Toyota: Looking for answers and contrition
It will be difficult for today's hearing on Toyota to outdo the emotion and tension of yesterday's event. Rhonda Smith wept as she told her terrifying tale of speeding at 100 mph (161 kmh) and calling her husband just to hear his voice one last time. Luckily, or miraculously (she told the committee that "God intervened"), the car slowed.
But the point was that this happened in 2006. If the company had listened to her and her husband, lives could have been saved. "Shame on you, Toyota for being so greedy," she concluded.
Head of Toyota Akio Toyoda's written testimony suggests she may have hit the nail on the head. The company had just over 13% of the US market in 2005, and 17% last year.
Mr Toyoda blames today's safety issues on the pace of growth. He says that traditionally safety had been the number one priority, more important than quality and volume, but these priorities have become confused. It won't help that the US transport secretary Ray LaHood told the committee that Toyota's bosses in Japan were a little bit "safety deaf".
Mr Toyoda's general admission of failure deals with past faults, but the committee may be more concerned with the possibility lives could still be at risk today.
The testimony from US head of Toyota James Lentz didn't help. It was emotional. Tears came to his eyes as he recalled how he lost his brother in a car crash 20 years ago and explained that he knew how the families of victims of faulty cars felt.
But he was given a fierce grilling and seemed uncertain how to answer a central question.
Toyota say that the sudden acceleration is down to mechanical problems such as sticking on a floor mat. Members of Congress took very seriously the evidence of some outside scientists that it was an electronic fault. Mr Lentz in general stuck to the Toyota line but said he couldn't be 100% sure the recall would deal with all problems. Perhaps that is just natural caution. Who can be 100% sure of something like that? But it didn't leave a great impression.
Mr Toyoda will tell the committee that he is deeply sorry. His prepared statement says his grandfather founded the company and that his name is on every vehicle. "When the cars are damaged, it's as though I am as well", he will say.
But he will have to come up with answers as well as contrition. I'll let you know if he does the latter in my next entry
I’m Mark Mardell, the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s North America editor. These are my reflections on American politics, some thoughts on being a Brit living in the USA, and who knows what else? My 
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