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Lawmakers to probe gov't safety agency's handling of Toyota

Star Tribune -- Toyota's massive recalls are bringing new scrutiny to the government's auto safety agency, prompting Congress to look at how federal safety officials have lived up to their mission of protecting motorists.

A House panel on Thursday planned to examine the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's oversight of the auto industry in the latest congressional hearing linked to Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles worldwide. Safety groups have accused NHTSA of being too cozy with the Japanese automaker while lacking the resources to test for vehicle problems that could be electronic, not mechanical.

"NHTSA has been viewed by the motor vehicle industry for years as a lapdog, not a watchdog," Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator under President Jimmy Carter.

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Submitted Mar 11, 2010 By: dwgt.net

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Amplion Champion Author Oregon Posts:1,335 Points:855,155 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Mar 13, 2010 3:47:17 AM Ignore Amplion Report Abuse TOYOTA needs to go the same direction as MONTGOMERY WARD
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:10,169 Points:593,750 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Mar 12, 2010 9:41:51 PM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse And who is looking into General (Government) Motors' power steering problems which also have caused people to die...? Oh yea.. it's government owned. and it's #2 not #1 in the world...
Bonanza Champion Author Boston Posts:6,014 Points:1,538,990 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Mar 12, 2010 6:03:15 AM Ignore Bonanza Report Abuse Another case of a government agency asleep at the switch
call911ok All-Star Author Vancouver Posts:544 Points:75,890 Joined:Mar 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 1:54:56 PM Ignore call911ok Report Abuse Government Motor da bomb. It'll do anything to make you buy their car.
Timberline All-Star Author West Virginia Posts:878 Points:449,605 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 12:15:17 PM Ignore Timberline Report Abuse Kind of like the FAA's coziness with the airlines.
GingoutMD All-Star Author Maryland Posts:510 Points:119,270 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 9:44:44 AM Ignore GingoutMD Report Abuse There is no way any gov't group will have the power to do squat with large automakers. Remember, now that the Supreme Court has allowed any company (including foreign companies) to spend unlimited money to get people elected (including judges) our gov't will be run by big business.
MUSTANGSRUS Champion Author Ontario Posts:4,544 Points:963,270 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:43:18 AM Ignore MUSTANGSRUS Report Abuse Maybe they should have some real teeth when a situation occurs like the current ones that Toyota is experiencing. As in, we are receiving reports of unexpected acceleration with your cars. We are pulling your ticket to sell here until you have fixed the problems and explained to us how you are going to retroactively fix the problems with the cars that you have sold previously. And the fixes must be explained and repaired to our satisfaction. And if further problems occur, we will further extend the time period until you fix everything.
traindude Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:3,135 Points:747,065 Joined:Jun 2007	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:37:09 AM Ignore traindude Report Abuse seems big brother aint watchin the big boys
gasman50 Champion Author Portland Posts:3,734 Points:1,399,040 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:27:14 AM Ignore gasman50 Report Abuse Let me guess, they will say we need more, bigger government with higher taxes and bigger deficits. Then we will all be safe and cozy.
thedennis64 Champion Author Ohio Posts:1,015 Points:783,370 Joined:Aug 2003	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:16:03 AM Ignore thedennis64 Report Abuse The recall practices of all should be looked at, not just Toyota.
must87searcher Champion Author Maryland Posts:3,977 Points:774,200 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:15:04 AM Ignore must87searcher Report Abuse This thing can occure. When there is a group which carries high dependecy and makes/sells a lot, people and groups begin give them so much reliability, that they take there attention off of them. It is obveous that Toyota had a lot of reliabilty with them. Then this happens. Just another demenstration of overlooking people can be.
Cruiser340 Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:7,297 Points:1,779,385 Joined:May 2004	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:14:48 AM Ignore Cruiser340 Report Abuse The house just needs to butt out and let NHTSA handle it, they are the experts.
plbell627 All-Star Author Dayton Posts:832 Points:262,720 Joined:Mar 2007	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:14:04 AM Ignore plbell627 Report Abuse The NHTSA should have had alot better oversight on all auto manufacturing companies. If they would do as their job as they are supposed to the Toyota mess might have been uncovered some of the people who died might still be alive. We need to vote out all the current Congress members and put in new people who will do the job.
tomok Champion Author Portland Posts:17,910 Points:1,330,460 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:13:13 AM Ignore tomok Report Abuse Things are happening too fast for Toyota, federal government, or the NHTSA to properly react or to provide a ‘fix.’ Seems like a good physical and reliable cable connection is much better than a fly by wire electronic module to control the throttle on the engine. Cables are not usually affected by bumps in the road.
FuelOilOH All-Star Author Cleveland Posts:997 Points:545,535 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:12:16 AM Ignore FuelOilOH Report Abuse Just make sure you treat all automakers the same.
SpruceGuse2 Champion Author Michigan Posts:4,708 Points:1,456,015 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:10:26 AM Ignore SpruceGuse2 Report Abuse Keeping the focus on Toyota is taking the focus off of GM and their recall.
TAT36 Champion Author Florida Posts:1,613 Points:307,835 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:09:37 AM Ignore TAT36 Report Abuse And well they should.
Buck_on_Bass Champion Author Tennessee Posts:2,614 Points:564,540 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:08:22 AM Ignore Buck_on_Bass Report Abuse Congress was not conducting oversight and was not adequately funding NHTSA. I see Congress grandstanding appear to have been doing something so the voters won't ask why they ignored NHTSA for years. Could it be NHTSA's lack of political contributions? On safety, like most subjects, Congress is not knowledgable. Congress is swayed by those with big checkbooks and not those that are truly authorities in the appropriate fields.
Spetsnaz Champion Author Dayton Posts:1,515 Points:537,315 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:06:40 AM Ignore Spetsnaz Report Abuse Toyota is having issues. And there was a guy who had this issue and turned his car over to a university engineering group to see if they can find the problem.
DustyHorse Champion Author Virginia Posts:1,358 Points:476,445 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:06:31 AM Ignore DustyHorse Report Abuse Congress needs to stay out of this and let the professionals do their job. Does Congress do an investigation into a plane crash? Should they?
reb4 Champion Author Chicago Posts:7,193 Points:808,695 Joined:Sep 2004	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:04:30 AM Ignore reb4 Report Abuse don't know about coverup but this whole think does smell!
FunkyPMonkey Champion Author Detroit Posts:3,461 Points:807,595 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 8:04:00 AM Ignore FunkyPMonkey Report Abuse Something should have been done long ago...
Cuzilla Champion Author Indianapolis Posts:8,643 Points:1,517,415 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:59:31 AM Ignore Cuzilla Report Abuse Just how did the NHTSA "prevent" anything?
torch347 All-Star Author Indianapolis Posts:575 Points:460,745 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:55:35 AM Ignore torch347 Report Abuse I smell coverup.
zornave Champion Author Louisville Posts:13,886 Points:2,204,520 Joined:Jul 2001	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:53:11 AM Ignore zornave Report Abuse This government investigation is nothing more that misdirection to deceie us on their true agenda of socialistic control of the country.
goalie1950 Champion Author Phoenix Posts:1,430 Points:287,775 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:52:31 AM Ignore goalie1950 Report Abuse It's called accountability.
heysailor Champion Author Pittsburgh Posts:4,475 Points:1,320,445 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:51:56 AM Ignore heysailor Report Abuse Toyota hired enough of the former regulators. Gotta stop the revolving door.
TomT2Lee Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:3,470 Points:1,091,790 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:50:23 AM Ignore TomT2Lee Report Abuse And the real joke here is that the lawmakers are even more screwed up than the government.
mk9999 Champion Author Rochester Posts:2,782 Points:657,595 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:49:09 AM Ignore mk9999 Report Abuse All areas of the govt. do not do what they are supposed to do. This is why govt. is the problem. They can't get anything right.
Joeski1 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:3,626 Points:726,725 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:47:31 AM Ignore Joeski1 Report Abuse gov't workers operate within the kaos of gov't regulation.... when the laws and rules make sense... perhap gov't workers will be able to make sense too....
rsm315 All-Star Author Detroit Posts:724 Points:184,535 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:47:29 AM Ignore rsm315 Report Abuse Buy american
Skipper52 Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:2,361 Points:595,300 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:47:19 AM Ignore Skipper52 Report Abuse We need less government because what we have is just sitting on it's hands and collecting money. Our tax dollars wasted....
BM4225 Champion Author Atlanta Posts:5,283 Points:1,140,270 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:46:50 AM Ignore BM4225 Report Abuse Maybe is they spend a lot of time on this, they will forget about the health reform bill, and then start that over again, or better yet pass what it peace meal.
sdhuper Sophomore Author Toronto Posts:174 Points:68,615 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:44:01 AM Ignore sdhuper Report Abuse You can't expect Govt. workers to do their job properly. They are no longer public service but now they are called "authorities".
Marson Champion Author Scranton Posts:4,194 Points:1,108,145 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:43:38 AM Ignore Marson Report Abuse I will never own a Toyota.
rjoeh Champion Author Michigan Posts:3,691 Points:1,562,510 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:42:04 AM Ignore rjoeh Report Abuse With everything else being done wrong in Washington, I would not be surprised if there are some very weak links in this program too.
danny999 Champion Author Florida Posts:3,512 Points:624,655 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:41:30 AM Ignore danny999 Report Abuse HEY THEY SIT THERE AND DRINK COFFEE/TEA LIKE MOST GOVERNMENT WORKERS.THEY GET BUSY WHEN THE HORSE GET'S OUT THE GATE.
rvn4me Champion Author Texas Posts:1,824 Points:520,775 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:41:27 AM Ignore rvn4me Report Abuse It looks like the government made another mistake.
matman01 Champion Author Detroit Posts:8,948 Points:976,745 Joined:May 2007	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:38:11 AM Ignore matman01 Report Abuse Oh what a feeling, Toyota
arinkrat17 Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:1,303 Points:326,935 Joined:Aug 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:38:01 AM Ignore arinkrat17 Report Abuse sick of hearing about Toyota
no_monkey2002 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:3,647 Points:1,094,805 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:37:49 AM Ignore no_monkey2002 Report Abuse i say fire them all
ky_commuter75 Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:2,573 Points:974,635 Joined:Jul 2005	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:36:47 AM Ignore ky_commuter75 Report Abuse the blame game has now started.
LilRedWagonIN Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,637 Points:569,180 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:35:12 AM Ignore LilRedWagonIN Report Abuse The government administration being too "cozy" with the regulated industry? Is that news? Everyone knows that there is a revolving door between government employees and the private sector. They know that in a few years the likelihood of trading jobs and paychecks.
turbosaab Champion Author Cleveland Posts:8,578 Points:1,399,065 Joined:Sep 2006	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:33:25 AM Ignore turbosaab Report Abuse I'm sure that if anyone looked deeply enough they'd find all kinds of payoffs and bribes. There's just too much at stake for the auto companies.
Rick01 Champion Author Utah Posts:3,840 Points:1,377,040 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:33:22 AM Ignore Rick01 Report Abuse If I remember correctly, it was the Bush / Chaney team that gutted the agency's funds and cut their authority.
Tundralimited2009 Champion Author Dallas Posts:2,364 Points:480,850 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:32:01 AM Ignore Tundralimited2009 Report Abuse First the FAA & now the NHSA
INDY51 Champion Author North Carolina Posts:1,316 Points:305,550 Joined:Jun 2009	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:30:28 AM Ignore INDY51 Report Abuse EVEN OUR OWN PEOPLE MISSED SOME OF THE TOYOTA PROBLEMS.
Badmoon Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:3,161 Points:639,365 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:30:14 AM Ignore Badmoon Report Abuse Somebody needs to find out exactly what's going on with these Toyotas.
jppezz Champion Author New Mexico Posts:3,443 Points:677,530 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:27:51 AM Ignore jppezz Report Abuse Now that the government is involved the recall investigation will really be messed up.
RoadhogMA Champion Author Boston Posts:1,892 Points:438,000 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Mar 11, 2010 7:27:26 AM Ignore RoadhogMA Report Abuse Lawmakers should take a look in the mirror .