YoumaybefamiliarwiththeproblemsthathaverecentlyplaguedToyota.However,youmaynotknowthewholestory.Firstthefacts.In2010Toyotaissuedaseriesofrecallsforvariousmodels.Themostseriouswasforadefectcalled"unintendedacceleration,"whichoccurswhenacaraccelerateswithnoapparentinputfromthedriver.InvestigationsrevealedthatunintendedaccelerationinToyotacarshasbeenthecauseof37deathssince2000.Whentheproblemsfirstsurfaced,however,Toyotadenieditwasthecause.Eventually,Toyotaapologizedandrecalledmorethan9millioncars. Tomany,therootcauseofToyota'sproblemswasitsinsular,arrogantculture.Fortune argued:"LikeGMbeforeit,Toyotahasgottensmug.ItbelievestheToyotaWayistheonlyway." Time reported"aToyotamanagementteamthathadfalleninlovewithitselfandbecometooinsulartoproperlyhandlesomethinglikethecurrentcrisis."Transportation SecretaryRayLaHooddescribedToyota'scultureas"safetydeaf." Butisthisthereality?Increasingly,evidencesuggeststhatToyota'scultureoreventhecarsitproducesisnotthesourceoftheproblem. A2011reportreleasedbytheU.S.NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration(NHTSA)concludedthatunintendedaccelerationwasnotcausedbyproblemsintheelectroniccircuitry. The Wall Street Journal wrotethat"safetyregulators,humanerrorexpertsandautomakerssaydrivererroristheprimarycauseofsuddenacceleration." Forbes and The Atlantic commentedthatmostoftheincidentsofsuddenaccelerationinToyotacarsoccurred 537538withelderlydrivers,andelderlydriversareknowntobemorepronetoconfusingpedals.Manyotherindependentinvestigations,includingonesconductedbyautomobileexpertsat Popular Mechanics and Car and Driver,reachedthesameconclusion:themaincauseofunintendedaccelerationwasdriversmistakingthegaspedalforthebrakepedal. There'salonghistoryofmisreportingonthisissue.Audiwasnearlydrivenintobankruptcywhen 60 Minutes airedareport,"OutofControl,"purportedlyprovingthatdefectsinthecarwerebehindsixfatalsuddenaccelerationaccidents.Asitturnsout, 60 Minutes paidsometimetotamperwiththecarfillingacanisterofcompressedairlinkedtothetransmissiontocausethesuddenaccelerationshowninthesegment.FurtherinvestigationsneveruncoveredevidencethatdefectsinAudi'scarswerebehindtheincidents. DoesToyotahaveaninsularandinbredcorporateculture?Probably.Butit'sbeenthatwayforalongtime,andit'sfarfromclearthattheculture,oreventhecompany'scars,isresponsibleforthesuddenaccelerationproblems. Questions 1. If Toyota is not the cause of unintended acceleration, why was it blamed for it? 2. Investigations have shown that after stories of unintended acceleration are publicized, report of incidents increase for all automakers. Why is this the case? 3. Is it possible to have a strongeven arrogant culture and still produce safe and high-quality vehicles? 4. If you were the CEO of Toyota when the story was first publicized, how would you have reacted?