Hey Buddy, $1,000 for That Toyota

Toyota's U.S. sales chief heads to Capitol Hill today to apologize to a House committee for safety problems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. It won't be the first congressional mea culpa, however. On Wednesday, another committee will hear from Toyota President Akio Toyoda. Expect another apology then.

The Japanese auto company has been battered for weeks by what seem like a never-ending stream of stories about accelerator pedals that stick. On Monday, for example, ABC News reported that despite assurances from Toyota officials that their cars didn't have any electronics problems, the cars, well, did.

With all the hits the comapny is taking, we wonder how Americans are really feeling about the Toyotas they own and whether they're itching to trade in for another manufacturers.

The Denver Business Journal took a snapshot from Denver-area Toyota dealers and found this anecdotal information:

At O’Meara Ford in Northglenn, four or five Toyota owners traded in their cars and bought new Ford vehicles since the latest recall started in mid-January. It didn't hurt that Ford was giving a $1,000 additional rebate to Toyota owners.

And at Shortline Auto Group's two Colorado dealerships, Don Hicks said he's seen a few Toyota owners coming in. Like with Ford, Hyudai (one of the makes Shortline sells) is offering a $1,000 more for traded-in Toyotas.

“It’s not a giant rush, and to be fair to Toyota, they built one heck of a vehicle. This will affect a small percentage of the vehicles that they built," said Hicks, the Shortline CEO.

Toyota shouldn't be too offended by other car companies trying to take advantage of its misfortune. Last year, when General Motors and Chrysler were going through bankruptcy, Toyota was the one offering special incentives to owners of those vehicles.

“Turnabout is fair play I guess,” Tim Jackson, president of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, told the Denver Business Journal. “Although for consumers, it’s a good time to buy a car, and with these incentives, it might be an even better time to buy a new car.”