Toyota’s back on course, but damage control an uphill battle

Automaker must back up words with action to win back reputation

Toyota’s top brass have finally shifted out of reverse. They’re apologizing to customers, shipping replacement parts to fix faulty accelerator pedals and asking dealers to work around the clock to repair millions of vehicles and to restore the company’s reputation for quality.

But it remains to be seen whether the global automaker can regain its position in a highly competitive and cost-sensitive marketplace after engineering what has been one of the most poorly handled recalls in auto history.

After a week of silence from corporate headquarters, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, attending the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, apologized for the anxiety his company has caused them following a massive recall and said the company was working to solve the problem.

Monday morning, Toyota’s head of U.S. operations, Jim Lentz, appeared on NBC’s “The Today show” and pledged that Toyota dealers would remain open day and night until all customers are satisfied that their cars are safely repaired.