Toyota Motor Corp. agreed Monday to pay a record $16.4 million fine for failing to properly notify federal authorities about
a dangerous accelerator pedal defect. The automaker still denies the government's
allegation that it violated the law.
Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to agree to a fine of more than $16 million on for failing to promptly report to the government
problems with sticking gas pedals on its vehicles, a Transportation Department official said.
Claims by Toyota in internal documents that it saved money by obtaining a limited recall from regulators in 2007 create an
even bigger challenge for the automaker's president when he testifies before U.S. lawmakers this week over quality and
safety lapses.
State official for the carmaker says the embattled company, in the midst of massive recalls, is eager show off the Princeton
factory
and help visitors understand the complexity of auto manufacturing.
Facing intense scrutiny from the federal government, Toyota is trying a salt-of-the-earth offensive, paying for a group of
its U.S. employees to talk with lawmakers. At least one is from Toyota’s plant in Princeton, Ind.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and three other governors of states with Toyota plants are calling on Congress to be fair to the
automaker in hearings concerning safety recalls.
After a week-long shutdown for the company to repair defective gas pedals, the factory near Princeton was back to “business
as usual” when its lines restarted on Monday.
Toyota said Sunday it will soon announce a plan for dealing with braking problems in its Prius hybrid amid reports that the
world’s largest automaker plans to issue a recall for the latest model of the vehicle in Japan.
Beyond the expected plunge for troubled Toyota, U.S. car sales sailed along nicely in January, including a 24 percent surge
for Ford and 14 percent gain for GM.
Toyota Motor Corp. is telling dealers that they should get parts to fix sticky gas pedals later this week. But the 4.2 million
customers affected by a large recall may have to wait a while for repairs.
Recalled Toyotas have been yanked from used-vehicle auction blocks, but resale values should be protected if Toyota handles
the
recall with “transparency,” according to a local analyst.
Like most companies that make thousands of parts in automobiles, Elkhart-based CTS Corp. was virtually unknown to the average
car buyer. That was until its gas pedal was blamed for big problems with some very popular cars.
No immediate layoffs are planned at the two Indiana factories that build Toyota models included in the company’s production
halt as it looks to fix sticking gas pedals.
Toyota is halting production at six North American car-assembly plants—including Indiana facilities in Princeton and
Lafayette—beginning the week of Feb. 1 to fix gas pedals that could stick and cause acceleration without warning.
Toyota isn’t about to grow complacent like GM did in the ’60s, an analyst says.
Indiana’s automotive manufacturing employment for the last decade peaked at 142,000 in 1999. Since then, the sector has shed
20,300 jobs-a staggering one-seventh of its total. Another 5,220 are slated to be cut soon. And there’s no end in sight.
