Toyota Turmoil

Toyota is facing more recalls, now including the Prius:

To fix the problem, Toyota is responding with a media blitz:

“We believe we are close to announcing an effective remedy,” the Toyota City, Japan-based automaker said in an advertisement in more than 20 U.S. newspapers yesterday.

“I am deeply sorry that we’re giving cause for concern to customers,” Toyoda said in an unscheduled interview on Jan. 29 with Japan’s NHK television network in Davos, posted to U.S. broadcaster ABC News’ Web site. “We’re preparing to explain the facts to our customers as soon as we can so that we can remove that anxiety.”

Critics aren't impressed with Toyota's response:

“They have wasted too much time without doing anything,” said Tatsuya Mizuno, director of Mizuno Credit Advisory. “Toyota used to be a company with foresight, always ready to take action, but now they have fallen very far behind the curve.”

While I may not like the company, they were one of the best run companies in the world. This is a very surprising blunder by the company. I guess part of this is because they aren't used to this kind of disaster.