Detached Observer?

Heh.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is now saying that he misspoke earlier Wednesday when he said that owners of recalled Toyotas should stop driving their vehicles until they can get them fixed.

“What I said in there was obviously a misstatement,” LaHood told reporters. “If you own one of these cars, take it to the dealer. If you are in doubt, take it to the dealer and have them fix it.”

Toyota Motor Corp. issued a statement Wednesday saying the situation with accelerators that can stick is rare and that it is working “around the clock” to fix the situation.

“Our message to Toyota owners is this: If you experience any issues with your accelerator pedal, please contact your dealer without delay,” according to Toyota’s statement. “If you are not experiencing any issues with your pedal, we are confident that your vehicle is safe to drive.

Here’s the issue.  The U.S. government is a direct owner of both GM and Chrysler.  They are direct competitors of Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc.  As such, our government is no longer an unbiased and dispassionate regulator.  Every time our government hammers on a foreign car company, it materially manifests in a financial benefit to a company that the same government controls.  It would be like Avaya hammering Siemens… you have to take it for what it’s worth. 

Such are the ramifications of government ownership…