Politico:

Internal Toyota documents derided the Obama administration and Democratic Congress as “activist” and “not industry friendly,” a revelation that comes days before the giant automaker’s top executives testify on Capitol Hill amid a giant recall.

According to a presentation obtained under subpoena by the House Oversight and Government Relations committee, Toyota referred to the “changing political environment” as one of its main challenges and anticipated a “more challenging regulatory” environment under the Obama administration’s purview.

Here is the powerpoint presentation:

PPM116_inaba3 –

I reported earlier on a statement Toyota provided, indicating that their association with the Chamber of Commerce does not mean they agree with the Chamber’s policies. Following up, I asked Marsha Voss, Toyota’s National Manager for Public Affairs the following questions via email:

1) Is Toyota still on the Board of Directors of the United States Chamber of Commerce?

2a) If not, when did Toyota leave the Board of Directors?
2b) If not, do you have a statement on the departure?

3) If so, do you know why Toyota is no longer listed as a Board Member? (http://www.uschamber.com/about/board/all.htm)

Here is her full response:

We are not on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Toyota’s Board membership concluded when the former president of Toyota Motor North America returned to Japan for a new assignment.

I have followed-up again asking her when this was, and will update here when she responds.

While the case on this is likely closed, the timing is awfully suspicious. As of about three weeks ago, Toyota was still listed on the Chamber’s website as a board member.

Questions remain:

When did Toyota officially leave the Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors?

How long had Toyota been on the Board of Directors?

When was Toyota removed from the Board of Directors section of the Chamber’s website, and under what circumstances?

And finally, when will Toyota do the right thing and distance themselves from the extremist policies of the Chamber by either departing or, at the very least, issuing a strong statement?

Update — Toyota has clarified via email:

He resigned in June 2009, just prior to his return to Japan.Toyota has never relied on other organizations to make our position known. On March 14, 2007, in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality, Toyota stated:

“Toyota has long been mindful of and accepts the broad scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and will continue unless there are significant and coordinated global efforts to slow the growth of manmade greenhouse gas emissions.”

And, we have not waited for government regulation to address the challenges of greenhouse gas emissions.

* We are the leader in fuel-efficient vehicles in the U.S.
* We are the leader in hybrid technology, having launched our first hybrid a dozen years ago and put nearly 2 million in the market worldwide to date.
* We are bringing a plug-in, a pure EV, and other advanced technologies to market in the near future to complement our hybrid dominance.
* And, we’ve already cut emissions from our manufacturing plants by over 150,000 metric tons – or 23% — since 2000, reduced energy use more than 24%, and achieved a 95% reduction in waste. Ten of our 14 plants have achieved true zero landfill.

I asked Toyota over the weekend for a statement on the recent defections from the United States Chamber of Commerce. Here is their full response:

Toyota is a member of a wide array of groups and organizations. Our association with these groups does not signify that we agree with all of their policies. It means we are there to have a dialogue and engage in making good policy.

For decades, Toyota has had a strong record of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from our products and plants. In fact, since 1997, we reduced GHG emissions from our plants by 27% and sold more than 1.04 million hybrids in the U.S. and nearly 2 million worldwide.

Toyota supports economy-wide reductions of greenhouse gases. With respect to vehicles, automobiles are best addressed by performance standards, such as CAFE, the upcoming EPA GHG regulations, and the harmonized rules now being developed by NHTSA and EPA that will address CO2 emissions from the vehicle. That is why TMS President Jim Lentz stood with President Obama at the White House last May to support a national program to address greenhouse gases from vehicles.

Please be assured we have documented your concern and it is through feedback such as yours that we come to understand the expectations of our customers. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.
Corporate Communications