The Chairman of Toyota is on Capitol Hill today. So, is the Secretary of Transportation, Roy LaHood:
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) confronted Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who had earlier skirted a direct question from Oversight and Government Reform committee chairman Ed Towns (D-N.Y.), who asked: Are Toyotas safe to drive?The DOT's recall list is here.
Cummings said, "I don't think you really answered the question, 'Are Toyotas safe to drive?' "
LaHood came right back and answered directly this time: "For those cars that are listed on our Web site...those are not safe. We've determined they're not safe. We believe we need to look at electronics in these cars because people have told us that's an issue."
He continued: "For now, any car that's on the Web site needs to go back to the dealer because they're not safe."
It's just stunning that this problem got to this point without anyone, either at Toyota or in the government, addressing it. This didn't just endanger Toyota drivers, which would be bad enough, it put every driver at risk.
