The Bona Venture

Issue date: 3/19/10 Section: Opinion

Toyota's president, Akio Toyoda.
Image courtesy of forbes.com

On March 8, the American government backed Japanese automaker Toyota into a corner, and rightfully so.

Unfortunately, 62-year-old James Sikes of San Diego, Ca., decided it was a prime opportunity to cash in on the automaker's woes.

The discovery that gas pedals, when pressed, stuck to floor mats on some Toyota models led to the eventual recall of a combined 4.8 million Toyota and Lexus (a division of Toyota) vehicles between November 2009 and January 2010, according to a March 15 CNN.com article.

With its faulty floorboards believed to be the cause of 34 deaths since 2000, according to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Toyota found itself to be the center of government ire.

However, Sikes decided to unsuccessfully attempt to add another black eye onto the carmaker's public image.

On March 8, Sikes called 911, claiming the gas pedal in his 2008 Toyota Prius was sticking while on a San Diego highway, according to an Associated Press report.

Once California Highway Patrol officers reached the scene, Sikes magically managed to turn off the car's engine and bring the car to a halt.

In a press conference following the incident, Sikes said that while his vehicle was one of the models recalled by the automaker, he was refused service at a Toyota dealership.

The timing of the incident certainly seems suspicious. Toyota President Akio Toyoda once again defended his company's integrity at a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill the same day as Sikes' wild ride.

In addition, blog network Gawker revealed that Sikes filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and owed $700,000 to various creditors - including a $20,494 charge to Toyota Motor Sales for the exact same Prius Sikes drove at the time of the incident.

The debt he owed to Toyota begs this question: if Sikes knew his car was on the recall list, why didn't he make it clear that he searched for another dealership that would repair his vehicle?

On Monday, a joint investigation by Toyota and the NHTSA revealed that Sikes' account of what occurred - slamming his foot on the brake pedal while the gas pedal was stuck - could not be duplicated on other Priuses and "did not appear to be feasibly possible," according to the CNN article.

As a result, Toyota now unfairly finds itself playing the victim to Sikes' idiotic hoax.

Through his attempt to seemingly use current events to avoid financial responsibility, Sikes willingly allowed himself to be linked with those lost due to the automaker's lapse in judgment.

Sikes lost absolutely nothing due to his seemingly staged stunt; the families of the 34 victims of Toyota's gas-pedal issues lost their loved ones.

e-mail: papasejr@sbu.edu

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools