It’s the kind of publicity any university might dream about: An instructor uncovers a possible flaw that’s causing some of the world’s most popular cars to accelerate suddenly. His ground-breaking work attracts interest from Congress and reporters worldwide.
But as Southern Illinois University’s David Gilbert sought to show that electronics might be to blame for the problem in Toyotas, the world’s largest automaker tried to cast doubt on his findings. One Toyota employee even questioned whether he should be employed by the school, which has long been a recipient of company donations.
Electronic messages obtained by The Associated Press show the automaker grew increasingly frustrated with Gilbert’s work and made its displeasure clear to his bosses at the 20,000-student school.
“It did kind of catch us off-guard,” university spokesman Rod Sievers said.
So did the fallout. Read more…