General Motors chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre says he admires Toyota and the success it has achieved. But he also says GM will seize the opportunity created by Toyota’s recent stumbles to try and help expedite a comeback.

GM emerged from bankruptcy last July—thanks in large part to a major federal bailout—as a newly structured company with Whitacre as its chairman. In December, GM also handed its CEO position to the Texas native.

Two months later, Whitacre says a company that was on the brink of collapse is on the road to recovery.

“We do have momentum,” he says. “We are moving forward. I think people now sense that we are going to make it, that we are going to pay back the taxpayer and make money again. We are on the way back.”

That comeback likely got a boost when, on January 21, Toyota announced that it was recalling approximately 2.3 million vehicles so that it could correct “sticking accelerator pedals” on specific models including the Tundra pickup truck, which is manufactured in San Antonio. Five days later, Toyota announced that it was temporarily suspending sales of the Tundra and seven other models because of the accelerator-pedal issue. The automaker added that it expected to halt production of the affected models during the first week of February at plants in Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, and Canada.

Last week, Toyota said it would begin repairing the accelerator pedals in the recalled vehicles. The automaker said it had developed a solution for new vehicles, too, and production of the Tundra was expected to resume on February 8 in San Antonio.

“We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers, and we are doing everything we can—as fast as we can—to make things right,” says Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. “Stopping production is never an easy decision, but we are 100 percent confident it was the right decision.”

But problems didn’t stop there, as the possibility loomed of a recall of the popular hybrid Prius model because of braking problems. The problems prompted an apology from Toyota chief Akio Toyoda.

Some industry observers believe Toyota may have to spend a huge sum of money to repair its image.

Whitacre believes Toyota’s tumble represents a timely opportunity for GM.

“Timing is always critical,” Whitacre insists. “Toyota is a good company. It has certainly shown us a thing or two. Having said that, General Motors is going to move very aggressively…because we want to get the customers back.”

Wise Investment

Industry tracker Edmonds.com noted on January 29 that Toyota’s market share for January was “expected to plummet to lows not seen since 2006” because of the temporary suspension of sales of some of its vehicles.

GM has offered cash incentives to try and lure consumers away from Toyota. “We are doing things that GM has probably never done before,” Whitacre says about the automaker’s more aggressive maneuvering.

GM has had to climb a steep hill.

“GM did fail. It ran out of money,” Whitacre explains. “The taxpayers bailed it out.”

How close did it come to extinction?

“I think it came pretty close,” adds Whitacre. “But some folks in the government made a really good decision to save it.”

The federal government’s rescue of GM cost taxpayers plenty.

“But I think it will be proven that the government made a very wise investment because I think they are going to make money on this deal,” Whitacre predicts. “That means the taxpayers will get back more than they put in.”