Consumer Reports may be ready to offer a vote of confidence in Toyota, depending on the outcome of the Japanese automaker's current Congressional Hearings on Toyota Safety here in the United States, says CR Senior Director David Champion.

At the end of January as news was starting to pile up regarding reported cases of unintended acceleration and the subsequent recalls of nine Toyota models (totaling 2.3 million vehicles), CR decided to pull its Recommended rating from the Toyota Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix (and its twin, the Pontiac Vibe), RAV4, Sequoia and Tundra.

Says Champion, "We're looking at a daily basis at the recalls. We want to be sure that the recalls are being performed." Assuming that Toyota's efforts to repair faulty gas pedals remain on track, it would seem CR has enough faith in the automaker to give back its coveted Recommended ratings.

And what of suggestions that there may be more to Toyota's unintended acceleration woes than faulty floor mats and gas pedals? "We want to see if anything bubbles up from the Senate hearings... A lot of people pointed to the electronics, but I don't see anything at the moment that points to an electronic issue."