Toyota's Problems Were Not Mechanical

According to Popular Mechanics, Toyota's "accelerator problems" were likely very fundamental: consumers accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

But the possibility that a vehicle could go from idling at a traffic light to terrific, uncalled-for and uncontrollable acceleration because the guy next to you at a traffic light answered his cellphone? Or some ghost in the machine or a hacker caused a software glitch that made your car run away and the brakes suddenly simultaneously fail? Not in the least bit likely. Toyota deserves a better deal than the media and Congress are giving it.

The expensive, multi-billion dollar recall is entirely a PR campaign by Toyota. What was the other alternative as Congress pounded away at the company? To tell the country that there are a few dozen consumers who screwed up and didn't realize that their own stupid errors caused their own crashes? They were basically in a no-win situation.