Toyota, NHTSA clashed early

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Detroit News

Documents show agency had history of questioning safety
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Washington -- Federal regulators raised serious questions about Toyota Motor Corp.'s handling of safety matters far earlier than has been disclosed.

New documents obtained by The Detroit News under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the urgency of federal regulators to meet with senior officials of the Japanese automaker.

"The problem is (Toyota's) repeated failure to respond quickly and properly to a host of problems that have occurred on U.S. highways," Ezana Wondimneh, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's international division, said in a November memo outlining why top NHTSA officials needed to go to Japan. The memo was sent to Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari.

NHTSA acting chief Ron Medford's mission "is to communicate the gravity of the situation" to Toyota, Wondimneh wrote.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100715/AUTO01/7150345/1148/auto01/Toyota--NHTSA-clashed-early#ixzz0tkMsrEKe




Read more: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100715/AUTO01/7150345/1148/auto01/Toyota--NHTSA-clashed-early

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FULL story and more on this topic at link:

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Autos-Toyota


From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100715/AUTO01/7150345/1148/auto01/Toyota--NHTSA-clashed-early#ixzz0tkNJ4XGP

[madokie]

1. How anyone can look at, drive or compare a toyota to a ford

and then buy a toyota is beyond my understanding. Ford has a 59% owner loyalty and theres a reason for that.

[Heywood J]

2. They like the price Ford put on their lives?

$200,725, if memory serves. I buy domestic, but not Ford.