Corolla in the Crosshairs

With another bomb dropping on his company's reputation for quality Wednesday, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda softened his position on the possibility of appearing before U.S. Congressional Committees.

Toyota has already had to recall some of its most popular cars, including the Camry and Prius hybrid, because of defects in either the acccelerator or the braking system (in the case of the Prius).

On Wednesday, word emerged that U.S. regulators planned to launch an investigation of possible power steering defects in the Toyota Corolla, another of Toyota's most popular models. About 500,000 2009 and 2010 Corolla's could be impacted by the investigation, and it may lead to yet another recall for the automaker reeling from a month of bad news.

The quality problems Toyota now faces are especially devastating for a company that rose to become the world's top automaker by building a reputation for rigid devotion to quality products. Perhaps no other company in the world is so dependent on its reputation for quality.

So with questions coming from all sides, Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, said he would consider appearing before Congress if a formal invitation is extended. No such invitation has been issued. The automaker's CEO had previously said he saw no need to make such an appearance.

But with one problem after another cropping up, it appears public relations calculus may dictate that Toyoda--like other corporate leaders before him--show up for a scolding from American lawmakers.