Distrait, Ignoramus and Pecuniary

Today there will be three words: Distrait, Ignoramus and Pecuniary

Distrait is an adjective that means inattentive because of distracting worries, fears, etc; absent-minded.

Ignoramus is a noun that means an ignorant person; a dunce.

Pecuniary is an adjective that means:

1. of or pertaining to money

2. consisting of or given or exacted in money or monetary payments

3. (of a crime, violation, etc.) involving a money penalty or fine

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What collection of ignoramuses at Toyota decided to completely shun their customer’s overriding reasons for brand loyalty to their product? Did these overconfident head honchos somehow conclude that the American public was so distrait by competing concerns over the economy, the war against terror, and the lack of universal health care that they would completely overlook the manufacturer’s failure to address the apparently valid concerns that the Camry, the “number one car in America”, and other popular selling models, were some of the unsafest vehicles let loose on the highway, or did they believe, perhaps, that the American public was so enamored with the Toyota product that they would choose to ignore consumer protection safety warnings?

For many customers, Toyota’s assumptions were reprehensible and now, after significant public outrage, Congress, always eager for a distraction from more difficult, partisan issues, wants answers from the automaker, even though the Federal Safety Administration failed to get involved even after there had been several years worth of complaints made to this agency about the inexplicable acceleration of these cars. Regardless of the outcome of these long overdue investigations, the damage Toyota has done to itself and it’s own reputation is by far more detrimental than any pecuniary penalties the government may impose.

I, a formerly loyal customer, who will never, ever, be one again, bought 2 Toyotas under the apparently misguided belief that they were one of the safest, highest quality automobiles on the market, and, because of these attributes, their vehicles had the best resale value when compared to other manufacturers. But apparently all along I was being systematically misinformed and my safety was ignored by a company focused solely on profit; a company that, until it was forced to respond, considered the deaths of it’s customers while driving their vehicles unfortunate and yet inconsequential when compared to the bottom line and the costs that would be involved to correct each vehicle’s malfunction.

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