The true surprise

[ MARCH 4, 2010 – OKALHOMA CITY, OK ] - of all the ills that have plagued the auto industry during the past two years, how many have truly surprised anyone? Though government ownership had not been roundly anticipated, GM and Chrysler had been on the verge of meltdown, bleeding money for years and chained to truck and SUV lines that were bound to become obsolete.

No, the true surprise was not the failure of two of the Detroit Three but the story of Toyota's sudden unintended acceleration claims. The undisputed imperial wizard of automotive perfection in mass production and design of consumer vehicles, Toyota has recently coughed up a fur ball of unprecedented proportions.

As early as 2002, Toyota began to receive an increased number of reports of sudden unintended acceleration. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in 2004 began investigating the possibility that defects in electronic controls could be responsible for these incidents. No defect was found; the investigation was closed.

Yet, the sudden unintended acceleration complaints continued, and in early 2007, NHTSA opened an investigation into pedal entrapment concerns – an investigation that was upgraded later that year, two weeks after a fatal Camry crash. By the end of 2007, the agency had concluded its investigation, determining the floor mat was to blame in the crash. The ensuing recall involved 55,000 floor mats.

Yet (you guessed it), the reports of sudden unintended acceleration continued. In 2008 there was another unwanted acceleration investigation by NHTSA, resulting in another Toyota floor mat recall.

Fast forward to 2009: another fatal accident, another investigation, and another finding that the floor mat may have contributed to the crash. Recalls continued into 2010 and expanded to address concerns with the design of both the floor mat and acceleration pedal. The initial recall of 3.8 million vehicles – a dubious record-high for Toyota – continued to expand.

Today, the number of recalled Toyotas hovers around 8.5 million, the largest recall in U.S. history.

It is interesting that NHTSA found that simply stomping on the brake pedal would not stop a car that was accelerating because of a stuck pedal. Other methods of halting a vehicle – such as simply turning off the engine – were not sufficiently intuitive.

What now for Oklahoma Toyota owners? Visit www.toyota.com/recall, and if your car is part of the recall, follow the instructions. Also helpful to know: Since the congressional evisceration of Toyota President Akio Toyoda, the company has been a bit more accommodating. Some dealerships have even been willing to pickup the recalled vehicle for you; it can't hurt to ask.

For the litigious among you, at least one class action has already been filed in federal court in Oklahoma City on behalf of all owners of affected vehicles. It seeks, among other things, damages for the diminished values of the cars. Individual lawsuits have and will continue to be filed.

But if you really want to hit Toyota where it hurts, but another make of car. No doubt GM, Ford and Chrysler are hoping to benefit from Toyota's tribulations.

Perhaps slightly overstated, it seems that alternative rockers Spoon may have seen it coming fro Toyota, when it warned last year, "You got no time for the messenger / you got no regard for the thing you don't understand / you got no fear of the underdog / that's why you will not survive."