Toyota works to save face
Toyota Motor Corp. launched a public relations blitz Sunday intended to rebuild its public image amid massive recalls and reports that several models of its cars and trucks could accelerate uncontrollably.
The company, which this weekend ran full-page ads in major newspapers including The Times, said it would announce this morning a plan to fix the vehicles. A top executive was slated to appear on television to discuss the recalls.
The moves to repair Toyota’s once-stellar reputation came as federal officials said Sunday that they had opened an investigation into an Indiana manufacturer that sold accelerators to Toyota and other automakers.
Automotive industry analysts and public relations professionals said Toyota’s approach to communicating what it will do about the potentially deadly glitch in some of its vehicles is crucial to its future as the world’s largest auto manufacturer.
“What they absolutely have to do is convince people that they are working on this and are going to do the right thing for cars on the road, at dealerships and in production,” said George Peterson, an analyst at AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin.
Key to the company’s public relations effort is an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show by Jim Lentz, Toyota’s head of U.S. sales, slated for this morning. Lentz is scheduled to talk about Toyota’s decision to recall eight models of cars and trucks and temporarily stop sales and production of vehicles in those lines.
“It’s going to be very critical how Jim presents this information,” Peterson said. “This is a major issue for a company that has had a bulletproof reputation for quality.”
Toyota will hold a news conference at 8 a.m. PST to discuss the issue with other media, according to the automaker.
In its print ads, which ran Sunday in 20 newspapers, Toyota explained its decision to halt production of cars that might have the acceleration problem. The black-and-white ads feature a large image of a “pause” button like those used in DVD players and online media. “A temporary pause,” the ad says in large print. “To put you first.”
But public relations professionals said Toyota waited too long to make its case.
“Up until now, I think they have done everything wrong,” said Barbara Casey, a Los Angeles public relations practitioner who specializes in handling business crises.
Toyota has so far failed to defend itself in the court of public opinion, said Casey, chief executive of Casey & Sayre. “They may have been in shock, but they looked completely unprepared. They needed to get out in front of this when the first accelerations happened.”
Toyota representatives couldn’t be reached Sunday for comment.
The company’s sudden-acceleration problem gained widespread attention in August, when a Lexus ES 350 driven by off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor sped out of control and crashed near San Diego, killing him and his family.
After that crash, Toyota initiated a series of recalls related to sudden acceleration. The scope of the recalls has grown to 9 million vehicles worldwide.
Last week Toyota ordered its dealers to stop selling the eight models that it says have the accelerator problem.
Over the weekend, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted a document on its website indicating that it had begun a formal investigation into CTS Corp., the Elkhart, Ind., company that makes the pedals Toyota has said are defective.
The latest federal investigation, which officially launched Tuesday, is aimed at discovering whether CTS has notified other automakers that pedals it sold them are defective. That way, NHTSA can “determine if additional defect notices are required” from other auto manufacturers. If they are, the document indicates, carmakers beyond Toyota may have to issue recalls.
Notably, the investigation does not appear to focus on whether the pedals made by CTS are indeed defective.
That flies in the face of a statement made by CTS on Friday. The parts maker, which appeared to be taken by surprise by Toyota’s recall, said it had “deep concern that there is widespread confusion and incorrect information about the role of CTS-manufactured gas pedals” in the Toyota recall, and that its pedals “should absolutely not be linked with any sudden unintended acceleration incidents.”
The Times has previously reported that safety officials have received more than 2,000 complaints of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the last decade. Many were in reference to vehicles and model years not included in the recall. Toyota began using CTS pedals in its 2005 model year.
Last week, Ford Motor Co. recalled a small number of trucks built in China that use CTS pedals, and on Sunday, French automaker Peugeot said it would recall 90,000 vehicles it made in the Czech Republic in a joint venture with Toyota.
NHSTA did not respond Sunday to requests for information on whether it is now focusing blame for acceleration problems on the gas-pedal parts made by CTS.
Toyota’s Sunday newspaper ads say the company is “close to announcing an effective remedy” for its sticking accelerator pedals. Several U.S. auto dealers have said the fix involves slipping a shim into an area where springs push the gas pedal back to position after a driver has eased off the gas.
Toyota dealers have been bombarded with phone calls and visits from concerned owners, and of course sales might be cut by the company’s decision to stop sellingits bestselling Camry and Corolla lines, among others.
But Toyota’s reputation for making quality cars may be resilient, said Brian Gluckman of AutoTrader.com, which tracks potential customers’ requests for information about dealer inventory in their neighborhoods. Searches spiked at the end of last week for information on Toyota’s Matrix and Highlander vehicles, which are among those being recalled.
“People think that with all the negative press about Toyota, it might be a good time to get a deal,” Gluckman said.
Individual dealers have done a good job of reassuring their customers, many of whom have had a long history of loyalty to the Toyota brand, he said. He predicted that Toyota’s sales numbers would rise after it lifts its self-imposed ban on selling certain models.
“Not being able to sell vehicles and losing customers are two different things,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
