Though I have not closely followed everything that has been going on with Toyota, my casual observance of their reaction to the problems and recalls has left me with a good impression. The Toyota ads of the past few weeks have not been directed towards selling cars. Rather, the company is (rightly) owning up to the mistakes they have made and they appear to be genuinely and sincerely focused, for the time being, on regaining consumer trust.

In 1982, several people died after taking Tylenol that someone had laced with cyanide. Though Johnson & Johnson (the manufacturer) was not directly at fault, they owned up and did everything they could to make it right. The company tried to find the culprit, both internally and by working with police. More importantly, however, they changed the way they did business and introduced tamper-proof and tamper-evident packaging. As a result, the entire industry changed and millions of people are safer because of it.

I believe that with the tragedies that has occurred with Toyota's braking and steering malfunctions, there is a great opportunity for both Toyota and the whimpering auto industry as a whole. The first step is owning up, which they seem to be doing. In the end, however, the true test will be whether Toyota can effect a change in the way they do business; a change that makes people safer in the future. If they can do this they will, like Johnson & Johnson, regain our trust and remain a successful company for many years to come.