If any company can relate to Toyota's current recall woes, it's Audi. The German automaker was hit with similar allegations of unintended acceleration during the 1980s, when supposed faulty gas pedals on its popular 5000 series sedan were linked to six deaths and 700 crashes. Though the problem was eventually determined to be a case of driver error—people were hitting the gas instead of the brake—Audi had to issue a major recall. A 1986 60 Minutes investigation plunged the knife in. The investigation was later debunked when it was discovered that an expert had rigged a car to accelerate irregularly. But the damage was done. Audi sales dropped 80 percent over the next five years. It wasn't until 2000 that it regained its peak from 1985.
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