A Toyota 'coverup'?

Newly leaked Toyota memos reveal an internal struggle over whether to "come clean" about its cars' acceleration problems. What were they thinking?

Did Toyota cover up car malfunctions?
(Image credit: Corbis)

Toyota's new slogan declares it's "moving forward." Not so fast: New reports reveal that Toyota executive Katsuhiko Koganei sent an email to his U.S. colleagues last January urging them to "not mention about the mechanical failures." Reportedly, Toyota spokesman Irv Miller shot back: "We are not protecting our customers by keeping this quiet...The time to hide on this one is over. We need to come clean." Five days later, Toyota did, recalling 2.3 million vehicles. How damaging are these revelations? (Watch a Fox Business discussion about Toyota executives' emails)

These memos show Toyota's true colors: Ironically, Irv Miller's "bombshell" email was a last-ditch effort to save the company, right before it began its "downward spiral," says Daniel Howes in The Detroit News. Now, thanks to this new batch of "'smoking-gun' memos," we know that Toyota "was more interested in covering its corporate keister than coming clean" to the government and its own loyal customers. Cue the lawsuits, and the real financial pain.

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