Lawmakers fired questions Wednesday at two Toyota executives about whether the company’s lobbyists are too cozy with government regulators and whether those relationships slowed down the response to complaints about the automaker’s safety record.
The hearing, the second on Capitol Hill this week, also served as a forum for lawmakers to debate proposals related to the U.S. tort system. One Democrat warned Toyota Motor Corp.’s president, Akio Toyoda, that the automaker should expect significant losses as a result of products liability lawsuits.
