LA Times: Toyota response to complaints takes on a confrontational tone (spreading misinformation)

[Omaha Steve]

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/08/business/la-fi-toyota-pushback9-2010apr09

Special teams are sent to investigate, and sometimes discredit, reported problems.
AUTOMOBILES
April 08, 2010|By Ralph Vartabedian and Ken Bensinger

When its customers claim their Toyota or Lexus vehicles suddenly accelerate, the company is at the ready with teams of technicians that it can deploy rapidly to examine the reports -- and in some cases discredit them.

The teams, dubbed SMART for "swift market analysis and research team," were publicly unveiled by Toyota on Thursday, but have been deployed at least seven times in the last month.

They scored big successes when they helped undermine a recent claim by a San Diego motorist who said his Prius took him on a 20-minute high-speed ride down the freeway and another by a New York housekeeper who said her Prius flew into a wall even though her foot was on the brake.

Toyota's critics say it has every right to dispute inaccurate claims, and its legions of devoted customers have cheered the rigorous response on Internet forums.

The SMART teams are part of a much broader public relations and legal strategy Toyota is using to confront critics, an approach that has toughened in recent weeks. Toyota is now staking out its position before major scientific investigations into sudden acceleration have gotten started, and before federal officials have completed regulatory reviews. Last week, federal safety regulators enlisted the government's top technical experts to examine the problem.

Critics say the company is acting prematurely and in some cases spreading misinformation.

"It is a very aggressive and misleading campaign," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. "Toyota can't win this battle by slinging mud, but they are trying."

In at least one case, a SMART inspection backfired, adding ammunition to a lawsuit against the company. The team discovered that a repair under the recall campaign for sticking accelerator pedals had not been properly completed.

FULL story at link.

[liberal N proud]

1. The Toyota Way = misinformation and deception