the production lines will be just as aggressive in dealing with safety problem that say occur after delivery. reporter: so there are going to be some substantive questions here. what did toyota know, when did it know it and are these cars safe above all. that is what these lawmakers want to know. but, kyra, you ve seen and i ve seen that these congressional hearings are almost like a contact sport. there are going to be pointed questions, some that certainly might offend mr. toyoda, might really offend sort of the japanese sensibility where they don t face these kinds of questions and this direct type of questioning, kyra. we ll be tracking it, you let us know as soon as things get started. so who is akio toyoda. well, the 53-year-old toyoda was groomed to lead the empire that his grandfather founded. in fact in his younger years he was once dubbed the prince. in 1982 he reid his mba from babson college in massachusetts. then it was on to california
professional standards is totally without merit. and nhtsa says our record reflects that safety is our singular priority. the scope of the investigation was appropriate because, quote, longer duration incidents involve the possibility that the wrong pedal was used, which could mask a vehicle-based defect. that was ridiculous for the agency to agree to that. reporter: joan claybrook s consumer group successfully sued toyota in 2007, forcing it to disclose which vehicles had been involved in crashes. they should require more information to be submitted, not less, and they should require all the complaints of the agency itself can do an evaluation of what is a problem and what is not. reporter: as for the alleged conflict of interest, employees interviewing for jobs outside the government are not supposed to engage in any business between their current agency and their potential employer. once they leave government, as long as they re not with the executive or legislative branches
front. shares are up just slightly, about 2% this morning. the dow industrials is pretty strong open. up about .33%. nasdaq composite higher by almost 1%. the most famous music studio in the world is a cultural landmark. britain s abby road ey road is historic building. its owner emi is looking for an investment but since it is historic, it will be harder for them to sell it. we sort of want to put the pitch out there every day that you can t let this go. this is a very special place in music history. it is indeed. thanks, poppy. taking aim at toyota on capitol hill today. company president akio toyoda will be there to testify. he ll apologize and explain that the problems stem from overly aggressive growth. you know, trying to get too big
bailey says the agency decided to exclude two crucial areas. they specifically say longer duration incidents involving uncontrollable acceleration where the brakes didn t work are not within the scope of this investigation. reporter: that decision was made after discussions with santucci and another toyota official who had also worked for nhtsa. santucci was deposed in december. we discussed the scope, nhtsa s concerns about the scope and ultimately led to a decision by the agency to reduce that scope. reporter: was toyota effectively calling the shots? were they telling the federal government what they should and should not be looking for? i wish i knew the answer to that question. reporter: is that what you believe? in the course i don t know. and that s why we filed this lawsuit. reporter: a toyota spokesman in santucci s office tells cnn any insinuation that he violated federalette exlaws or that he did not live up to the highest
sent this fax to my u.s. house representative. i said i need mr. polis help in identifying which congressional subcommittee has oversight responsibilities for nhtsa. i would like to initiate a congressional inquiry to investigate allegations that employees of nhtsa were in collusion with executives of toyota usa to cover up defects regarding unintended acceleration. so, folks, don t blame the government, you can blame me. i m the customer and the consumer that initiated these hearings. ted james. we re very sorry to hear about what happened to your wife and we will continue to follow your case as things develop with toyota. really appreciate your time. thank you. mr. toyoda, his name, his heritage, his company, his nation pride all on the line today in washington. foreign country, foreign culture, foreign language. i don t know, do you think he s a little bit nervous?