People Beyond Politics – Product Beyond Politics

In response to the publication by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of an extensive review of the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles, conducted with the assistance of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Steve St. Angelo, Toyota’s Chief Quality Officer for North America said:

“We believe this rigorous scientific analysis by some of America’s foremost engineers should further reinforce confidence in the safety of our vehicles.”

“All the scientific evidence to date confirms what millions of Toyota drivers prove day in and day out – that they can rely on their vehicles for safe and reliable transportation.”

“Our ETCS-i is well-designed and well-tested to ensure that real world, un-commanded acceleration of the vehicle cannot occur.”

“Toyota’s ETCS-i system has performed reliably in more than 40 million cars and trucks sold around the world – including more than 16 million
here in the U.S. – and we hope this important study will help put to rest unsupported speculation about our system.”

“Even after months of intense publicity and multiple investigations, no one has identified any specific defect in Toyota’s ETCS-i or presented any valid scientific evidence that ETCS-i can cause unintended acceleration in a real world scenario.”

“Electronic throttle control systems have long been standard across the automobile industry because they provide great benefits and have made significant safety advances possible.”

” These advances include vehicle stability control and traction control, which are among the five sophisticated accident-avoidance
technologies in our Star Safety System.”

“Our Star Safety System and our Smart Stop Technology braking system are now standard on all the new vehicles we manufacture for the North American market.”

“We are grateful to Toyota drivers for their continued confidence in our brand – and we’ll continue to earn that customer loyalty with even
greater dedication to qualify, safety and customer care.”

“Despite the challenges of 2010, Toyota was the #1 retail brand last year, Camry was the #1-selling car in America, and Lexus remained the #1 luxury brand. We are beginning 2011 in a good position.”

“We’re optimistic about our future because we have one of the strongest dealer networks in the industry, more flexible plants and 10 new or updated products to introduce this year, including the all-new Prius v and Lexus CT hybrids.”

“Everyone at Toyota – all 30,000 of our team members in the United States and the many thousands of Americans at our dealers and suppliers – is focused on listening to our customers and constantly improving our products and service.”

“We will continue to develop and equip Toyota and Lexus vehicles with industry-leading safety technologies, including many based on
breakthroughs in sophisticated electronics systems.”

“We also will continue to cooperate fully with NHTSA and respected outside experts to help ensure that our customers have the utmost confidence in the safety and reliability of our vehicles.”

Regarding the safety and reliability of Toyota vehicles with ETCS-i, the company also noted:

• Electronic throttle control systems have long been standard across the automobile industry, and they provide great benefits to consumers.
• Toyota’s ETCS-i has performed reliably in more than 40 million cars and trucks sold around the world, including more than 16 million in the United States.
• This system has also made possible significant safety advances such as vehicle stability control and traction control, which are among the five sophisticated accident avoidance technologies in Toyota’s Star Safety System.
• These enhancements, along with Toyota’s Smart Stop Technology braking system, are now standard on all the new vehicles Toyota manufactures for the North American market.