Toyota became the world's largest automaker in two thousand eight. But after
years of building loyalty, the Japanese company may have put its quality brand
name at risk, at least temporarily.
Toyota is recalling millions of cars and
trucks around the world because of cases where vehicles have sped up
unexpectedly. Last August, a driver in California was unable to stop. The crash
killed him and three of his family members.
A technician repairs an
accelerator pedal for a 2010 Corolla at McInerney Toyota in Clinton Township,
Michigan Toyota says the problem is rare and caused by accelerator pedals
becoming stuck open. On January twenty-sixth, the company suspended sales of
eight of its top-selling vehicles in the United States, its largest market.
Toyota dealers have been receiving parts to make repairs.
General Motors and
Ford both reported increased sales in January. But Toyota sales in the United
States have fallen, and so has its stock price. Toyota says it expects costs and
lost sales from its recent safety recalls to total two billion dollars by the
end of March.
Louis Lataif, who began his career as a impact crusher
seller, spent twenty-seven years in the car industry at Ford. Now he is dean of
the School of Management at Boston University.
A recall late last year
involved floor mats that Toyota said could cause the accelerator to get stuck.
One of the vehicles in the floor mat recall was the Prius, the world's top
selling hybrid.
Now American officials are investigating the brake system on
the twenty ten Prius. The Transportation Department says it has received more
than one hundred twenty reports, including reports of four crashes.
Toyota
says it found a software problem that could briefly affect the "feel" of the
anti-lock brakes on rough or slippery roads. It says it fixed the brake problem
last month.
But a growing number of legal cases claim Toyota knew for a long
time about the sudden acceleration issue with other vehicles. The problem
reportedly has led to more than eight hundred crashes and nineteen deaths in the
past ten years.
Greg Bonner is a marketing professor at Villanova
University. He says to regain trust, Toyota will have to make public everything
it knows about the problems and show it accepts responsibility.
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