STATEMENT BY JIM PRESS ON AKIO TOYODA & TOYOTA'S RECENT TROUBLES

Jim Press during his Toyota days Toyota doesn't want me to speak out, but I can't stand it anymore and somebody has to tell it like it is. Akio Toyoda is not only up for the job, but he is the only person who can save Toyota. He is very capable, and he embodies the virtues and character that built this great company. The root cause of their problems is that the company was hijacked, some years ago, by anti-family, financially oriented pirates. They didn't have the character necessary to maintain a customer first focus. Akio does. What the company needs now is for everyone in the company to get behind Akio and do everything possible to emerge from this mess as an even stronger company. Jim Press

Editor's Note: Former Chrysler president Jim Press was the first American member of Toyota Motor Corporation’s board of directors. The comments, released as an email to various publications, were the first Press made about Toyota, where he spent over 30 years before joining Chrysler LLC back in 2007. Press was the highest-ranking American executive in Toyota until he left it to join Chrysler LLC. Akio Toyoda is the chief executive of Toyota and the grandson of the company’s founder. Toyoda told the House Oversight Committee that the company grew too rapidly in recent years, straining its reputation for quality. He has pledged to establish new quality controls, and Toyota said it would give U.S. executives more say in recalls.