Lawyers in mirror may be closer than they appear.

It looks like things are going from bad to worse for Toyota.

There I was, working away at my desk, listening to ESPN radio when I heard a spot for a law firm claiming to want to help victims of Toyota's unintended acceleration issues. (You can visit their website here.)

It's not surprising. After all, this isn't cash-strapped General Motors we're talking about here. This is the big payday. Toyota's pockets are as deep or deeper than any company in history. So much so, that when I was talking to a Honda executive about the opportunity created by Toyota's problems, she said they were loath to overtly take advantage of the situation for fear of retaliation when Toyota gets things fixed.

Actually, this could be good news for Toyota if they spin it right. There's one thing that the American public hates more than tone deaf auto executives, and that's sleazy, greedy lawyers. If Toyota can find a few people who have bogus claims (which I'm sure there are) and bring those to light, they may not win in a court of law, but it will certainly help them in the court of public opinion.