when I see it."

then surely you recognize your last post was full of it.

The government didn't make Toyota owners file complaints.

The government didn't make Toyota make dull vehicles with bland interiors that are falling behind the competition

The government didn't make GM, Ford, Hyundai and others close the gap with Toyota in terms of fuel efficiency and quality

The government isnt responsible for Toyota's lame ad campaigns

The government didn't force Toyota to respond to alleged problems by saying "there isnt a problem, our customers are to blame" for years.

"The media I can understand. They are a bunch of sheep who jump all over tabloid stories but the action of the government is more questionable."

Congress is all about calling hearings to show constituents they are taking action against companies or organizations who are perceived to be putting the public at risk. They do the same to government officials when its convenient. Toyota is a major corporation in the US and they are subject to the same "lynching" as any other large company that makes a mistake and is called before Congress. The auto bailout wasnt even popular in Congress so its a little ridiculous to assert that the government is working in unison to help GM at Toyota's expense. Considering Ford has arguably been the biggest beneficiary of GM/Chrysler getting bailed out your conspiracy theory doesn't hold water. Ford, not GM has performed best since Toyota's problems surfaced. Hyundai has done pretty well too. Did either of them take bailouts? Didn't think so.