Toyota Chief Apologizes as Quality Crisis Escalates
Feb 8th, 2010 • Posted in: NewsAmong the ethical issues: whether the company failed to respond adequately to problem and whether people should continue to drive possibly dangerous vehicles
VARIOUS DATELINES
Toyota’s chief last week formally apologized for the problems confronted by owners of his company’s vehicles, saying he would lead a special committee to improve quality control.
“I am deeply sorry about the inconvenience and concern caused to our customers and others,” said Akio Toyoda at the company’s headquarters in Nagoya, Japan, reports the Los Angeles Times. “We, the ones supposed to relate to people the attractiveness of automobiles, have instead imparted on them worry. I regret this more than anything.”
Toyota has lost more than a fifth of its market value since the avalanche of recalls began, according to the Financial Times.
At least two ethical questions were part of the coverage of the Toyota crisis: whether the company was slow to react to warning signs, and the implications of continuing to drive vehicles that may be unsafe.
Toyota has rejected accusations that it ignored or responded slowly to numerous reports of sudden unintended acceleration, reports the Detroit News. But a former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told the News that the agency had asked Toyota about the issue as far back as 2007 and was told that the problem was related to floor mats.
The latest incidents appear related to mechanisms that cause the pedals not to spring back properly, according to the report.
Another controversy erupted after U.S. Transportation secretary Ray LaHood initially said, “My advice to anyone who owns one of these vehicles is stop driving it, and take it to the Toyota dealership because they believe they have the fix for it.”
He later backtracked in the face of headlines proclaiming he warned Toyota owners not to drive the cars at all, according to CBS News, saying he meant that owners should bring their cars into a dealership as soon as possible to have them fixed.
Writes CBSNews.com editor in chief Daniel Farber: “Clearly, the odds of the Toyota accelerator problem causing irrevocable harm are small. But with foreknowledge of a potentially serious problem, expecting people to drive the vehicle is a dicey proposition. It’s similar to asking a person to fly even if they know that some planes in an airline fleet have a potential fatal flaw that could lead to injury or death — but the probability is small so they should just take their chances.”
Sources: Los Angeles Times, Feb. 5 — CBS News, Feb. 4 — Guardian, Feb. 3 — Detroit News, Feb. 3.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Feb. 1 — Related Newsline story, Jan. 4 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 14, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 31, 2009 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 24, 2009.
Print This Story
Email This Story
