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Toyota Statement on Comments by Transportation Secretary LaHood on Feb. 3, 2010


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Transportation Secretary LaHood Retraction of His Advice to Not Drive Recalled Toyotas:
Washington DC February 3, 2010; "What I said in there was obviously a misstatement. If you own one of these cars, take it to the dealer. If you are in doubt, take it to the dealer and have them fix it." Original Statement: LaHood had told a House committee that Toyota owners should "stop driving" and bring affected cars back to the company.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In our opinion LaHood's original comment was stupid. He elevated what is, in all likelihood, a non-existing problem to a national calamity. There are hundreds of thousands, millions, of Toyotas on the road that are not smashing into fellow motorists or walls because of sudden unexplained phenomena. Until and unless someone produces the videotape that proves that Toyota willfully produced a defective transmission/drive-line system, or hid from the public information about such a defect, Toyota is far from being a "Danger to America." Neither the company nor its products should be characterized as such.

The Danger to America is gasoline; gasoline that pollutes our skies and water, that is way over-priced, and supplied by a bunch of terrorist thugs. If there's something that our Secretary of Transportation issues a warning about it should be that everyone should stop using gasoline.


Toyoya's Statement To Toyota Owners

TORRANCE, CA - February 3, 2010: "We appreciate Secretary LaHood's clarification of his remarks today about Toyota's recall for sticking accelerator pedals. We want to make sure our customers understand that this situation is rare and generally does not occur suddenly. In the rare instances where it does occur, the vehicle can be controlled with firm and steady application of the brakes.

Our message to Toyota owners is this - if you experience any issues with your accelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without delay. If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive.

Nothing is more important to Toyota than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive. Our entire organization of 172,000 North American employees and dealership personnel is working around the clock to fix the accelerator pedals for our customers."