Under LaHood

Toyota: Toyota's reputation has taken a deserved hit from accelerator problems that have forced it to recall some 8 million vehicles worldwide. That's now compounded by problems with brakes on the Prius hybrid. But the reaction, not least from the US government, looks overblown and appears to be taking on a whiff of protectionism.

That's not to downplay the seriousness of the issue. Toyota's sticky gas pedal has been deemed responsible for 275 crashes and 18 deaths since 1999 — and the last moments of passengers in one fatal accident were caught on a 911 emergency recording currently doing the rounds on the Internet.

But, the Japanese automaker is hardly the first to issue a mass recall of potentially dangerous products. Ford and General Motors' history is replete with malfunctioning vehicles, like the Ford Pinto that tended to explode if rear-ended.

There are more recent examples, too. Some 109,000 Crown Victorias sold to US police forces between 2003 and 2005 had wheels that could split apart at high speeds. And just last fall, Ford recalled 4.5 million vehicles because of a faulty cruise control switch that could cause a fire even in cars with their engines turned off. That was only the latest recall relating to the issue, which has affected 16 million vehicles in total.

Yet that incident did not prompt US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to advise owners to stop driving their cars, as he did on Wednesday in remarks about Toyota's problems. He quickly rescinded his comments, but the damage can't be fully undone. Meanwhile, US safety regulators have reacted unusually speedily to consumer complaints about the Prius.

If such responses were standard, there'd be no issue. But, it's hard to avoid the sense that US officials are playing favorites. After all, Detroit's automakers are still trying to pull themselves out of a multi-year slump that landed Chrysler and GM in bankruptcy last year — and left the government with big stakes in both after bailing them out.

Toyota needs to fix its problems pronto. But the US protectionist sentiment playing up the Japanese company's woes may backfire. After all, an American company, Indiana-based CTS, made the gas pedal in question.