By TOM KRISHER and BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI
Associated Press Writers
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Toyota has launched a media campaign to bolster its reputation for quality as nervous customers confront dealers across the country about faulty gas pedal systems.
Crisis-management experts said Sunday that the recall of millions of cars and trucks isn’t the Japanese auto maker’s only problem: its message to Toyota owners – delivered in full-page ads Sunday in 20 major newspapers – isn’t as clear and reassuring as it needs to be.
On Monday, the head of Toyota’s North American sales division, Jim Lentz, is scheduled to appear on NBC’s The Today Show to detail the company’s plans for a fix. Federal regulators have approved Toyota’s plan to start sending parts to dealers in the coming days.