Toyota 'grew too quickly'

Toyota 'grew too quickly'

"I think we lost sight of the customer."

That's James Lentz, the man who runs Toyota Motor sales in North America - he was the Toyota executive who had to step up to the plate on Tuesday to testify before the US congress over safety issues that have caused the recall of millions of Toyota vehicles.
 
The committee also heard startling testimony from Rhonda Smith of Tennessee who told the House Energy and Commerce panel about what it's like to drive a Toyota that accelerates all on its own.
 
"I put the car into all available gears, including neutral but then I put it in reverse and it remains in reverse as the car speeds to over 100mph down the interstate. With the car stopped and both feet still on the brake the motor still revved up and down at 35mph - it would not shut off."
 
As she was speaking in DC, Toyota's overall head, who'll face a similar panel on Wednesday, released a highly personal written apology to the newspapers. Akio Toyoda said:
 
"Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick.
 
"Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First; Safety, Second; Quality, and Third; Volume. These priorities became confused.
 
"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers."
 
After Tuesday's hearing, Lentz told reporters in the lobby of the building where he'd been testifying that big changes were planned for Toyota.
 
"We are going to be a much more transparent company in the future ... so if someone in the company doesn't want to be transparent or if someone in the past has concealed things then yeah maybe they have to go."
 
The government's own car safety watchdog – NHTSA - has also been under fire for a slow response to consumer complaints.

The US transport secretary, Ray LaHood, promised the committee he'd find out what's gone wrong and fix it.
 
Rhonda Smith put it rather more succinctly.
 
"Shame on you Toyota for being so greedy, and shame on you NHTSA for not doing your job." 
 
To be fair, congress has a tough job on its hands. On the one hand it must express anger at Toyota while on the other try not to give the impression that this is a witch hunt for what is a very significant US employer in time of recession.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, while the hearing was still taking place, I drove a Toyota around Washington DC.
 
It had just passed its safety inspection so I felt pretty comfortable behind the wheel as we passed the US Capitol where in a nearby building on Wednesday, a different committee - the House Oversight and Government Reform panel - will hear from the grandson of Toyota's founder, Akio Toyoda.

They'll want to know more about his assertion that Toyota may have tried to grow its business in the US too quickly at the expense of customer safety.