Toyota to America: "F" You

They smile, they bow, they scrape, they issue half-hearted apologies ; but the Toyota Motor Corporation, its officers and employees are guilty ( in my belief) of negligently reckless homicide and should be criminally charged. They knew for over a year, that it was not a problem with floor mats or that Americans were too incompetent or ignorant to install the mats correctly, but a design/manufacturing flaw in their widely sold automobiles. People died, that's right they died just as if the feckless executives in Toyota City has pulled out a gun and shot them. Even the Wall Street Journal, typically the staunch supporter of "Big Corporations" carried a fairly critical article about Toyota's actions. (Wall Street Journal Feb. 10, 2010).

We must call on the Attorneys General of the States where the deaths occurred and the States where Toyota produced these "deathmobiles" to begin the process to indict both the company and officers of Toyota, not only here but those officers living in Japan. Civil suits and fines from the government are not enough. The word must go out that corporations cannot continue killing their customers.

They wrote that the atmosphere of secrecy of Toyota and communications breakdowns between the US unit and the home office in Japan were partially to blame. To this lame excuse, the answer should and must be, BULL! Perhaps if they had only one American as an executive at the home office in Japan he or she might have raised the alarm as fellow Americans were dying in their vehicles. But, no, the Japanese once again show their contempt for Americans and their abilities. No American is "worthy" of being at the top in Japan. Even though, the US represents their largest customer. There was another time in history about sixty years ago when the Japanese underestimated the intelligence, skill,bravery and anger of the American people; we all know the terrible price Japan paid for that error in judgement.

The WSJ article in today's issue does a great job in giving the history and time line of this "recall" issue. All of those who care about the deaths of Innocent customers should read it.Here is a link to the story: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-business-us.html


Toyota had several meetings with officials from the US National Highway Traffic and Safety Commission (NHTSA). NHTSA implored them to get moving on recognizing and correcting the problems. The role of the NHTSA in this debacle needs some investigating too. They went too easy, accepted too much footdragging and were too politically correct. It was only after the NHTSA threatened the ultimate sanction of ordering Toyota to cease selling its cars, that TMC "voluntarily" shut down production to concentrate 100 percent on the vehicles already out there.

Now come the weak apologies, complete with a TV Commercial touting the 50 year history of Toyota in America and their care and concern for their customers. Where was that care and concern for Americans dying in the cars designed, built and distributed by this automotive giant?

The real issue here is an unpleasant truth, the hubris of large corporations that put the desire for profit and growth above the very lives of their customers. It reminds one of a case from years ago (one we hoped would not be repeated) involving the Ford Motor Company. The issue here was a defect in the design and construction of the gas tank in the Ford Pinto. If the Pinto was hit from behind, with sufficient force,the hapless passengers died a fiery death from the explosion of the gasoline. Through the American legal process, attorneys for the families and survivors, found out that Ford knew of the problem for some time and made the conscious decision to DO NOTHING in order to save a few dollars in the production of the vehicle. Ford Motor Company has never fully recovered from that crime.

There are many cases now pending in the civil courts of America against Toyota, let us prevail upon those juries to award vast sums to the estates of those that perished. You can't make an entity feel bad but you can cripple it with massive punitive awards.

Let us hope that we can reach out to the Japanese people and government to assist us in the investigation and prosecution of the people responsible for these recent deaths. The families of those that died at the hands of the corporate executives deserve nothing less.