As a proud driver of a Toyota, when I first heard about the recall, I was pretty concerned firstly about safety, but after discovering that my vehicle was not involved, I began to worry about the reputation of my beloved and soon-to-be tarnished brand. Now, with further research, I feel the likelihood of getting hit by lightning twice might be higher than having an unsafe Toyota. Okay, obviously the manufacturer was alarmed enough about safety to have the largest recall in its 50-year history, but the fact that this has happened proves to me that they care and are willing to take a big hit to make things right. The real issue for me was about the coincidence that this would happen now, while our American automotive industry is already suffering. It’s ironic that a government agency, NHTSA, is identifying all the Toyota incidents after the government became GM’s owner, which happens to be Toyota’s primary competitor. NHTSA’s website also says the CTS accelerator pedal is not only used for Toyotas, but also many other vehicles, specifically GM’s Pontiac Vibe. Fremont’s own Nummi plant is where GM and Toyotas are made together using this accelerator pedal. Yet we’re not hearing too much about them. Honda also uses the pedal. Really, the bigger issue should not be about pointing fingers to a specific car company but about how to determine if your particular accelerator pedal, whether you drive a Toyota or not, is an affected pedal. It’s nice to see that despite the recall, Toyota seems to be doing a lot to make things right for its customers. Not only did they stop production immediately, but also they mailed letters to owners of affected vehicles and they have extended dealership hours to accommodate for the repairs, some even to 24 hours. They are not hiding. Information about the recall is right on the company’s homepage. GM’s online recall information can only be found after clicking on the news link and picking the corresponding headline on their website. Spending hours in research to determine which car companies CTS makes its pedals for might become exhausting. Their website isn’t clear at all. They outline having received awards for their pedals from Toyota and Honda, but no other company is mentioned on their website. The NHTSA’s government website seems to be the most clear in helping to find out. But only through looking at incident reports. So is the government specifically
pointing out issues with its competition or will it be fair and recognize that its own GM products also have the exact same yet widely uncovered issues? To me, it seems that Toyota has a wide range of vehicles tailored for everyone; the Prius for the ecofriendly; the Scions for the underground cool; all the way to the Lexus for the uber-elite. Although right now the media seems to be attacking the entire fleet, I believe that Toyota will be able to rebuild its status just by being the way it always has. Whether it’s a conspiracy or not? You decide. In the meantime I’ll keep driving what I feel is my reliable and safe Toyota.
By FARRAH SIDDIQI
Contributing Writer
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