Congress has finally worked itself into a full-throated frenzy over the recent series of recalls by the world’s #1 auto producer.  I use the word “finally” because any time Americans are dying as a result of businesses cutting corners, it’s our government’s job to step in quickly and address the problem.  I’ve been a little less than satisfied with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) responses in recent months to these recalls.  It’s almost as if the agency and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wanted to look the other way as Toyota officials fixed its problems on their own; hoping the issue would quickly dissipate from the national conversation.  Yet the longer drivers waited for their Corolla’s to be repaired, the more we learned of other problems along the manufacturer’s complete line of autos.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda will testify before a congressional oversight panel today, prepared to take full responsibility for any safety problems in his company’s vehicles.  His group’s president said as much yesterday, and the company has been in full damage control for weeks now trying to reassure drivers their cars are safe to be on the road.  But they’re not safe.  And no amount of elevator music and soothing announcer talk can mitigate those realities.  People are dying!  Which only leads me to believe there’s full-scale corruption at Toyota where profits trump safety, and cutting corners means the company stays on top.  That’s a false claim of auto hegemony, and Toyota himself should be ashamed.