Toyota Hires (Former) Transportation Secretary

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Toyota was listening closely to the “revolving doors” talk at last week’s hearings.

In today’s Senate committee hearing, Toyota will announce that former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater has come on board to lead Toyota’s new quality panel of independent experts, reports The Nikkei [sub] this morning.

Slater was Bill Clinton’s LaHood. He since joined the lobbying firm Patton Boggs and became a partner in James Lee Witt Associates, a risk management firm headed by former FEMA head James Lee Witt.


Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Crash sled Crash sled on Mar 02, 2010

    "Thou shalt demonstrate fealty to Government Motors." "Thou shalt hire Beltway consultants from Our approved list." "Thou shalt pay proper tributes and riches to those of Our class, and thence to Us."

  • Robert.Walter Robert.Walter on Mar 02, 2010

    Another disappointment from Toyota-land ... the panel would have had credibility if they had hired Claybrook. The point of having a legitimate panel is that you have to have at least a few iconoclastic independent-thinking critics sitting on it**. ** Think Richard Feynman, Nobel Laureate, who became so exasperated [at the National Academy of Sciences] that he resigned his membership, saying that he saw no point in belonging to an organization that spent most of its time deciding who to let in, and said: "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

  • Fincar1 Fincar1 on Mar 02, 2010

    Claybrook was an over-the-top safety nazi along the lines of Nader in his worst plaintiff-lawyer-shill days. One may as well compare her with Richard Feynman as Paris Hilton with Ava Gardner.

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