Honda executive testifying before U.S. House.
He sounds very sincere. But Honda's action--concealing 1700 incidents--speaks louder than words.
How could Honda evade the Early Warning requirements so easily for so long? Mr. Schostek explained that Honda had not built an information systems infrastructure that would enable TREAD Act compliance.
My hair's on fire when I think about the willful blindness to customer safety.
This would mean that--I am alleging--that for perhaps ten years at Honda, its information technology department was not given the budget to build a system that would enable the company to comply with TREAD Act requirements. Meanwhile Honda managed to build IT sufficient to make and sell millions and millions of cars. This brings to mind a comment of one of America's most famous auto safety watchdogs: "Everyone violates the TREAD act, all the time."
Question: Why could Honda find the money to make and sell millions of cars but could not find the money to comply with US auto safety law?