Facts show stellar performance

It’s annoying to follow the government and compliant media accounts day after day about the dangerous and unreliable cars made by Toyota [“Looking skyward to unravel Toyota’s woes,” page one, March 17].

In light of the facts, a comparison of complaints by consumers of Ford, GM and Toyota vehicles during the last 10 years shows Toyota the most reliable car by far — based on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.

In 2000, GM received 12,000 consumer complaints, Ford received 14,000 and Toyota received 2,000. By 2008, complaints on all autos had fallen to below the 2,000 [complaints] level, and although a recent spate of complaints has put Toyota up near 2,000 again, this is where they have always been!

In a recent Consumer Reports auto issue, GM and Ford ranked near the bottom in overall scores for the past three years. While the improvement in very recent American cars must be celebrated, it should be remembered that Toyota now competes with us — we the taxpayer owners of GM. Could there be a possible conflict of interest here in the sudden zeal to tar Toyota?

— Cathie Whitesides, Seattle

Toyota should be more like an episode of ‘CSI’

The failure of Toyota to adequately explain the systemic failures occurring in some of their automobiles is an example of terrible corporate behavior and irresponsibility. The company has consistently been defensive and unwilling to share details of the investigation, insisting the problem is a minor mechanical deficiency.

We have all seen the photographs of the wreckage of an aircraft, painstakingly reassembled on some hangar floor and the dogged determination of the investigators working to determine what caused such devastation. The science of forensics is so de rigueur on TV programs that Toyota executives should watch a few episodes of “CSI” or “House” and learn what the audience is attuned to.

Have they examined the time of day, weather conditions, proximity to high radiation including microwave and aircraft radar, production documentation of components, wiring harnesses, board assembly and the countless minutiae that defines the nature and success or failure of high technology?

Perhaps Toyota’s failure is emblematic of the problems of many corporate entities that simply take the consumer for granted. Marketing and media are not the keys to profitability and reputation.

— Brian Grad, Bremerton