Drew Dowdell

Apparently they tested the 4-Runner and it didn't have the same problem.

Watching that video a few times, if the driver hadn't turned into the skid (as most drivers won't do in that situation) the vehicle would have completely spun out.

Wow! Here's the video of the test. If all they did was lift their foot off the accelerator while going around that corner and it still did that, then there's a problem. <object id="flashObj" width="400" height="275" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/21495733001?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=77022871001&playerID=21495733001&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/21495733001?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=77022871001&playerID=21495733001&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="400" height="275" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>

Escalade is "worst on the road" but the Lexus GX 460 has been just declared "unsafe"...... riiiiight. As I said in the other thread, I'm no supporter of Consumer Reports, but they went out and bought a second GX to make sure there wasn't a problem with their initial test vehicle.

The guy who did the Insignia and Regal, Jim Federicko, is an American. The Insigna was designed from the start to be a Buick as well as a Saturn. So it's more American than you say.

Very telling.... I'm not a CR supporter at all, but if true, this raises some eyebrows.

*sigh* you got me guys, I'll upload the rest of the NYC Autoshow pics tomorrow.

I second the vote to send the whole experience story to Reuss.

Lucky thing that Toyota didn't even have to ask the Japanese government for money, they just got it anyway. Consumer Reports' errors and manipulation of data has been documented for years. The article got the JD powers and safety ratings flat out wrong. The article is bunk.

The Regal will be here very shortly

it's an ill researched puff piece that they copied from CR to make themselves feel better while they sit in the Toyota waiting room having their gas pedal replaced. The JD Powers rating on the Escalade is wrong. It got 7 out of 10, not a 2. The base their reliability rating on "Consumer Reports Predicted Reliability".... and we all know how that worked out with the Tundra, Camry, and Avalon. Buying an Escalade for "value" is like screwing for virginity. The Escalade has 5 star crash ratings and all the safety equipment it's competitors have. Somehow with the Colorado and Canyon, one it "less worse" than the other, though they are the same truck. The Wrangler? Really? Has there been a cult car that has been around longer? The F-250? Really? One of the best selling, if not the best selling, work trucks out there....I doubt it would sell so well if it were the piece of crap that the Tundra is. In short, this "journalism", and I cringe at even calling it that, isn't worth the bandwidth used to post it.

Hope you'll stick around and have some laughs with us!

18,100

It was meant as an engine preservation measure.

Something to remind the author, however, is that on many Toyota products, you can't shift into neutral if the engine is above a certain RPM. That's part of the reason for the California crash that started this whole thing..... the driver couldn't shift into neutral because neutral was locked out by the car.

I think because CAFE uses the old EPA rating system rather than the new one that went into affect in 2008

It's very rural.... It's about an hour from me. Most of your recreation will involve either going to the Outlets or driving to Pittsburgh or New Castle. There is a university in town that is ultra religious. Slippery Rock University isn't far away. I use to work in that area a lot. If you can give me more specifics about what you are looking to do, I can help you out more. And if you're here in time for our trip to Lordstown to see the Cruze production ramp up, you can come with. (hasn't been scheduled yet)

New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio (partially), Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania (partially), Florida (partially), California (was deregulated, then re-regulated after Enron, moving towards deregulation again). I'm sure there are others, but those are the states my company does business in. And no, electric generation companies don't have a monopoly status there is a lot of competition there. The distribution companies (the wire owners) have a monopoly, but they aren't allowed to charge a markup on the cost of the power. Without revealing who I work for, we are in the top 5 nationally in a very crowded market. Our expertise is in the commercial sector. We can analyze the hourly usage of a customer (say Home Depot or a GM Manufacturing plant) and make predictive purchases of power on that customer's behalf. We lock that customer in at a set KWH rate and then it's our job to find the best price for that customer's power. Our company and companies like it help to drive down the cost of power on the wholesale market while at the same time giving a stable price to the end user.

Again, the reason for these weight reductions is where fuel costs are going to go in the future. It's a much easier bet to reduce the weight of a vehicle <and hence it's fuel economy> than it is to make a bet on an alternative fuel infrastructure being built. Gas will hit $4.00 a gallon again this summer.

Electric companies in most states are regulated heavily.... and in the ones where they aren't regulated, there is very healthy competition.... far more than the oil companies have.

Hidden in the corner back behind the Volt.

Brazil does it now. They started their conversion to pure alcohol engines about 12 years ago. They are the furthest along getting to an entirely bio-fuel fleet.

I agree with you that we should be addressing the fuel issue first... but I see no reason why we can't tackle weight as well. We have the technology already, it's not like someone has to go out and invent the stuff or build an infrastructure around it.

while it shouldn't have been taken to the XJ extreme, there could have been some things done to favor lightness. Throwing steel at a car to make it safer is the cheep way out. However, facing the reality of our coming fuel issues, auto makers should be working on much lighter vehicles today. So that when the next gas prices spike and don't come back down. We won't be facing the same mad rush for efficiency we had last time. There is a BIG reason GM put the 4-cylinder in the Lacrosse. As a country, we might need to dial back our expectations on beige sedan performance a bit.

I don't think there was anything good about 1978