Toyota Motor Corp agreed today to pay a record $16.4 Million fine to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is the highest ever and the most allowed by law.Despite the fact that Toyota has agreed to pay the largest fine ever to U.S. regulators, the company still claims that it did nothing wrong and that it never hid the accelerator pedal defect from regulators. Apparently, 16 million dollars is enough to re-write history, but I digress. U.S. regulators and talking political heads are still going to shoot off about Toyota's failure in the matter, but the fact that they are now "taking responsibility" in the form of fine payment seems to be enough to push the story along for now.

Of course, Toyota will still be sued civilly by numerous individuals in the U.S. and around the world - and those cases are just getting off the ground. The fact that Toyota agreed to pay the $16.4 million will likely hurt them in individual and class action cases down the road, but getting the U.S. government off their back is a big step forward. Individual cases are unlikely to hurt the company's stock price or its public image.

Of course, there are still several concerns with Toyota and its vehicles in the U.S. and regulators are sure to be all over the company to ensure that no further violations exist. It's quite possible the new fines will emerge in the coming months related to Toyota's failings to properly disclose safety issues with its vehicles.

In response to the public outcry regarding Toyota safety, the company has aggressively lowered prices in the U.S. - a move that has boosted sales in spite of a suffering public image.