The Great Toyota Hoax

Do you remember the Toyota Crisis of 2010? It was one of the biggest stories of the year. There was a grave danger in Toyotas: Some electronic gadget in the cars was causing them to suddenly lurch forward at high speed. They couldn’t be brought under control even with the brake pedal; millions of people were at risk due to these demon machines. It was such a threat to so many Americans that no less than the Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that “Toyotas are unsafe”. The Democrat controlled Congress jumped into action to avenge this death threat that had been inflicted on the American people. Hearings were held. Toyota executives were accused of lying and covering up the problem. The nation’s leading newspapers, news magazines, and television networks ran numerous stories on the “killing machines” theme. Toyota was fined $48.8 B for what the Obama administration called its inadequate response to the crisis. Toyotas stock price and market share declined.

Well, never mind. Earlier this year, after an exhaustive study by that very same Ray LaHood’s transportation department, assisted by NASA engineers, the U.S. government officially concluded that there was no evidence – no evidence whatsoever – of any mechanical or electronic defects in Toyotas that would cause sudden, unintentional acceleration.

Will their $48.8 billion be refunded?