Opinion

Unlike Ford, Toyota moved fast on recall

Posted March 11, 2010 10:00 pm

In regards to Mrs. Loper on Toyota floor mat and slow return accelerator pedal problems ("Suburban Toyota owners have hard choice to make," Feb. 4), she apparently read the published information on what to do. Very simple instructions. She should be happy that they have her welfare in mind.

I have had a 2007 Camry since October 2006. No problems. It has 19,000 miles on it. I am not worried. Now let's go to the period 1994 to 2001. If you owned a Ford Explorer equipped with lightweight Firestone tires you could have been in great danger. The SUV had the tendency to roll over and its tires were prone to delamination. Three hundred lives were lost as result of these defects. Guess what? Ford waited quite a while to admit to the problems; in fact, it started the tire recall in a dozen countries before recalling them in United States. The rollover situation was exacerbated because Ford rejected design changes that would have made the Explorer more stable because officials wanted more profits.

I know that you are not feeling safer, but at least you know what to do and will not suffer like 300 Ford victims and their families.

Harry Plateau

Hoffman Estates

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