Toyota Demands ABC Retract Report

[PBS Poll-435]

Toyota Demands ABC Retract Report
By KATE LINEBAUGH And SHIRA OVIDE
MARCH 19, 2010, 1:41 A.M. ET
The Wall Street Journal

In a letter to ABC News President David Westin dated March 11, Toyota said ABC "fabricated" a shot of a Toyota Avalon sedan in the report "to create the false and misleading impression with viewers of a dangerous and uncontrolled acceleration" in the Japanese company's vehicles.

"Regrettably, in its Feb. 22 report, ABC News chose fear-mongering over public service," Toyota General Counsel Christopher P. Reynolds wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

Jeffrey Schneider, a spokesman for ABC News, said the broadcaster received the letter. "Our lawyers are reviewing it and we will respond to Toyota," the spokesman said. ABC is a unit of Walt Disney Co.

On its Web-site posting of the video report, ABC subsequently replaced that part of the video with another shot of the tachometer surging that apparently was taken while the car was moving. In that shot, the needle didn't reach 6,000 rpm. ABC noted the change on its Web site, saying the network taped multiple demonstrations by Mr. Gilbert and that the engine's surge "was comparable" in each of them. In the letter, earlier reported by media Web site gawker.com, Toyota laid out five criticisms of the broadcast, including not being given the opportunity to review Mr. Gilbert's research or provide a response for the news report.

[readmoreoften]

1. Ooo, another post from that Toyota guy!

Always there to remind us how deeply wronged and vulnerable the Toyota Corporation truly is.

[PBS Poll-435]

2. Oh come on now...

Really?


Be smarter, and if you can't...
Fake it.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Political Heretic]

3. Ah the problems of rich assholes...

I shed a single ceremonial fucking tear. :eyes:

[Chemisse]

4. I was really impressed with that ABC report

If it was at all faked, then I find that very disturbing.

[HopeHoops]

6. The ONLY "fake" part was the tach shot - and only because they couldn't get a steady shot moving.

They explained that in painful detail. The camera just couldn't get a good shot so they showed a comparable needle movement while in park. In "best practices", they should have mentioned that in the actual report and explained there but they probably didn't because of time constraints.

[Chemisse]

17. Ahhh thank you. That certainly was misleading.

I would think if it was faked, ABC would have a very serious credibility problem.

It sometimes amazes me how often that people's point of view colors their outlook so thoroughly that they don't even see reality anymore.

[Romulox]

10. None of it was "faked". The OP is a single issue pro-Toyota poster. nt

[Kolesar]

5. Another tactic by Toyota's defensive PR team

They obviously hired the best in the business (outside of Rove and Rumsfeld).

[HopeHoops]

7. If they put a FRACTION what they spend on PR and discrediting victims into FIXING the damn problem,

the problem would be resolved by now and it wouldn't even be news. Give me a fucking break - stupid little placebo shims? Fix the damn electronics!

[Romulox]

9. "Toyota used its 'game plan' to escape a major early recall (07)"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4312163

[Kolesar]

14. We are unable to locate the page you requested.

-Wa Po

[Romulox]

15. Too late to edit. Here's a fixed link (same link is contained in the LBN thread.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/18/AR2010031805376.html

[DeschutesRiver]

11. Toyota is focusing on retractions when they should be finding the solution

If Toyota keeps choosing to focus on these kind of small potatoe issues, then it will be seen as their priority - rather than what should be the priority, which is finding a solution to an actual acceleration issue.

Watching how they are attacking this problem of their cars and image is telling me that they already might know that there is no solution short of scrapping their autos/electronics and starting over. I now believe, by watching their actions, that Toyota will never regain either their reputation or market share.

Unless a miracle occurs (Toyota focuses on and finds a solution; cars are made safe against this issue), then Toyota is toast.

[Romulox]

12. One thing is new though--this sense of disdain Toyota has for its customers--especially older ones!

[DeschutesRiver]

13. I agree, and I didn't expect it from Toyota.

I'd thought pretty highly of Toyota for years. The way they are treating customers has wiped out any good will I had for them and their business model.

[TexasObserver]

16. Toyota Spokesman Bart Simpson reiterated Toyota's position: "We didn't do it!"

Toyota's lying and scheming has already killed over 50 Americans.

When they take responsibility for what they've done and stop trying to get everyone to "hey, look over there," that would be a good first step.

[IDemo]

18. Toyota is being disingenuous, but the ABC report is based on a flawed scenario

For Toyota to still claim nothing is wrong with the electronics and that all of these events have been due to floor mats and stuck pedals is incredible. While some of the out of control acceleration may have been due to pedals stuck either on the carpeting or the pedal's internal friction pad, it is plain that the electronics, specifically the engine control system, is the primary suspect. The simultaneous fails that have been reported in the cruise control, braking and shift mechanisms, all electronically controlled, pretty well points to the computer system (whether hardware or software) they all have in common.

But the combination of open, shorted, and grounded wires (with just the right amount of electrical resistance to ground) presented by Gilbert is far enough out of the realm of probability in the real world that it can effectively be ruled out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3gQWGZ8uBw