<P> The show has been praised for landmark journalism and received many awards . However, it has also become embroiled in some controversy, including (in order of appearance): </P> <P> On November 23, 1986, 60 Minutes aired a segment greenlit by Hewitt, concerning the Audi 5000 automobile, a popular German luxury car . The story covered a supposed problem of "unintended acceleration" when the brake pedal was pushed, with emotional interviews with six people who sued Audi (unsuccessfully) after they crashed their cars, including one woman whose 6 - year - old boy had been killed . In the 60 Minutes segment footage was shown of an Audi 5000 with the accelerator "moving down on its own", accelerating the car . It later emerged that an expert witness employed by one of the plaintiffs modified the accelerator with a concealed device, causing the "unintended acceleration". Independent investigators concluded that this "unintended acceleration" was most likely due to driver error, where the driver let their foot slip off the brake and onto the accelerator . Tests by Audi and independent journalists showed that even with the throttle wide open, the car would simply stall if the brakes were actually being used . </P> <P> The incident devastated Audi sales in the United States, which did not rebound for 15 years . The initial incidents which prompted the report were found by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada to have been attributable to operator error, where car owners had depressed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal . CBS issued a partial retraction, without acknowledging the test results of involved government agencies . Years later, Dateline NBC, a rival to 60 Minutes, was found guilty of similar tactics regarding the fuel tank integrity of General Motors pickup trucks . </P> <P> In February 1989, 60 Minutes aired a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council claiming that the use of daminozide (Alar) on apples presented an unacceptably high health risk to consumers . Apple sales dropped and CBS was sued unsuccessfully by apple growers . Alar was subsequently banned for use on food crops in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). </P>

Who was on 60 minutes when it started