In an effort to maintain sales momentum from March, Toyota USA has extended incentives until May 3rd. Incentives, which include deals for five years of 0% financing and free maintenance were slated to expire earlier this past Monday, April 5th. The 0% offer no longer applies to the Highlander and the Rav4, but six other models, including the Toyota Tundra, are still applicable.

Of course, the incentives were originally put in place in an effort to stem losses suffered as a result of continued recall fallout. It worked like a charm, as Toyota benefited from a 41% increase in sales when you compare 2010 March sales to those from the previous year. Unfortunately for Toyota, March was a good month for carmakers and dealers in general. GM also saw phenomenal March sales, with numbers up 43% from 2009. While sales seemed to be cooling off across the board by the end of the month, Toyota might have a slightly easier time fending off mounting competition from GM as 6 million older Chevy and GMC trucks are now facing the possibility of recall.

NPR has aired some steller coverage of the toyota hearings and the recalls and incidents leading up to these. There reports cover the drama from a lot of different angles, and I’d like to say that they’re among the best available (it probably is but I can’t say that for a fact).  Here are some examples of some of the quality reporting I have in mind.

NPR analyzes impact of Toyota trouble on Japanese foreign policy

Politicians come to the defense of Toyota

Unanswered questions remain after Toyota hearing

As we approached the Tuesday opening of Toyota hearings regarding instances of sudden acceleration and related recalls, I wondered what kind of history or relationships the congresspeople who formed the committees had with the brand. As it turns out, the Associated Press was wondering the very same thing.

Apparently Colorado Congresswoman Dianna DeGette owns three Toyotas and the automaker also has an office in the district she represents. This makes me tempted to take a good look at the questions she posed to US Sales chief, Jim Lentz. Please, don’t take this as an accusation of a pro-Toyota bias. I’m not sure what specific models she owns, but there’s a good chance that at least one has been affected by one of the three (possibly more, who can keep up anymore?) Toyota recalls. If anything, as a Toyota owner she could identify with people directly impacted by the defects and would probably want to see a thorough and effective investigation take place as much as anyone else (besides the poor folks who actually experienced unintended acceleration or tragically lost loved ones as a result of it).

Even if DeGette wasn’t the most zealous panelist among members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (can someone shorten this title please) I doubt she was as kind to Toyota as the 4 governors who understandably wrote to committee leaders asking that Toyota, who owns factories in their states, be treated fairly. This letter also stated that the federal government has an “obvious conflict of interest” in this matter being that it is a substantial shareholder in both GM and Chrysler.

Read the Associated Press’ articles in full:

Lawmakers’ Toyota connections

Congress-Connections with Toyota

The following passage was meant to be posted yesterday, but due to a combination of human error and connectivity problems, it was not. So, I was obviously not happy to have to dump the post on account of it being a day late. But, then I thought being that it was intended to forecast how yesterday’s Toyota Recall hearing would unfold, it might still be relevant. Sure enough, news coverage of the proceedings were pretty much saying what I (and probably most of you) had expected. Read for yourself and tell me if I was on point, and also let me know if you were surprised by anything said yesterday or later today too.

Besides the announcement that Toyota will be installing Brake overides in millions of new vehicles and in compatitible models already on the road, nothing that wasn’t already in the open came out of the session. Was anyone surprised that electronic throttle controls were of main concern or that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the man held accountable for the NHSTA, seems to have Toyota’s back? I doubt many of you were, but there’s still time for new revelations, as Akio Toyoda is set to be questioned today. Being that he basically tried to duck this interrogation, committee members may try to make things particularly difficult for Toyoda.

Toyota Motors is dealing with what may one day be considered the most tumultuous period in the company’s history, resulting mostly from widely publicized safety issues related to slippery floor mats and more recently (and significantly) “sticky” gas pedals. While both defects have led to unexpected acceleration, the latter, though considered rare and affecting fewer vehicles, is the the hardest to remedy and most disruptive to car owners and Toyota’s operations. With that said, if Toyota is looking for a bright side in this, it can be proud that as a leading hybrid car manufacturer, the Toyota Prius as well as hybrid versions of the Highlander and the Camry have all received clean bills of health. While there are also conventional models to evade the Toyota recall and the suspension of production and sales, it’s interesting that none of the Toyota hybrids are subject to the stigma. Should we be surprised to hear green car advocates claim this as another victory in the battle for energy-efficiency and better gas mileage? It’s probably more luck than a technological superiority of Toyota hybrids that explains why they can still be driven confidently on highways and out of dealerships. But, some may find it ironic that very recently Koei Saga, managing officer of Toyota, downplayed the future significance of hybrids, predicting that the gas engines will never be replaced entirely. Although, Toyota has generally been considered a maker of reliable and safe automobiles, in recent history it has arguably been the Prius and other hybrid models that have grown Toyota’s reputation, especially in terms of being an innovator. As evidenced by the Wikipedia entry I found listing the Toyota Prius among models impacted by the defective pedal issue, Toyota should be worried that it’s diminishing reputation will be passed along to its most reputable vehicles. In fact, they might want to edit that article to reflect the facts, especially now that competition is increasing in the hybrid sector.