Word: lahood
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Toyoda won't be the only one in the crosshairs on Wednesday. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will speak on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the regulatory body whose apparent lax oversight - since 2003 it opened and closed eight investigations of Toyota vehicles due to customer complaints - was pilloried on Tuesday. Accounts of NHTSA's failure to piece together a pattern of customer complaints have made the group one of the saga's twin villains. "Shame on you Toyota, for being so greedy, and shame on you, NHTSA, for not doing your job," said Rhonda Smith...
...General Motors - a.k.a. Government Motors - the agency actually fumbled no fewer than six separate inquiries into possible safety problems with Toyotas since 2003. In each case, the DOT ended the probes with little or no further action. That changed as the tragic evidence mounted. And when Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blurted out advice to Toyota owners to avoid driving their cars - advice he hastily withdrew - he more or less forced the issue. (See the best cars from the 2009 Detroit Auto Show...
December 2009: NHTSA officials go to Japan to discuss the recall process. A press release from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's office states that the "NHTSA indicates that it expects improvement in [Toyota's] responsiveness in the future...
Also on this day, Secretary LaHood lets slip instructions for Toyota owners to "stop driving." He later says he misspoke, but not before Toyota's stock takes a blow. He also says the government had to pressure Toyota before the company would take care of the recall-related problems. (See the most exciting cars...
...Toyota's North American president, Yoshi Inaba, is set to testify with other company bigwigs about Toyota's safety record at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. LaHood has said civil penalties are a strong possibility...