Description: This is
a VOA Special English Economics Report.
See text below
Text:
Toyota became the world's largest automaker in two
thousand eight.
But after years of building loyalty, the Japanese
company may have put its quality brand name at risk,
at least temporarily.
Toyota is recalling millions of cars and trucks
around the world because of cases where vehicles
have sped up unexpectedly. Last August, a driver in
California was unable to stop. The crash killed him
and three of his family members.
Toyota says the problem is rare and caused by
accelerator pedals becoming stuck open.
On January twenty-sixth, the company suspended sales
of eight of its top-selling vehicles in the United
States, its largest market. Toyota dealers have been
receiving parts to make repairs.
General Motors and Ford both reported increased
sales in January. But Toyota sales in the United
States have fallen, and so has its stock price.
Toyota says it expects costs and lost sales from its
recent safety recalls to total two billion dollars
by the end of March.
Louis Lataif spent twenty-seven years in the car
industry at Ford. Now he is dean of the School of
Management at Boston University.
He says this is Toyota's biggest recall. A recall
late last year involved floor mats that Toyota said
could cause the accelerator to get stuck. One of the
vehicles in the floor mat recall was the Prius, the
world's top selling hybrid.
Now American officials are investigating the brake
system on the twenty ten Prius.
The Transportation Department says it has received
more than one hundred twenty reports, including
reports of four crashes.
Toyota says it found a software problem that could
briefly affect the "feel" of the anti-lock brakes on
rough or slippery roads.
It says it fixed the brake problem in January.
But a growing number of legal cases claim Toyota
knew for a long time about the sudden acceleration
issue with other vehicles. The problem reportedly
has led to more than eight hundred crashes and
nineteen deaths in the past ten years. Congress is
preparing for hearings.
Greg Bonner is a marketing professor at Villanova
University. He says to regain trust, Toyota will
have to make public everything it knows about the
problems and show it accepts responsibility.
The recall has also intensified questions about all
the computer control systems used in modern cars.
And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
To post a comment:
• Click "Comment using..." in
the window below
• Click your favorite service: Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail
• Login to the service
• Click "Add a comment..."
• Post your comment in the window
Students: Please post a
comment stating what you found interesting about this video. You are
welcome to include links to your English study blogs and any
other materials you think might be useful for learning
English.
Teachers: Please post your
thoughts about this video. You are welcome to include links to
your sites, blogs, and any other materials you think might
be useful for learning English.
Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
