Toyota Works to Get Back on Track: Then the other Shoe Drops – Bad Publicity wipes out Efforts to Regain Market Share

Toyota sales slipped 8.7 percent in February as the automaker struggled with models that it couldn't sell until the accelerator pedals were fixed, loads of bad publicity about its recalls and pending congressional hearings.

The Toyota division, which stopped selling eight models including its two biggest sellers until the repairs could be made, took the biggest hit -- down 10.6% for the month compared to a year ago. The Lexus luxury brand sales actually rose 4.5% -- an impressive feat given that the crash that kicked off the whole recall nightmare was a runaway Lexus that killed a California Highway Patrol officer and his family.

CNN reported that the driver of a Toyota Prius says he was taken on a wild ride Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck, reaching speeds in excess of 90 mph on a winding, hilly portion of a southern California interstate.

It took the California Highway Patrol to bring the car safely to a stop.

The driver, Jim Sikes, said he was traveling east on Interstate 8 outside of the San Diego area when he attempted to pass a slower vehicle.

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car, and it just did something kind of funny ... and it just stuck there," he said at a news conference outside a Highway Patrol office. "As I was going, I was trying the brakes ... and it just kept speeding up."

Sikes said he called 911 for help, and dispatchers talked him through instructions on how he might be able to stop the car. But nothing worked.

At one point, Sikes said he reached down to try to pull the accelerator up, but it "stayed right where it was."

Alerted by emergency dispatchers, a California Highway Patrol officer was able to catch up to Sikes' Prius and used the patrol car's public address system to instruct Sikes to apply the brakes and the emergency brake at the same time.

The tactic worked, and the car slowed to about 50 mph. Sikes said he was able to shut off the car, and it rolled to a stop. The responding officer, Todd Neibert, positioned his patrol car in front of the Prius as a precaution to prevent it from moving again.

Read the full Story and watch the video on CNN:

http://us.cnn.com/2010/US/03/08/california.runaway.prius/index.html?hpt=T1