Toyota Pays 16.4 Million Dollar Fine over Pedals
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/18/d...-u-s-treasury/
Does this seem right? Pay your fine and move on - never really admitting to anyhting? I highlighted in bold what got me the most in the article.Toyota has officially handed over every last cent of its $16.4 million fine for not notifying the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration of potential defects in a timely manner. That figure marks the largest fine possible under the law, though by paying it, the Japanese automaker has somehow managed to skip out on admitting any wrong doing. We're still having a hard time wrapping our fragile journo minds around that one.
NHTSA came down hard on Toyota for bumbling the recall of accelerator pedals that wouldn't spring back once depressed. Meanwhile, the automaker claims it did everything it was supposed to in handling the problem and notifying the government of the issue. Even so, Toyota has declined to fight the "civil penalty" or appeal the government's decision. The cash will be put directly into the U.S. Treasury.
Toyota is also under investigation for all-weather floor mats that could have contributed to the rash or unintended acceleration claims that cropped up in recent months as well as steering linkage issues in older T100 pickups and 4Runner models. The NHTSA has yet to rule on either of those issues.
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