Two former Ferrari engineers accused of stealing trade secrets have been convicted of industrial espionage and sentenced to jail by an Italian court over charges of stealing confidential engineering data from Ferrari and using it to design cars for motor racing rivals Toyota.

Sensitive data stolen from Ferrari included engineering documents, test data, and other undisclosed documents. This material was allegedly used to develop Toyota autos in 2002 and 2003.

Commentary: Toyota has been quite lucky that this story has gained ZERO traction in the U.S. media (its largest market). A story linking them to stealing corporate secrets from Western competitors, while crushing these same competitors in the market, would have major consumer backlash potential. Why has it been ignored by the U.S. media? It’s simply we’re all NASCAR fans over here – not Formula One. However, Toyota is entering NASCAR as well…with a Toyota Camry?