The focus of a second day of hearings on Toyota safety issues will be the CEO and namesake of the company, as Akio Toyoda will go before a House Committee to offer an apology over how the Japanese automaker handled questions about sudden acceleration in some of its vehicles.

"My name is on every car," Mr. Toyoda will say.  

"You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers."

The first day of hearings did not have much positive for Toyota, which was knocked around by members of both parties, as the big story revolved around a Tennessee woman who survived sudden acceleration in her Lexus.

Rhonda Smith detailed how she tried everything possible to stop the car, but nothing worked as it rocketed down the interstate at 100 mph.

"You said you put your vehicle in reverse?" asked Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI).  "What happened when it went into reverse?"

"Nothing," answered Smith, who broke into tears as she recounted how the car suddenly slowed down, as finally at less than 30 mph, the car let her turn off the ignition.

"After six miles, God intervened, as the car came very slowly to a stop," Smith told a hushed hearing room.

Later, when a tow truck driver was putting the car on a flatbed, the car engine suddenly went to full throttle with the Lexus in Neutral - no key was in the ignition.

That story is sure to come back today for Mr. Toyoda, as lawmakers demand to know why the company has not given more attention to the possibility that faulty internal electronics might be to blame for some of these cases of sudden acceleration.

"The truth is you don't know if you have solved the problem," Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) told Toyota's top U.S. official.

For those of you who asked, Mr. Toyoda will give his opening remarks in English, but then he will answer questions in Japanese, with an interpreter on hand for simultaneous translation.

It will be an interesting hearing.  You don't get the top dog CEO's on the carpet before Congress too often.