Did ABC stage news report on Toyota?

It will be interesting to see ABC's explanation for the pulled video and why the new video doesn't seem to fit what was originally claimed.

Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday criticized ABC News, saying a recent report it ran on sudden acceleration used video showing an engine revving in a parked Toyota vehicle, not a car that was being driven on a road.

The car maker raised questions about the ABC video as part of a Webcast intended to rebut critics who have alleged electronics problems could be causing Toyota vehicles to accelerate suddenly on their own.

"An engine responds very differently in park than when it is being driven and is under load," said Matthew Schwall, an engineer at Exponent Inc., a consulting firm Toyota has hired to evaluate its electronics and the charges of its critics.

In the Webcast, Mr. Schwall showed still frames from ABC's broadcast showing a Toyota Avalon's instrument panel, with certain warning lights illuminated that are on when a car is in park.

Toyota said in its Webcast that ABC subsequently pulled this video from its Web site and replaced it with a modified one where the engine tachometer never reaches close to the 6,500 revolutions per minute shown in the original version.

An ABC spokeswoman said the network had no comment on Toyota's presentation and added it was preparing its own story about it. . . .