$100M memo takes center stage at Toyota hearing....
Toyota Motor Corp.'s North American chief Yoshi Inaba came under withering criticism from Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., over the now infamous July 6, 2009 memo.
Mica called the document "embarassing" and deeply damaging to the company and its U.S. dealers. "To me it's unbelievable," Mica said.
Inaba said he doesn't remember the presentation "in any depth." But he added: "it is so inconsistent with the guiding principals of Toyota," Inaba said.
Mica said if any company authored a similar document it would be "one of the most injurious things you could do to anyone's reputation," he said.
The presentation -- among 75,000 pages of documents turned over to congressional investigators -- has become as close to a "smoking gun" in the Toyota recall investigation by Congress into its handling of more than 8.5 million vehicles recalled for sudden acceleration concerns.
The document -- a presentation by Toyota's Washington office to Inaba on his second day on the job as part of its orientation -- declares a number of "safety wins" by declaring or reducing the impact of recalls and safety regulations.
The memo -- first published by The Detroit News on Sunday -- bragged that Toyota safety officials in Washington were able to save more than $100 million over agreeing to recall just 55,000 floormats in 2007 over sudden acceleration issues. It wasn't until late 2009 that Toyota agreed to a far more comprehensive and expensive fix -- after the deaths of four motorists in California.
Some media reports erroneously said Inaba had written the memo. "I was stunned to find your name on it," Mica said.
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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
