Runaway Toyota
Loading ...My hat’s off to the driver of that Prius and the police officer (CHP Investigates Runaway Toyota). There may have been a better way to handle the situation, but there are almost always multiple “correct” solutions. Regardless of the solution they chose, they kept their cool, and brought this nightmare to a safe conclusion.
As for the Toyota, we need to keep in mind the complexity of the average American automobile these days. We, as a society, constantly demand more and more “green” and fuel efficient autos. In addition, we constantly demand more and more “safety” devices, to make us ever less responsible for our poor driving skills. Many of these devices, by necessity, have total control over such important things as accelerators and brakes.
These automobiles are machines. They are not inherently evil. They have no feelings or agendas. They do what we tell them, to the best of their ability, without asking questions. But when they fail (and all machines do eventually), the results can be catastrophic. While we have the technology to design and build wonderful gadgets, it is nearly impossible to test them under every possible condition and/or every possible failure mode.
I am not trying to justify Toyota for not acting on a long standing failure. In fact, from the sounds of it, what they did MAY INDEED BE CRIMINAL. But, for all you Toyota bashers, they are NO different from any American company. “Maybe if we deny it long enough, it will all go away, be forgotten, and it won’t cost us any money.” Regarding unwanted acceleration and/or accelerators sticking, I know both GM and Ford have had similar issues.
I have never owned a foreign automobile. I always preferred the domestic styling and larger vehicles. But, every American vehicle I owned, had multiple design, and/or quality issues. And it seemed, the same issues that showed up in one model year, would show up in subsequent years, sometimes many model years down the road. At the same time, problems appearing in Japanese autos one model year, rarely showed up the following model year. And almost never a second year. That’s what’s so perplexing about Toyota’s current dilemma.
Toyota DOES OWE IT’S CUSTOMERS AN EXPLANATION AND AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION. But, it’s time to get your heads out of your ass, and realize that Toyota and/or Japan is not the enemy. In fact, the reason the American automobile industry is failing, is the American auto industry, the UAW and, to a very large extent, the American consumer, who is unwilling to pay for the very standard of living they demand!
March 12th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Amen! These same consumers who are unwilling to pay for American vehicles, also complain about Wal-Mart’s questionable business practices overseas. Yet strangely, Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar industry in America because the American consumer wants inexpensive products.
So the next time you complain about money leaving the country in droves, think about the foreign products sitting in your garage and in your shopping cart.