Now They Tell Us

The U.S. Department of Transportation analyzed data recorders from Toyota vehicles in accidents they have been blamed on sudden acceleration. The result? The accelerator was engaged while they brakes were not.

In other words, the drivers mistakenly pressed the accelerator and not the brake - or at least claimed so in the accident investigation to deflect blame from themselves.

This is consistent with the government's investigation of supposed "unexplained" acceleration of Audi cars in 1989.

Out of 3,000 sudden acceleration complaints involving Toyotas and Lexuses, only one was confirmed as a problem with the vehicle, due to a floor mat issue.

Toyota, which built a highly profitable auto company without government subsidies or bailouts because it made cars people want to buy with a market cost structure, deserved better than the assault politicians and the media unleashed on the company earlier this year.

In a world where the U.S. government is a large shareholder in GM and Chrysler, it makes one wonder how much of the Toyota-bashing was driven by a desire to help the government-owned auto companies and the UAW.