Apologetic

Apologetic Toyota looking to outside quality input
By Chang-Ran Kim and Kevin Krolicki Chang-ran Kim And Kevin Krolicki 56 mins ago
NAGOYA/DETROIT (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp's presidentapologized on Friday for safety problems and said the company would bring in outside experts to review quality controls, an unusual action for a company that has enjoyed a reputation for high standards.
"Iwould like to take this opportunity to apologize from the bottom of my heart for causing many of our customers concern after the recalls across several models in several regions," Akio Toyoda, thegrandson of Toyota's founder, told a news conference in Nagoya, Japan.
Toyoda's comments were his most extensive since the latest recall began in January. Toyota has issued two recalls since lastNovember.
The company's shares, which have taken a beating in recent sessions, rose as much as 4.1 percent to $74.73 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. Since January 21, Toyota has lost $30 billionor a fifth of its market value.
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's put Toyota and some of its suppliers on watch for a possible downgrade citing "increased concern over the potential negativeimpact on Toyota's business profile of unfolding developments related to recent quality issues."
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has recalled more than 8 million vehicles around the world forproblems with accelerators. Episodes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles have been linked to up to 19 crash deaths in the United States over the past decade.
Toyota is also mulling a recallof Prius, its top-selling hybrid, for a braking problem.
The company has estimated that lost production, lost sales, parts to fix problems, staff training and repairs to recalled vehicles will costToyota $2 billion from January to the end of March.
The news conference came after U.S. competitor Ford Motor Co readied a solution for braking problems on two of its hybrid models, the hybrid Fusion...