The Toyota's Corps. sudden Acceleration Problems still unresolved.

[W3RSW]

Yeah, I know the type.
When first learning to drive, I steered by approximation. turn a little, hmmm, not enough as the car goes tangent, steer a little more, straight for a way, turn the wheel some more....   

A real jerky turn.

I guess, many drive that way in both speed and steering control.
Wonder if their lives _{and other moves} are as jerky? 

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Anyone ever read Tom Clancy's  "Debt of Honor" ?

[WA1GFZ]

Terry,
Toyota is standing in fromt of congress getting reamed because they tried to BS the public that they had a mat problem. Ford had their ream job back around 2000 when SUVs flipped over due to crappy tires.

Or do you prefer a rubber stamp government?

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

The difference is that Congress was not in the car business in 2000. It's a horrible conflict of interest. Further Congress knows their approval rating is probably the lowest ever. They are grand standing in hopes of improving their image. More hype over substance.

[W3RSW]

Not to mention that the tires were underinflated, not the Fords.

[WA1GFZ]

wheel base was too small making it unstable. Tires were only part of the problem.
Small wheel base required a better tire. A friend got a free set of michelins for his 2000 explorer

[W3SLK]

Steve said:

It's a horrible conflict of interest. Further Congress knows their approval rating is probably the lowest ever. They are grand standing in hopes of improving their image. More hype over substance.

Boy, aint that the truth!!!

[n1ps]

Listening to the woman from TN give her testimony, she said the cruise control light came on at the same time as the car accellerated.  She either shut it off or tried to with no affect.  Same for the transmission.

Toyota states there is no way their problems are electronic.  Seems the impossible may have happened.

~ps

[Bill, KD0HG]

Because no one is responsible, large corporations, almost all of them, will feed you a line when you complain about their product or service.

Microsoft is a far worse offender compared to any car company.

[WQ9E]

Our government has been involved in the automobile, aviation, agricultural, energy, name your industry since the beginning of any of those industries.  This shows up in agency appointments, trade rules and regulations, congressional actions, political speeches, and other actions. 

I would agree there is a potential conflict of interest here but there is a potential conflict of interest in every decision/action our government takes or does not take no matter the industry, region, state, interest group, socio-economic group, etc.  I would assert that pretty much every decision made in the government is based upon a number of conflicting interests so it is pretty disingenuous to choose any particular industry as the whipping boy du jour.

The opportunity to politicize an event like this is welcomed by the congress critters but, conspiracy theory aside congress doesn't need investment in the auto industry to spawn an event like such as we have watched.

For curiosity, do we have the same level of anger over some of the sweetheart deals given the aviation industry through defense appropriations?

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Our government never owned an automobile company. This is a clear conflict of interest. No conspiracy theories needed.

[WA1GFZ]

So what would you have the government do different?

Don't worry Toyota only a few people died. Thins out the excess population.

Sweetheart aviation deals. Maybe we should outsource that to China and save some money. Sorry I worked on some of those  planes and it is American pride and quality at its best.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Easy. Get out of the automobile business, quit the grandstanding and investigate properly. Utilizing the deaths of people to get reelected is beyond disgusting.

[K6JEK]

Aren't you glad you aren't an engineer at Toyota in the engine control department?

[N5RLR]

Ask me sometime about the hair that locked a Mustang's brakes.

[WA1GFZ]

what do you expect from a band of crooks who waste our money and reward those who eliminate jobs.
BTW. the W.H.O. considers the US #43 in health care if you watched the big grandstand show yesterday.
What is it if you are a member of congress, $49 a month for health care till you die

[Jim KF2SY]

To put things in perspective here, the old 1970's Ford Pinto gas tank fiasco, caused 27 deaths.

Toyota's accelerator glitch is 39 deaths (and counting?)  and over 300 injuries.

If this was an airplane, the FAA would ground it.


And yeah on the old Health care debate, Only the people with great insurance have the attitude "I got mine, too bad for you"
They want staus quo, which does not solve anything. 

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

LOL. It's not an airplane. Comparisons to such are bogus.

I'll bet you aren't interested in giving up your house just because someone else doesn't have one. But that doesn't solve the problem.   

[Bill, KD0HG]

Easy. Get out of the automobile business, quit the grandstanding and investigate properly. Utilizing the deaths of people to get reelected is beyond disgusting.

Ignoring the deaths of people in order to get reelected is also disgusting.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

It's clear you did not read and comprehend what I wrote.

[Bill, KD0HG]

Would you clarify that assertion?
 

[Ed/KB1HYS]

About 40,000 Americans are killed ANNUALLY by automobiles.  That number could be reduced significantly with things like higher safety standards on autos, motor governors, speed limit enforcement, more strict licensing and relicensing requirements, etc.
We will never hear of any of these things because they are politically unpopular, even though they would save thousands of lives annually.   Simple raising the minimum drivers age to 18 or 21 and requireing a real drivers training and certification program would significantly reduce the death toll.

 In the year 2008, automotive collisions killed 37,261 people in the United States.  That’s 102 a day; 717 a week; 3,105 a month. And 2008 was no anomaly: Since World War II, more than 2 million individuals have perished in U.S. car crashes.

► In a nation that likes the sound of “no child left behind,” car crashes have long ranked as the #1 cause of death for every single age-year from 3 through 21.

► In typical years, the number of people “severely or critically” injured, but not killed, in U.S. car crashes surpasses the number killed.


This toyota thing is really just a policitcal circus to 1) make us all feel better about a Congress with a phenominally low approval rating, and 2) boost the now Government Run Detroit auto builders.

Remember the Politician has two things on his mind - Re-election, and Money. (not necessarily in that order).  That one reason why you will never see any real, common sense, helpful legislation from Wash no mater WHO is in charge.  The other is that politicians have no clue about how actually do anything, and the few who do are busy manipulating the system to get  (Re-election, and Money).

[flintstone mop]

Ya isn't gonna get me into a "drive by wire" car any time soon.

I worry about "fly by wire" planes as well.

5 redundant computers (in a plane - or is that the shuttle?) are all well and good, but NOT when the failure mode is identical for all 5 and they get hit with the same thing that triggers the malfunction!!

So, the alternator dies, the battery dies and you cant steer or stop the car??

Don't know if the radio report was accurate but a woman apparently testified before Congress that her Toyota sped up to over 100mph and she couldn't stop it even by applying the parking brake??

Say WHAT? It can't be turned off with the KEY?? How about slamming it into reverse?? No??

You can keep that stuff... me like metal connections between the parts, key's that kill the power, etc...

                         _-_-bear

ROGER thanks....interesting read on accelerator design...........
I agree that consumer type electronics can get really glitchy coz its the watered down version of the real thing they use in airplanes and space craft. Planes crash because humans misunderstand what the computer is trying to do and the end is that people die when the human disables the computer control.
Fred

[k4kyv]

About 40,000 Americans are killed ANNUALLY by automobiles.  That number could be reduced significantly with things like higher safety standards on autos, motor governors, speed limit enforcement, more strict licensing and relicensing requirements, etc.
We will never hear of any of these things because they are politically unpopular, even though they would save thousands of lives annually.   Simple raising the minimum drivers age to 18 or 21 and requireing a real drivers training and certification program would significantly reduce the death toll.

 In the year 2008, automotive collisions killed 37,261 people in the United States.  That’s 102 a day; 717 a week; 3,105 a month. And 2008 was no anomaly: Since World War II, more than 2 million individuals have perished in U.S. car crashes.

► In a nation that likes the sound of “no child left behind,” car crashes have long ranked as the #1 cause of death for every single age-year from 3 through 21.

► In typical years, the number of people “severely or critically” injured, but not killed, in U.S. car crashes surpasses the number killed.


This toyota thing is really just a policitcal circus to 1) make us all feel better about a Congress with a phenominally low approval rating, and 2) boost the now Government Run Detroit auto builders.

Remember the Politician has two things on his mind - Re-election, and Money. (not necessarily in that order).  That one reason why you will never see any real, common sense, helpful legislation from Wash no mater WHO is in charge.  The other is that politicians have no clue about how actually do anything, and the few who do are busy manipulating the system to get  (Re-election, and Money).

The number of traffic deaths annually in the US approaches the total number of US troops killed in all the years of Viet Nam combined.

If you or I created a new product, put it on the market, and the first year it resulted in the deaths of 40,000 people nationwide, not only would there be protests and demands for lynching; members of Congress would fight each other to be the first to introduce "legislation", the product would be pulled and we, along with the rest of the management of our company, would be facing long prison terms.

But the public blithely accepts 40,000 highway deaths per year.  It will always happen to the "other fellow".

Little attention is paid until it happens to someone we know or to a family member.

[W8EJO]

Easy. Get out of the automobile business, quit the grandstanding and investigate properly. Utilizing the deaths of people to get reelected is beyond disgusting.

Ignoring the deaths of people in order to get reelected is also disgusting.

And that's exactly what most politicians do All the time.

Consider just two elements of highway safety that contribute to thousands and thousands of highway deaths annually (not the statistically insignificant two per year directly linked to the Toyota accelerator/floor mat issue)  and consider how these same circus performing politicians voted on these issues:

1)CAFE Standards, which, since written into law in 1975 are estimated to be responsible for the deaths of 7700 people for every mpg gained (1).

2) Speed limits, which when raised from 55 to 65 & higher on the nations interstates caused "deaths on rural interstates to increase 25-30 percent when states began increasing speed limts in 1987.  In 1989, about two-thirds of this increase or  19 percent was attributed to increased speed, the rest to increased travel" (2)

So, as you see, no pol gives a twit about your safety.

As  Ed, KB1HYS correctly states, "This Toyota thing is really just a political circus to 1) make us all feel better about a Congress with a phenomenally low approval rating, and 2) boost the now Government Run Detroit auto builders.

Remember the Politician has two things on his mind - Re-election, and Money"









(1) James R. Healey, "Death by the Gallon: Push for Better Mileage Raises Death Tolls," USA TODAY , Special Reprint Edition, reprinted from MONEY , July 2, 1999; based on previously unpublished fatality statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

(2) Baum, H.M.; Wells, J.K.; and Lund, A.K. 1991. The fatality consequences of the 65 mph speed limits, 1989. Journal of Safety Research 22:171-77.