(Mon 08 Feb 10)

Toyota is continuing to face a barrage of criticism following its attempts to rectify safety issues. In the US, a federal court complaint has been filed against the manufacturer on behalf of all Pennsylvania residents who bought a Toyota that was subsequently subject to recalls in September 2009 and January 2010 (two of them relating to floor mats which can move into a position where they affect the accelerator pedal). The complaint alleges that Toyota manufactures and sells defective automobiles which can suddenly and without warning accelerate out of control.

There is also continued talk of a recall of the Prius for what has been described by the New York Times as "a flaw in the antilock braking system", though as our previous story on the subject explained Toyota considers this to be a quality issue rather than a safety one, and at the time of writing has not yet announced a recall.

One bookmaker is so sure that there will be a recall, though, that it has started offering odds on which manufacturer will announce the next recall after that. Toyota is 3/1 odds-on favourite, with its luxury brand Lexus next up at 2/1 against. Volvo is a distant third on 12/1, while the longest odds are 66/1 for Skoda.

The term "unintended acceleration" has already been used several times in connection with Toyota, and it's a phrase which will cause uncomfortable memories for employees of another manufacturer. Audi sales in the US were flattened several years ago after cases of unintended acceleration were reported, though in several instances the actual cause was later said to be, in the words of the American writer P J O'Rourke, that "the buggers were pressing the wrong pedal".

There are complaints that Toyota has a history of being slow to react to safety issues, but while there can only be sympathy for anyone who has suffered from a failure in any car, it seems reasonable to suggest that some sense of perspective should be brought into play here. There have been much greater safety problems in the past (the exploding Ford Pinto or the falling-over Chevrolet Corvair or Ford Explorer, all of them in the US, being classic examples), and our own personal experience of having floor mats caught up in the accelerator pedal extends well beyond Toyota.

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