Dingell fiercely questions Toyota on safety issues
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Rep. John D. Dingell, the longest-serving member of the House and a long-time advocate for the auto industry that is crucial to his Detroit district, on Tuesday challenged Toyota’s top official in the United States in a series of crisp questions about whether the company’s recalls had totally solved the company’s problems.
James Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. operations, looked uncomfortable as the series of questions rained on his head like a winter’s hail. He had earlier conceded that the recalls had not completely solved the problem.
“I’m just a poor Polish lawyer from Detroit. Can you please just tell me in yes or no,” Dingell pressed. “Have you ruled out non-mechanical failure, yes or no?”
“We have not ruled it out,” Lentz replied.
Under earlier questioning from other legislators, Lentz opened the door by saying that a mechanical fix may not have solved all of the problems connected to sudden acceleration.
In addition to asking about the cause of the recall, Dingell questioned when Toyota first knew of the problem, then followed with questions about Japan’s control of the company, Japanese auto standards and specific test results.
When Lentz couldn’t supply one-word answers, Dingell angrily retorted: “Please submit that for the record,”
--Michael Muskal
