This thoughtful piece by Charles Krauthammer over on National Review Online really misses an important point about the Toyota failures.
Krauthammer talks about the difference between one car that might be a lemon versus a systemic defect that might be present in all of the cars produced at a certain period of time. He goes on to discuss the risk to society and how we have to deal with it.
But the other points he misses are these:
1. Toyota sells 3 million Camerys to people whom they have no control over. Do they know how to drive? Maintain the car?
2. Every one of the thousands of parts in the car have a tolerance for failure. Most failures are minor, but every once in a while a failure can be catastrophic.
3. Out of those 3 million cars maybe its one hundred or so that have really failed. But maybe several hundred accidents mimic the failures due to the drivers?
If Toyota has not been diligent about solving safety problems, shame on them and hopefully justice for the victims. But failures in and of themselves should not be an indictment of the company.
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