Agreed, Mr. Williams: it looks like corruption.

Deals with safety regulators savin' Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars, safety investigations blocked, horrific crashes involving out-of-control vehicles, and the list of alarming revelations gets longer by the day.  Now, mainstream media's Armstrong Williams says he's been led to believe there's full-scale corruption at Toyota.  Cover-up.  Killing machines.  Dirty little secrets. 

Its high time someone with Mr. Williams' credentials said so.  'Cause blamin' this scandal on "rapid growth" and "bad PR" is becomin' scandalous itself.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/01/williams-toyotas-deadly-secret/

Is Akio the Prince... or the Godfather?

"Toyota President Akio Toyoda, known as 'the prince' in Japan..."

Prince or Godfather? The jury - federal grand - is still out on that one, but I'm leanin' toward the latter. As the death count increases, evidence points to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of sweetheart deals between Toyota and NHTSA, revolving doors resulting in blocked safety investigations, and the intentional witholding of stuff Toyota was legally required to release in accordance with lawsuits filed against them by crash victims. Big stuff.  Stuff about vehicle design and testing, complete with out of court settlements motivated by a desire to keep incriminating information quiet. And just for good measure, the Securities and Exchange Commission has jumped into the fray, demanding to know more about what Toyota has been tellin' investors. Whew. That's enough to raise anyone's eyebrows.

Equally alarming - now that a few investigations are under way - it seems we're gettin' a daily dose of heretofore unheard of defects, along with downright unnerving accounts of NHTSA's response to consumer complaints. Even Apple's Steve Wozniak got the cold shoulder when he complained about sudden unintended acceleration in his Prius.

With sales a sufferin', Toyota is comin' up with better offers for customers affected by current recalls, and plans to offer some spectacular incentives to attract buyers. Okay. But somehow, this whole thing reminds me of a movie I once saw about a family run business that got its way by makin' offers people just couldn't refuse...

Hey, NHTSA: oil sludge IS a safety issue...

Toyota continues to stonewall customers whose engines have been damaged by oil sludge, and over 3,000 have signed a petition in protest.  Many engines have suddenly seized up in traffic, some on the Interstate.  Yet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration doesn't consider sludged engines to be a safety hazard.  How come? 

As the relationship between Toyota and the NHTSA raises alarming questions of political influence - along with a criminal investigation - it's way past time to bring the oil sludge problem front and center.  Not only is there an obvious safety issue, there's also compelling evidence that certain models were unduly excluded when Toyota was successfully sued in a class action years ago.

Anytime an outrageous number of engines conk out, its not the customers' fault.  And if any car company now has a reputation for blaming customers when things go wrong, its Toyota.  Wouldn't it be nice if the taxpayin' public had recourse to a government agency that looks out for consumers instead of corporations?  C'mon, NHTSA.  Do your job.

Unintended acceleration: NHTSA knew in 2003

Revolving doors twixt NHTSA and Toyota, deals cut with so-called safety regulators savin' Toyota 'bout $100 million, and the wash gets dirtier by the day. Now, State Farm has changed its story regarding when they alerted NHTSA regarding unintended acceleration. Seems it was 2004 instead of 2007. Not to be outdone, ol' NHTSA has fired back that it started looking into things December of '03. Okay...

Question is, after they knew, what did they do? Well for one thing, they slammed the brakes on an investigation into consumer complaints of unintended acceleration in Toyota's 2006 and 2007 Tacoma trucks. And Apple's Steve Wozniak says he didn't get all that warm a reception either when he tried to alert NHTSA to unintended acceleration in his Prius. Actually, there have been horror stories galore from drivers of Toyota's little wonder car, and other models are also accused of takin' off the wrong way. After NHTSA was alerted to the problem, it denied at least four petitions from owners alleging unintended acceleration.

Heckuva job, Nitsuh.

Corolla (!) spotlighted for steering problems

If you drive a 2009 or 2010 Corolla, look out. There have been a barrage of complaints about the steering, of all things.

Frankly, given the news regarding safety defects in various Toyota vehicles, I wouldn't trust any of Toyota's stuff. The Corolla? Say it ain't so. Toyota can't even get it right regarding its best seller?
http://nydailynews.com/money/2010/02/10/2010-02-10_ay_corolla_call_top_car_a_bum_steer.html

Tacoma picks up unintended acceleration

For the kinda pick up you don't want, visit a Toyota dealership. Turns out the Tacoma has had complaints of unintended acceleration. The NHTSA says resources weren't available to investigate a couple of years ago, but they might take a look now. Their willingness to reconsider coincides with highly publicized allegations claimin' political influence within the NHTSA has been protectin' Toyota from all kinds o' stuff. The Tacoma is named after Tacoma, Washington, and that makes for a nice touch, 'cause now the Tacoma brings to mind yet another Washington.

I'll take my taco with a little mustard...
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/80291-regulators-decided-against-toyota-investigation-in-08

Money talks, Congress listens...

And if you ain't got millions and millions of dollars - BILLIONS are even better - well, Bunky, its gonna be kinda hard gettin' heard. Congressional hearings into Toyota? Anyone who thinks Congress has any interest in correcting consumer rip offs involving Toyota and/or the NHTSA better think again.  Instead, it seems our dear elected officials have more of an interest in protecting these two culprits. Its becoming clearer by the minute exactly how Toyota has been able to get away with ignoring most any defect imaginable, including continuing problems with oil sludged engines. No wonder the recent lawsuit filed against Toyota in West Virginia complains that political influence within the NHTSA has been lookin' out for Toyota. Next thing you know, the public is gonna suspect that Toyota's reputation for quality is all mixed up with some pretty rotten stuff.

Did I say political influence?  I thought it kinda strange that several members of Congress were so anxious to hold hearings into Toyota's defective products, its relationship with the NHTSA, etc., and now I realize that "kinda strange" is an understatement. Turns out the politicians conducting the "hearings" have more ties to Toyota and the NHTSA than you could shake the ol' proverbial stick at.

I guess you could say actions - such as slatherin' grease on the right palms - do indeed speak louder than words. Yessir, a big enough glob of that ol' filthy lucre even tends to drown out those screams recorded on a 911 tape of four innocent people, including a 13-year-old girl, as they headed for fiery deaths at 120 mph in a runaway Lexus.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_toyota_s_friends