Toyota Finally Admits Problem With Runaway Cars

Toyota has been slow to react to calls that its cars have a mind of their own.

Toyota's reaction was to blame the driver. Explaining away the odd incidents as a result of a world filled with distractions, enough so that some people didn't realize they were hitting the gas when they meant to slam on the brake. (What idiots!)

Even in November, after issuing the largest recall in company history, Toyota was still faulting its customers: stating in a letter immediately denounced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the problem only occurred when owners had failed to secure or were using an improper floor mat not compatible with the vehicle.

Yesterday's New York Times traced "Toyota's Slow Awakening to a Deadly Problem." A lengthy interval of misplaced blame that seems to have finally come to an end after last week's expansion of the recall and the very public apology of the Toyota founder's grandson at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

According to the Times, Toyota first had its eyes opened after a fatal accident in San Diego killed an off-duty California Highway Patrolman and three others when their Lexus SUV crashed going 125 MPH. The public release of the driver's chilling 911 call forced the company's hand, as it now faces a number of lawsuits similar to the ones brought against the Ford Explorer and tire maker Firestone over a decade ago.