Regulators Hired by Toyota Helped Halt U.S. Safety Probes, Documents Show

[marmar]

Regulators Hired by Toyota Helped Halt Acceleration Probes


Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- At least four U.S. investigations into unintended acceleration by Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles were ended with the help of former regulators hired by the automaker, warding off possible recalls, court and government records show.

Christopher Tinto, vice president of regulatory affairs in Toyota’s Washington office, and Christopher Santucci, who works for Tinto, helped persuade the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to end probes including those of 2002-2003 Toyota Camrys and Solaras, court documents show. Both men joined Toyota directly from NHTSA, Tinto in 1994 and Santucci in 2003.

While all automakers have employees who handle NHTSA issues, Toyota may be alone among the major companies in employing former agency staffers to do so. Spokesmen for General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Group LLC and Honda Motor Co. all say their companies have no ex-NHTSA people who deal with the agency on defects.

Possible links between Toyota and NHTSA may fuel mounting criticism of their handling of defects in Toyota and Lexus models tied to 19 deaths from 2004 to 2009. Three congressional committees have scheduled hearings on the recalls.

“Toyota bamboozled NHTSA or NHTSA was bamboozled by itself,” said Joan Claybrook, an auto safety advocate and former NHTSA administrator in the Jimmy Carter administration. “I think there is going to be a lot of heat on NHTSA over this.” ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aTfVxj4_pJh4&pos=10

[BunkerHill24]

1. I read it through Detroit News.....that....

"Four governors from states with Toyota Motor Corp. plants spoke out
Wednesday in defense of the Japanese automaker and questioned the U.S.
government's conflict of interest as a stakeholder in some of Toyota's
rivals.


In a rare show of support for the embattled Toyota, the governors
wrote to congressional representatives who will lead hearings about
Toyota's recalls and how it handled customer complaints."


From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100211/AUTO01/2110351/1148/auto0...

[WhiteTara]

2. there is no honor in capitalism. n/t

[DJ13]

3. Welcome to the new world of corporatism

This is the same procedure that let the banks run wild, same thing big pharma does with the FDA, also the same thing Enron did to rip off California's citizens on energy prices.

Its cheaper to buy off officials than to fix problems.

[Wilms]

4. Toyota has a guy named Tinto running cover for their version of a "Pinto"?

Nice.