Back at the time before its massive recall of its killer motor vehicles, Toyota attempted to silence an American scientist who discovered a possible flaw in the auto company's design, that was causing some Toyota's cars to accelerate suddenly, causing accidents which killed and injured people around the world. David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University was attacked by Toyota. The company questioned his research and even, according to the Associated Press, questioned whether he should be employed by the university, "which has long been a recipient of company donations."

The Associated Press reports, "Electronic messages obtained by The Associated Press show the automaker grew increasingly frustrated with Gilbert's work and made its displeasure clear to his bosses at the 20,000-student university. 'It did kind of catch us off-guard,' university spokesman Rod Sievers said. So did the fallout. Two Toyota employees quickly resigned from an advisory board of the school's auto-technology program, and the company withdrew offers to fund two spring-break internships."

Toyota was out to silence Mr. Gilbert.

"I didn't really set out to take on Toyota. I set out to tell the truth, and I felt very strongly about that," said Mr Gilbert.

Toyota tried to blame the problems with its cars on bad drivers, and then on sticky gas pedals, and then on floor mats, tried to avoid stating that the cars themselves had poorly designed electronics. Eventually, Toyota had to recall millions of vehicles. This recalled cost Toyota hundreds of millions of dollars, and saved lives.