Croc

Emailed this to the guy at the LA Times who's been writing all the Toyota articles. Hopefully this takes off?

I agree. Chris Matthews is a tool, and Olberman is a bit too sanctimonious for my tastes. The only one I like watching is Maddow because she's all about facts.

The LA Times has been on this story since August. I wouldn't be surprised if they won a Pulitzer for their work on it--LA Times does an excellent job on their serialized expose journalism when they put their minds to it.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s decision to blame its widening sudden-acceleration problem on a gas pedal defect came under attack Friday, with the pedal manufacturer flatly denying that its products were at fault. Federal vehicle safety records reviewed by The Times also cast doubt on Toyota's claims that sticky gas pedals were a significant factor in the growing reports of runaway vehicles. Of more than 2,000 motorist complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles over the last decade, just 5% blamed a sticking gas pedal, the analysis found. What's more, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has conducted eight investigations into sudden-acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles over the last seven years, none of which identified a sticking pedal as a potential cause. "The way the sudden-acceleration problems are occurring in reported incidents doesn't comport with how this sticky pedal is described," said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, a Rehoboth, Mass., auto safety consulting firm. "We know this recall is a red herring." Sudden-acceleration events in Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been blamed for at least 19 fatalities and 815 vehicle crashes since 1999. Toyota last fall blamed the episodes on floor mats that entrapped the gas pedals, leading to a massive recall. Then last week Toyota said sticking gas pedals were also causing sudden acceleration by not springing back into idle position, triggering another recall. On Tuesday, the automaker stopped sales and production of eight models until it could remedy the problem. Independent auto safety experts have been skeptical of Toyota's explanations, saying floor mats and sticky gas pedals can't fully explain the large number of complaints that have been mounting for the last decade, covering some of the most popular models in the company's lineup, including the Camry. That argument was given more weight Friday when the manufacturer of the suspect pedals insisted its products had been unfairly blamed. CTS Corp. of Elkhart, Ind., said in a statement that it had "deep concern that there is widespread confusion and incorrect information" about its products linked to the sudden-acceleration issue. "The problem of sudden unintended acceleration has been reported to have existed in some Lexus vehicles and Toyota vehicles going back to 1999, when CTS did not even make this product for any customer," the company said. Toyota began using CTS-made pedals in the 2005 model year. On Jan. 21, Toyota told federal regulators that CTS pedals were susceptible to moisture and could stick, forcing the recall of 2.3 million cars and trucks. CTS acknowledged that a tiny number of pedals had a rare condition that could cause a slow return to idle position, but it denied that this condition could cause unintended acceleration and said that it knew of no accidents or injuries caused by the issue. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said the company had no comment on CTS' statement. Another Toyota spokesman, Mike Michels, said in an e-mail that the company had identified the pedal problem as "abnormal friction in the pedal pivot mechanism" and that the automaker hoped to announce a remedy soon. Toyota has honored CTS three times since 2005 for the quality and efficiency of its work, citing the fact that the supplier "exceeded quality expectations" and achieved "100 percent on-time delivery and for shipping accelerator pedal modules with zero defects." The automaker also uses pedals supplied by Denso Corp., a Japanese company with North American headquarters in suburban Detroit, but has said those do not appear to be defective. However, the Times review of federal safety records shows several instances of complaints of stuck pedals on vehicles built in Japan, which Toyota has said are not subject to the recall. For example, one complaint, filed two years ago, told of a 2007 Japanese-built Camry in Maryland with a pedal that "stuck to the floor." A wide group of national automotive experts say there is strong evidence that a hidden electronic problem must account for at least some, if not most, of the Toyota sudden-acceleration events. The 19 sudden-acceleration deaths involving Toyota vehicles are more than those that have occurred in vehicles from all other automakers combined, according to figures provided to The Times by NHTSA. The Times has previously reported that consumer complaints of unintended acceleration surged in the years after the automaker introduced electronic throttles, by fivefold in some cases. The electronic throttle system uses sensors, microprocessors and electric motors, rather than a traditional link such as a steel cable, to connect the driver's foot to the engine. In recent interviews, two former NHTSA administrators, Ricardo Martinez and Joan Claybrook, have said they believe that some kind of electronic glitch may be causing the Toyota problems. Similar conclusions are being drawn by independent automotive safety experts, forensic mechanics and automotive electronics researchers, as well as many consumers. In its review, The Times examined NHTSA data for all reports from Toyota drivers of gas pedals sticking since 1999, excluding those reports that blamed floor mats for trapping the pedal. That yielded 116 complaints about the gas pedals. Overall, there were 2,152 complaints categorized as vehicle speed control, which includes sudden acceleration. Of the complaints about sticking pedals identified by The Times, only one resulted in a fatality. But that vehicle, a 2003 Camry, contained a pedal assembly that was not manufactured by CTS. In fact, of 11 injuries reported to NHTSA in complaints that alleged stuck pedals, only one -- a 2008 Camry Hybrid that ran into a tree in Minnesota last October -- was in a vehicle included in the current recall, The Times found. NHTSA officials, as well as officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation, have said they have exhaustively investigated Toyota's problems and found no evidence that any electronic defect exists in the company's electronic throttle system. "The agency looks into all possible defects with these vehicles," a NHTSA public affairs representative said Friday. But some motorists don't believe NHTSA's and Toyota's explanations. Jeffrey Pepski, a financial consultant in suburban Minneapolis, said his Lexus ES350 accelerated to 80 miles per hour on a freeway in the Twin Cities last year. At one point, Pepski said, he hooked his toe under the pedal to pull it up. It was not stuck and the floor mat was not interfering with the pedal, he said. That did not solve the problem, he said. Pepski said he described his actions to NHTSA investigators and a Toyota expert, and they didn't believe him. In October, NHTSA closed an investigation prompted by a defect petition filed by Pepski without taking action. Pepski traded in the vehicle to a Toyota dealer. Kevin Haggerty, a New Jersey volunteer firefighter, said his 2007 Avalon accelerated out of control last month, the second time it had happened. By shifting back and forth into neutral, he was able to drive the car to a Toyota dealer, who he said was unable to pinpoint a problem. Haggerty said dealership technicians could not find anything obstructing the pedal, but they replaced the pedal, electronic components and the engine throttle system. He said they could not explain what specifically had caused the engine to accelerate on its own. But last week a Toyota spokesman told The Times that Haggerty's problem did in fact stem from the pedal. "I don't feel safe in the car," Haggerty said. "I never felt comfortable that they knew what the problem was." Haggerty still has the vehicle. Link

I missed it--did she have a sunroof for her SICK POOF to stick out of?

Iced, venti, unsweetened, no-room coffee. Sometimes I'll add a packet or two of Sweet N Low, but that's it. Same thing every time.

The legacy of George W Bush continues to live on...we need one of the arch-conservative justices to step down, and stat.

Fer sher, dude. I mean obviously I don't drive a Toyota, but those cars are everywhere. Imagine being in the line of fire of one of these things...

Read the top banner: "GM's Biggest Fans and Toughest Critics"

Unless every single interior surface has been redesigned and upgraded, then the Sebring deserves every bit of bad press it gets.

No, I don't. You should check your post for a typo or something, because I have no idea why you're asking me about why I "honestly" don't believe perfectly-assembled Civics exist. I'm sure there are many that do, especially given Honda's long-standing reputation for stringent quality control. I'm sure there is an RL or two that roll off the line with a loose trim piece...but this is completely irrelevant to the point I have been making. Furthermore, if you really want to continue with this tedious discussion, then PM me so we don't clutter up the boards.

Sweet, good to hear. I wouldn't be surprised if PA is one of the next few states to go for it; right now though all eyes seem to be back on CA...why? I do not know. All I can say is for all the false accusations that CA interferes with other states' politics, it really steams me that UTAH actually interfered with ours.

Could a poster's location be reinstated underneath the avatar? Sometimes it's useful to know where someone usually posts from in reading or responding to a particular post, and this used to be listed with the old boards software.

Congrats, dude! Planning on relocating from PA soon?

What on earth are you talking about? This doesn't make any sense...?? Can you at least agree that GM should screen the vehicles it sends out to the press a little more thoroughly so these issues get fixed before the word gets out?

You clearly did not successfully comprehend what I posted. You also appear not to have been able to see from the picture that Drew posted that a manufacturing defect existed. The problem is NOT with the parts being different, but that the pieces of differentiation in the interior do not fit as well in the Terrain as in the Equinox. Off the top of my head, this could be due to a variety of reasons: 1. Parts are correct, assembly is sloppy. Calibration of assembly machines/tolerances for assembly differ from specs. 2. Assembly is correct, parts exhibit manufacturing variance. Supplier issue where Terrain trim pieces are not molded exactly to spec. 3. Parts are correct, assembly is correct. Specs are incorrect. 4. Parts exhibit manufacturing variance, assembly is sloppy. Regardless, a "premium" vehicle shouldn't have a lower assembly quality than that to which it is "premium." You may not care personally, but over time you probably will. Loose and improperly-fitting panels and pieces result in squeaks and rattles over time.

AUDIs most certainly have more options available and nicer interiors/materials compared to their VW cousin. To claim otherwise is to be completely unfamiliar with the products over the past 2 decades. No one said "terrible" quality. What has been said, both by Dan Neil and our own site administrator, is that the assembly quality of the Terrain does not meet the same high bar set by the Equinox. The plant has little to do with it; Olds said the issues primarily occurred where the parts differed from that of the Equinox. The point, yet again, is that for what is positioned and marketed as a premium vehicle over a Chevrolet, it fails to meet the hype in easily-demonstrable, quantifiable ways. --- I must say I'm surprised at all the fanboy reactions in this thread. The members of this site should be better than this. Remember: this is one easily-remedied hiccup at launch after 5+ uber-successful, consecutive launches.

OK now c'mon guys. I think Neil was a little over-the-top, but his underlying point is very true, and was even noted in Olds' review: it offers nothing objectively over the Equinox, its fit-and-finish are lacking compared to the Equinox, and it could use a little more power. Subjectively, he hates the styling. I can't argue with any of that: fit-and-finish are subpar, especially considering the Equinox has great assembly quality. Neil also is of the OPINION that GM shouldn't compete against itself on styling alone...AND I AND MANY POSTERS ON HERE AGREE WITH THIS. Let me put it another way: GM makes a lot of profit on GMC because it is the only case where the public has bought into the brand management strategy. Consumers really think that GMC is better, or premium, or more desirable when compared to the equivalent Chevrolet. It's all smoke and mirrors, and we know it. What's gonna happen when the public catches on, if they do? GM is lucky that they have not, but dipping on quality COMPARED TO the Chevrolet iteration is NOT the way to go, and GM cannot keep rebranding its SUVs in perpetuity successfully. They're lucky it's still working, but they should be using this time to differentiate between the two before the bottom drops out.

Link

Bama rocked the $h! out of Texas at the end. Super-stoked, fer sher. I'm with you Satty on the Longhorns, but for different reasons...mine revolve around Vince Young and bad officiating in January 2006.

Typical--in the same sense as when Joshiepoo drove drunk and wrapped his Solstice around a freeway guardrail.

Typical.

That's where it used to be...but I'm not getting an HTML option now.

How do I fix this? Didn't the old boards give you the option to edit the html of a post?