NEW YORK — Toyota Motor North America Inc. (TMA) has announced that former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater will lead an independent North American Quality Advisory Panel to advise the company’s North American affiliates on quality and safety issues.
The panel will work closely with Toyota’s North American leadership team, and will have direct access to Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda. Toyoda announced the establishment of a global quality task force in early February, in response to the recent spate of Toyota vehicle recalls.
"I am pleased that Secretary Slater has accepted our invitation to lead the distinguished group of safety and quality experts who will help Toyota to improve its quality controls in North America," said Yoshi Inaba, president and chief operating officer of TMA. "We are committed to more transparency regarding our safety and quality controls, and the independent advisers will have our full cooperation and access to any information they believe they need."
This independent group of experts will also evaluate the electronic throttle control system (ECTS-i) installed in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Its findings will be made public. For its ETCS-i evaluation, the Quality Advisory Panel will have access to the results of extensive testing previously conducted by Toyota as well as a comprehensive, independent study being undertaken by Exponent, a leading engineering and scientific consulting firm located in Palo Alto, Calif. The panel will be able to commission any additional outside reviews it deems necessary and will have an unlimited budget to pursue its mandate.
"Over the years, Toyota engineers have extensively tested our electronic throttle control system and have never confirmed a single case where the ETCS-i was the cause of unintended acceleration. Nevertheless, given the recent speculation and concerns regarding unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, we believe it is essential to provide our customers and the general public with additional confidence in the integrity of our electronic systems," said Inaba.
Secretary Slater will be closely involved in the selection and approval of members of the North America Quality Advisory Panel. The group is modeled after Toyota’s Diversity Advisory Board, which brings outside perspectives and accountability from some of America’s most recognized leaders in diversity and other public policy fields to help Toyota shape and maintain its widely acknowledged commitment to diversity.
Slater is currently a partner in the premier public policy law firm, Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C., with a focus on promoting a more secure, environmentally sound and sustainable global transportation infrastructure. He is also a vice chairman and senior advisor at James Lee Witt Associates, a leading advisory firm on public safety, disaster mitigation, continuity of operations and emergency management.
Slater served in the cabinet of President Clinton as Secretary of Transportation from February 1997 until January 2001. During his tenure, he championed and received bipartisan congressional support for the passage of several historic legislative initiatives, including the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which guaranteed a record $200 billion in surface transportation investment through 2003, and the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), which provides a record $46 billion to provide safety and security of the U.S. aviation system. As Secretary of Transportation, he also worked with Congress to secure passage of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (or TREAD) Act.
