U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood testifies on Capitol Hill yesterday.
Official: Toyota to be held ‘to the fire’
Bad press
LaHood sent shares of battered Toyota Motor Corp. plunging even further yesterday when he advised owners of recalled vehicles to stop driving their cars, later characterizing the remark as a misstatement.
Toyota shares fell as much as 8 percent on the New York Stock Exchange but recovered some ground to trade down 5 percent at $74.30 yesterday afternoon.
Toyota said in a statement that it appreciated LaHood’s clarification, and advised owners to contact dealers if there was an accelerator pedal problem.
The Obama administration stepped up the pressure on Toyota Motor Corp. yesterday to address a range of safety issues as investors and consumers reacted to the deepening crisis for the world’s largest automaker.
“Our ... people will hold Toyota’s feet to the fire to make sure they are going to do everything they said they were going to do to make the vehicles safe,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said at an appearance in Washington.
LaHood said he would take the unusual step of calling Toyota President Akio Toyoda to emphasize how seriously the Obama administration is taking investigations into reports of uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota vehicles.
Separately, in another potential knock on its reputation for quality, Toyota said dealers in both the United States and Japan had reported complaints about the brakes in its new model Prius hybrid.
