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The drama of the runaway Toyota Prius that careened along a San Diego Interstate on Monday afternoon was the unanimous choice for Story of the Day. CBS had already mentioned the incident in passing to kick off its Monday newscast. Now all three networks chose it for a full-fledged lead as 911 audiotapes of the terrified driver, 60-year-old James Sikes, were published. His accelerator was stuck full on, overriding a combination of foot brake and emergency brake. Eventually he was able to switch off the engine and the Highway Patrol guided the car safely to the highway shoulder. No injury occurred--except to Toyota's already-battered reputation.

CNBC's automobile correspondent Phil LeBeau reckoned on NBC that the runaway accelerator problem may end up costing Toyota $5bn in recall repairs, lawsuit settlements and lost sales. Go into a Toyota dealership and you will find "huge discounts," he promised. "They are offering five years, 0% financing and then two years of complimentary service on top of that. In the auto industry, that is a very, very sweet offer." As for the San Diego incident, Toyota's public relations image just had to take the black eye: "a wild ride…terrifying moments"--NBC's Miguel Almaguer…an "infamous runaway…a wild ride"--CBS' Ben Tracy…"he said he was standing for much of the ride"--ABC's David Muir.

Andrew Tyndall 3/11/10 3:26:01 pm

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