Toyota Troubles!

Different parts suppliers in Japan and the US.

As far as the Firestone fiasco, the main culprit was the DRIVER. I saw more than one case where the tread came off, but the tire stll held air and the thing still rolled over...because the driver spiked the brakes and the 2 different traction platforms caused the thing to go sideways and then roll.

And the first thing they taught me in drivers ed was to NEVER hit the brakes if you blow a tire.
I blew a steer tire off a Freightliner (blew the entire tire off the rim) at 75 mph and did not crash.