Toyota President Apologizes for Crisis

By David Thomas

February 5, 2010

Akio Toyoda, grandson of Toyota’s founder and current president of Toyota Motor Corp., apologized for the current recalls involving some 6 million vehicles in the U.S. alone.

“"I offer my apologies for the worries," he said. "Many customers are wondering whether their cars are OK." He also called the situation a “crisis” for the company.

Industry anaylysts in Japan noted that the news conference was not only hastily put together, but also comes too late in terms of damage control.

Other news items surrounding the Toyota recall this morning include:

Car and Driver, the noted enthusiast car magazine, makes light of the recalls with an image of Harry and Lloyd from the movie “Dumb and Dumber” driving a Camry. It then puts the number of fatalties in context before breaking down the recalls and telling what you can do to stop a runaway car.
The Obama administration adds $4 million to the budget of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to hire 66 new employees to augment its safety investigations. If you’re wondering, that’s $60,606 apiece.
The Associated Press has an interactive graphic that charts the two Toyota recalls in a timeline.