AS P.J. O’ROURKE PUT IT THE LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED, “Yes, the dumb buggers stepped on the gas instead of the brake.”

Government investigators have rejected claims that electronic defects caused Toyota cars and trucks to accelerate out of control, a finding released Tuesday that offers a measure of long-awaited vindication for the world’s largest automaker and shifts blame to the drivers who reported the incidents.

The report, based on work by NASA engineers, deflates accusations by drivers suing Toyota that mysterious electronic glitches instigated the episodes of runaway cars. It also supports the industry trend of entrusting critical engine operations to ever more sophisticated electronics and microprocessors.

So can we expect an apology from all the politicians and journalists who jumped at the chance to dump all over Toyota? Perhaps we could have Congressional hearings in which the hacks publicly explain why they dumped on Toyota when it was pretty obvious that this was a rerun of the Audi 5000 hysteria.

UPDATE: More history here.