Toyota and Truth

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
Why has the Toyota recall garnered so much frenzied press coverage? Some pundits say it is because the baby boomers who pushed Toyotas into car sales stardom, are angry their heartfelt trust was betrayed.

I can’t speak for the press, but as for this baby boomer, I’d agree with that assessment.

Since I started driving at 16, there’s always been a Toyota in our family. The first was a ‘66 four-door with a straight drive on the column. My dad dubbed that little car the “Blue Bullet.” The name stuck out of humor, rather than accuracy. A “bullet” it was not. More like a golf cart on steroids.

I can still remember the smell of the clutch burning as my older sister learned to drive a manual transmission on that car. At least I think it was the clutch. It may have been my dad’s simmering temper boiling over. In fact, all three of the Setzer kids learned to drive in the Blue Bullet. Eventually, I took it to college and then to seminary. I drove it until--quite literally--the drive shaft fell off.

In the early 80s, Bambi and I bought our first new car: a 1983 Toyota Tercel. The interest rate was 17%! But it turned out to be a good buy because I kept that car forever. It had over 200,000 miles on it when I finally retired it 20 years later. The time came when fixing the AC would cost twice what the car was worth. I sold it for a few hundred bucks to some fellow who didn’t mind driving around Macon in July with the windows down.

Then there was the “Bean Mobile,” a ‘81 Tercel my dad gave me when we needed an extra car. Whitney coined that name after declaring I looked like Mr. Bean, the British comedian, driving around in his too-small car. Later, we bought a ‘96 and ‘06 Camry that we still drive. Every one of those cars has been a low-maintenance, high-value, long-lived wonder.

So do I, a baby boomer Toyota loyalist, feel betrayed by Toyota dragging its feet to address a serious safety defect? You bet I do. I thought here was a company where quality and integrity really counted. Turns out for the right price, those values can be compromised, if not sold out altogether.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Let your yes be yes and your no be no” (Matthew 5:33-37). In other words, be a person--or company--of such integrity, you don’t have to resort to swearing, or covert tactics, or eating humble pie during a Congressional hearing. Tell the truth, even when it hurts. I hope I am that kind of person. I know Jesus was. And with the Toyota exposé, I’ve been reminded yet again: there’s only one Name that will never let you down.