Consumers: NHTSA = No Help To Solve Anything

The public is finally getting a first hand look at the way government has been protecting Toyota (and no tellin' who else) instead of Toyota's ripped off customers. A class action lawsuit filed against Toyota a couple of months ago in West Virginia reveals shocking evidence of politically inspired chicanery within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and challenges Toyota's "fixes" for unintended acceleration. Another class action suit has just been filed in Ohio accusing Toyota of fraud.

NHTSA has become little more than a front for corporate interests, and this latest Toyota mess is only the tip of an iceberg. To name a few examples, its a disgrace when over three thousand Toyota customers resort to signing an online petition seeking relief because of oil sludged engines. Its a disgrace when a carmaker is allowed to exclude obviously defective models from recalls, and its a disgrace when the government agency charged with traffic safety turns a deaf ear to a major car club's carefully documented complaints. The list goes on and on ad nauseum, but the NHTSA's negligence regarding unintended acceleration may turn out to be the straw that broke the camel's back. It brings to light one simple question. How many people have been seriously injured or killed because of political influence within the NHTSA?

Here's the real shame of it all. Toyota would still be doing business as usual except for the deaths of four people (including a 13-year-old girl) in a highly publicized 120 mph crash documented on tape when an occupant in an out of control Lexus made a frantic call to 911.