If You Were Running Toyota Just How Would You Protect Their Image Through All Of The Bad News?

For years, Toyota Motor Corp. has investigated complaints from drivers saying their Toyota and Lexus vehicles accelerated all by themselves, and the company has identified essentially one cause. The trouble, according to Toyota, occurs when loose or ill-fitting floor mats, carpet covers or detached trim jam the gas pedal.

But after a highly publicized crash in August that killed four people when the driver lost control of a Lexus sedan, Toyota has come under intense pressure to reduce the risk of unintended acceleration.

The Japanese automaker and U.S. safety regulators are discussing changes to the gas pedal, as well as adjustments that would make it easier to stop a car that's accelerating, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 15 fatalities, including the four in August, are linked to hundreds of reports of unintended acceleration of Toyotas it has received since 2002.

While that's a fraction of the casualties associated with some high-profile vehicle-safety cases, such as the Ford-Firestone debacle, the issue is deeply worrying to U.S. safety officials and could be very damaging to Toyota.