Transportation chief Ray LaHood to meet with Toyota President Akio Toyoda in Japan

[Omaha Steve]

Source: LA Times

LaHood says he plans to deliver a stern message that the U.S. will not tolerate violations of safety laws that jeopardize the public.

Ralph Vartabedian and Ken Bensinger,

Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles —

Signaling renewed vigor in the federal government's scrutiny of Toyota Motor Corp., Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is heading to Japan to meet with company President Akio Toyoda.

LaHood said the department was examining 500,000 internal documents recently turned over by the automaker in hopes of determining when it began to withhold crucial information about defects in its vehicles. The government has already fined Toyota a record $16.4 million for failing to disclose safety problems related to sudden acceleration.

LaHood said the department was examining 500,000 internal documents recently turned over by the automaker in hopes of determining when it began to withhold crucial information about defects in its vehicles. The government has already fined Toyota a record $16.4 million for failing to disclose safety problems related to sudden acceleration.

The volume of paperwork is much greater than originally anticipated, and the analysis could take months, LaHood said. So far, he said, the evidence suggests that Toyota ignored safety warnings from its U.S. engineers.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-lahood-20100508,0,1549845.story

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3 page story.