Report: Toyota image gets big boost after NASA findings revealed

It doesn't take much to change the opinion of the masses, apparently. Automotive News is reporting that it only took a mere two days for Toyota to see a rebound in its reputation after NASA engineers cleared the company of any electronic flaws in its vehicle software. As you may recall, the Department of Transportation called in some of the brightest minds from the country's space program to have a look at the issues surrounding the rash of unintended acceleration claims involving Toyota vehicles. Those engineers couldn't find anything that would point to an electronic issue as the culprit.
What did they find? As it turns out, the NASA investigation pointed to the same culprits as both Toyota and the Department of Transportation. Instances of unintended acceleration were caused by sticky pedals, floor mat interference, or good old-fashioned pedal misapplication.

Automotive News reports that according to YouGov/Brandindex, a company that tracks customer perception of popular brands, Toyota saw a sizeable boost in its reputation in the days following the announcement.

Toyota, meanwhile, says that the company doesn't view the findings as a victory. Instead, the news is simply validation of what the automaker believed to be true all along.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]