More and more on Toyota

As Toyota executives head to Capitol Hill today for the first of three hearings on the automaker's product safety record, here is a link to a story in The New York Times states that government watchdog groups are raising questions about whether deep financial and personal connections between lawmakers and Toyota could taint the Congressional investigation. The car company had 31 lobbyists working in Washington last year and has spent nearly $25 million on federal regulatory and legislative lobbying matters in the last five years, far more than any other foreign automaker. A number of lawmakers have personal financial ties to Toyota as well. For more comments on the significance of the Congressional hearings go here. Meanwhile, Federal prosecutors have also launched a criminal investigation into Toyota's safety problems. For the AP story on this go here, which also includes a short video news story.