Toyota Refused Government Prius Award

Toyota is in a lot of trouble caused by the vast recall of more than 8 million cars worldwide whose accelerator pedals are in need of immediate attention. The Japanese are concerned with clients losing trust in Toyota’s legendary attention to quality, especially as the automaker also announced it will recall all the Prius models due to braking problems.

As Toyota admitted all its mistakes, the automaker refused to accept a Japanese government energy efficiency award given to its hybrid Prius, saying the honor is not appropriate for a car hit by massive recalls. And they’re probably right, as the recall affects 437,000 Prius worldwide.

"We declined to accept the award, because we thought it is not appropriate," said Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco, citing the global recall of the gas-electric hybrid.

The Prius was one of the three products chosen as the winner of the prize for energy efficiency and ecological quality, said Hiroshi Tsuchiya, an official with the government's energy agency, for msnbc.com. The other two winners were Mitsubishi Electric Corp. for an air conditioner and Fuji Xerox Co. for a multifunction copy machine.

Toyota is determined to regain the trust of its customers, as Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda has expressed his deepest regret on more than one occasion and promised to take drastic measures in his efforts to make things right. Toyoda emphasized the company’s commitment to quality and announced the establishment of a global quality task force that will conduct quality improvement activities region by region.