Toyota Reportedly Near $1B Settlement of Unintended Acceleration Criminal Probe
Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Toyota Motor Corp. and the United States Department of Justice are close to a deal that would resolve a criminal investigation into how it disclosed to government regulators customers’ complaints about unintended acceleration. The Journal is reporting that the settlement would involve Toyota paying as much as $1 billion in fines, ending a four year investigation. Sources say that the deal could still fall apart, or the amount of money involved could change.
A Toyota spokesperson said in an emailed statement, “Toyota continues to cooperate with the U.S. attorney’s office in this matter. And in the nearly four years since this inquiry began, we’ve made fundamental changes to become more responsive and customer focused, and we’re committed to continue to improve.”
The investigation, launched by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, is looking into whether Toyota made false or incomplete disclosures to U.S. regulators about possible car defects. Prosecutors are also looking into possible mail fraud and wire fraud in connection to those disclosures.
The criminal case only adds to what has been a deeply embarrassing incident for Toyota, which formerly had a sterling reputation for reliability with consumers. The company recently settled an economic loss class action suit brought by customers who claimed their cars’ residual values had been harmed by the massive recall Toyota initiated in 2009 in response to the unintended acceleration issue. Toyota still faces hundreds of lawsuits over the matter, including wrongful death suits.
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The fine has nothing to do with whether or not there was a problem with untended acceleration -- Toyota is going to pay a fine because they failed to report the issue. One more example of where the cover-up was much more expensive than the problem
Buying a UAW car supports fascism.
Wow, this just hit the newswires... February 10, 2014 (Toyota City, Japan) - Toyota Motor Corporation, a manufacturer of safe, high-quality and insanely reliable motor vehicles for discerning customers around the world, issued the following statement today regarding a reported settlement between TMC and the United States government over alleged incidents of unintended acceleration in certain Toyota-branded vehicles: "TMC deeply regrets that a few idiots, who clearly had little to no understanding of the proper means to control a motor vehicle, lost their lives while operating our products. To ensure that such events involving vehicles produced by Toyota or its numerous affiliated companies never occur again, TMC announces a one-time incentive of up to $1,000 for any surviving idiots who wish to replace their Toyota-badged product with a vehicle branded as a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Ford, Lincoln, Dodge, RAM, or Chrysler. "In addition to providing additional incentive for morons to discontinue any further association with TMC in the eyes of the public, the Company also wholeheartedly believes this settlement agreement fulfills the U.S. government's publicly unstated, though clearly evident, motive of encouraging sales of domestically-branded vehicles. "In further keeping with the spirit of this agreement, TMC will also, upon request, provide a complimentary "Hillary '16" bumper sticker to assist other motorists in better identifying vehicles under control of an idiot. "Please note the only stipulation outside this agreement involves those idiots proclaiming a desire to purchase a Fiat-derived Dodge or Chrysler vehicle. Rather than the cash incentive, these individuals will instead be provided with a small firearm loaded with a single bullet, and a maximum of five (5) minutes of solitude in a quiet room to contemplate this and other poor decisions made by the idiot throughout his or her lifetime. "Additional details about this offer - outlined in small, easily-understood words not exceeding three syllables - are provided in the following incentive list. "Toyota Motor Corp. believes its vehicles should be owned and operated solely by responsible and prudent customers. It is the Company's official position that all other and clearly inferior denizens of the United States of America can respectfully, from this point forward, go f*** themselves."
One billion dollar punitive levy? is this why Mr Toyoda himself announced that Toyota Australia decided to shut down yesterday after 60 years??? It was the first Toyota plant outside of Japan. Our Government will no longer hand over tax payers cash to support the likes of Ford,Mitsubishi ,GM et al.