First Take: Toyota recall could avoid GM scenario

Seems hard to believe that it's really a coincidence Toyota announced a big package of recalls today….only weeks after it got smacked with the biggest fine of all time against a car company for covering up details of its sudden acceleration problem.

And as federal safety officials take a strict approach to General Motors' failure to explain its ignition switch recall by the April 3 deadline.

And as the Justice Department, which fined Toyota $1.2 billion last month for misleading customers about the acceleration matter, is fully awakened to the auto industry by GM's problems.

And as elements of the U.S. Senate and House freely slap GM CEO Mary Barra for the faults of her predecessors in ignoring warning signs about that troublesome switch, now linked to 31 U.S. accidents and 12 deaths, plus one fatal crash in Canada.

Not a time of patience and forbearance among authorities in the U.S. regarding missteps by automakers, Toyota might have said to itself.

True, most of the recalled Toyotas are overseas. Of the 6-plus million potentially flawed machines, 2.34 million are in North American and of those, 1.77 million in the U.S. But if Toyota were waffling, the current tough tone here surely would have been enough to close the deal in favor of the wide recall.

Legally, an automaker must notify the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration within five business days of deciding the car company has a safety defect.

And from a public relations standpoint, there's an argument that a big combined recall -- like pulling off the sticky bandage fast, instead of slowly -- hurts a lot but not for long. Especially when GM's recall is hogging the news.

Too, Japanese automakers have a history of wanting nothing to do with U.S. courts, lawyers -- especially product-liability lawyers -- and regulators. They have viewed the rule-making and -enforcing establishment as somewhat illogical, threatening and not at all genteel. Even predatory.

So Toyota simply could be ! responding to human nature at the corporate level – Let's do nothing to rile those edgy Yanks who have fined us a big bunch of money, embarrassed us publicly and seem collectively to be stirred up like importuned hornets at the moment.

Or, maybe it's actually mere coincidence.

The North American recalls, most involving U.S. models, and no deaths injuries or accidents:

A cable that could be damaged by the steering wheel, preventing the driver's airbag from operating -- 1.67 million 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2008-2010 Highlander, 2009-2010 Tacoma, 2006-2008 RAV4 and 2006-2010 Yaris vehicles. Of those, 1.3 million are in the U.S.Seat adjusters that could fail to lock, allowing the seat to move in a crash -- 670,000 2006-2010 Yaris Hatchback, 2007-2010 Yaris sedan, 2008-2010 Scion xD vehicles. Of the total, 472,500 are U.S.-market vehicles.