Toyota's Reputation... Tarnished for no Reason?

As we all know, Toyota's safety record has been trashed, but never mind that, the whole company's name has been trashed. Toyota has recalled about 8.5 million vehicles worldwide since November to resolve the floor-mat interference and sticking pedal problems. With the words "sudden acceleration" and "sticky-pedals" ringing in Toyota's ear, they are desperately trying to resolve this issue. But in recent turn of events, investigations by the automaker, pointed to a different cause.

So although we know the defective floor mats is a confirmed hazardous defect. What about the stuck accelerator bit? Heres the interesting part... we all know that in an airplane there is a device that records all the events happening to and on the planes called black boxes. Black Boxes record crucial data that can be reviewed in an event if there is a crash. Surprisingly a lot of the newer cars today on the road have a similar device, its called an event data recorders, or EDRs. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says it has long advocated requiring car makers to use EDRs because they would aid safety research. Data recorders are typically part of a vehicle’s airbag system or engine-control system. EDRs, by regulation, record at least 15 types of crash data including pre-crash speed, throttle and brake position, seat belt use and airbag deployment times.

Toyota reviewed the data and pointed to human error in most instances when a vehicle crashed while the driver was trying to brake. Nearly all of the crashes in those instances resulted from “pedal misapplication,” meaning the driver mistakenly pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. A Toyota spokesman, Mike Michels said, "No evidence of malfunctioning electronic throttle systems has been found. We’re not implying that everything is driver error, absolutely not. But in instances where they reported having their foot on the brake pedal, there is very clear evidence that this is pedal misapplication.”

The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported Tuesday that federal transportation officials had examined event data recorders from dozens of Toyota vehicles and had found open throttles and no evidence of braking. Some media outlets referred to the report as vindication of Toyota, whose supporters had argued that reports of the problems were overblown.

In the end, what does this mean for the automaker? It has to make smart choices and plan each move carefully, review everything and make sure they don't make the same mistake again. If not, it can spell doom for the company.