Professor Elam

You will recall that our political heroes, the Federal Government, now own Chrysler and GM. In a classic, hit em while they are down strategy, Congress now plans hearings on the hung accelerator story at Toyota.   

Apparently the problem is actually a misaligned floor mat. 

 The same sort of unintended acceleration story nearly sunk Audi a couple of decades back. Owners reported that cars would suddenly for no reason, accelerate without notice, often through garage walls. Nothing was ever proved but Audi suffered lost sales and declining car values for years. 

What is really going on here is the downturn in socionomic mood. Bear markets bring out the worst in everyone. The mood is exclusionary, not inclusionary. We see this in dictators like Chavez blaming the failure of his own socialist policies on the US. Ditto, Putin blames the west for the lack of modernization in Russia. The truth is that Toyota has played by the rules but with no union plants, you can bet the UAW is looking for blood in the Water as Michigan continues its downward spiral, courtesy of GM and the UAW. 

As we have noted there is a new Civil War. The new Civil War falls along the  same lines as the 1861 version. But this time, it is the Solid South that is doing better industrially. And it is doing so in Right to Work states without compulsory union membership. 

Toyota has followed the rules. I have a 2009 RAV 4 and the accelerator has not stuck, but the attitudes in Washington certainly have.