The Toyota Scandal

American policy concerning Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has all the earmarks of a scandal. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood drummed the message into the American consciousness that Toyotas were unsafe. Now he has to back down. Bad-mouthing Toyota was just American protectionism.

Secretary LaHood accused Toyota of purposely concealing the cause of uncontrollable acceleration in its products and that this cover-up led to accidents in the United States.

LaHood said he suspected the complex electronics used in modern automobiles to be the cause, a suspicion he made no bones about loudly trumpeting publicly. Toyota was forced to answer embarrassing questions and pay fines. Its sales fell — and that in the midst of an economic crisis.

This week it was an entirely different story. In a few cases, floor mats and sticking accelerator pedals were found to be the culprits, and LaHood was forced to admit that the electronic systems worked flawlessly, as determined by a study carried out by NASA scientists.

The truth is that many drivers involved in emergency situations simply mistook the accelerator for the brake pedal, something that has happened to a lot of people. But only in America would manufacturers be held responsible and condemned without any proof. That’s more than embarrassing, and not just for Mr. LaHood.