While I was very critical of Toyota's handling of this crisis only two days ago, I am now beginning to be very sympathetic to their increasing "Sucks to be you" position. First, they did a much better job on the PR front starting on Monday. They gave a detailed and what appeared to be a very sincere apology in multiple ways and did a nice job of stressing that they pride themselves on their quality reputation and will do everything possible to keep their customers' trust.  Numerous dealers have also helped the cause with Toyota customers by reiterating that they are doing everything possible to fix the vehicles as quickly as possible. The problem is, they apparently dragged their feet before understanding the gravity of this situation and succeeded in ticking off NHTSA and the Department of Transportation. Numerous media outlets reference department officials "needing to go to Japan to remind Toyota of their legal obligations".  Ouch!

Much worse, it appears Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation, has sensed an opportunity to take center stage and set himself up as the protector of the American consumer. He told a press conference today, "If you own one of these vehicles, stop driving it and get it to a Toyota dealer to get it fixed." While he has since referenced this as a mis-statement, the damage was done.

This media feeding frenzy is not good for anyone in the industry as it keeps another negative story about automotive going and does major damage to one of the most revered companies in the world - a company that critics need to remember employs a significant number of American workers and is still one of the best companies in the world. We should all hope that Toyota starts to get ahead of this story and that the Obama administration tempers its tone a bit.  Otherwise, the fallout could be a lot broader than Toyota.