The news is everywhere - Toyota is recalling millions of vehicles in the US and elsewhere due to a 'sticky' problem with the accelerators. Consequently, Toyota reported lower sales this year, in the same time period, than last year while Ford and GM, the erstwhile struggling companies reported increased sales. Desi folks are depressed and don't know what to do since the only car brand they knew suspended sales of its problem models.

The legendary Toyota slips... the company known for its Ujala-sottu-neelam-washed-dhoti-like impeccable safety record is on overdrive to control the damage this episode would cause to its reputation. The recalled cars will be fixed in due time and the sales will resume - that is not the issue here. But the allegation that Toyota ignored calls for safety and was slow to react in spite of several accident reports (family of four died) in quite damning - it shakes the foundation of a company known to be synonymous with reliability, safety and longevity of its vehicles.

In the process, Toyota has gotten on the wrong side of the US transportation secretary who today asked owners to stop driving the recalled vehicles until the problem is fixed - he later said that his mouth had malfunctioned and recalled himself to fix it - but that was enough to drag the Toyota shares down. Toyota came out and said that they want the customers to understand that the problem with the gas pedals is not widespread and happens rarely... hmm, seems like the hole's getting bigger.

There is an element of truth to what the Secretary said. If the folks continue to drive their cars and face an accident due to this problem, who is liable? Is it the owner for continuing to drive a car in spite of the recall or would Toyota take responsibility? In any case, Toyota, beef up your legal department - you will need it in the months to come.

How successful is Toyota in handling this episode remains to be seen... this will become a case study in all management schools. Some heads will most certainly roll in the QC department; you will start to see Toyota Ads on TV, something Toyota has not needed in the past except for Lexus and Prius models. Now all the models are under scrutiny with electrical issues reported with Prius.

Toyota is under a magnifying glass. Some tips:
- fix the cars quickly
- recheck safety data on all models
- appease the concerns of the US regulators
- reassure customers of your safety standards
- provide incentives to revive the sales