For one of the only times in this long Toyota investigation, a consumer driver’s story was brought to light yesterday during congressional testimony. A driver of a runaway Toyota told her story. It was captivating and terrifying and incredibly powerful.

“I lost all control of the vehicle… I put it into reverse, and it remains in reverse as the car speeds to over 100mph.”

She put it in reverse, and the car kept hurling forward!

Nearly 100% of the newspaper, television and radio stories on this subject have discussed concepts and technical details, but not consumer stories. Along with an early LA Times story, that woman’s highly publicized story about her 2006 Lexus is the single most powerful argument to force Toyota to make change.

Now, imagine:

“This HDTV brings new life into my collection of DVDs.”

“I’ve never owned a camera that captured such clear, crisp pictures of my son. And it’s so easy!”

“I always a thought a mouse is a mouse and keyboard is a keyboard. But this wireless set of accessories has eliminated the black spaghetti from my desk. I have so much room. And I feel organized. What’s the value of that?

What’s the value of communicating customer experiences on your perceived value? On your marketing? On the public understanding of what your product can do?

What’s the value?

You can’t put a price on it, because you couldn’t pay anyone to create similar results.