Toyota Sudden Acceleration Problem Slows Down

News that will sink like a stone:

The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that at the time of the crashes, throttles were wide open and the brakes were not engaged, people familiar with the findings said.

The results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyota and Lexus vehicles surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes. But the findings don't exonerate Toyota from two known issues blamed for sudden acceleration in its vehicles: sticky accelerator pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerator pedals to the floor.

...

The data recorders analyzed by NHTSA were selected by the agency, not Toyota, based on complaints the drivers had filed with the government.

The findings are consistent with a 1989 government-sponsored study that blamed similar driver mistakes for a rash of sudden-acceleration reports involving Audi 5000 sedans.

The Toyota findings, which haven't been released by NHTSA, support Toyota's position that sudden-acceleration reports involving its vehicles weren't caused by electronic glitches in computer-controlled throttle systems, as some safety advocates and plaintiffs' attorneys have alleged. More than 100 people have sued the auto maker claiming crashes were the result of faulty electronics.

Nobody cares, and anyway, we have moved on to hating on BP.  I do admire this gem from Toyota:

Toyota President Akio Toyoda has said the company won't blame customers for its problems as part of its public-relations response.

Comments

[Neo]

I feel a sudden surge of disinterest coming from the tort bar ... don't call us, we'll call you

[Neo]

In other business news ...

Corporations not hoarding cash

Over the past couple of weeks, a lot of people have been talking about how corporations are sitting on $1.8 trillion in cash reserves and that if we could just get them to feel more confident, we could unleash a massive private-sector stimulus. The question, of course, was how to do that.
But Barry Ritholtz presents some compelling evidence that today’s reserves aren’t anything out of the ordinary. Rather, they’re the continuation of a long-term trend toward businesses hoarding money.

I love this logic, businesses are not hoarding because they have been hoarding all along.
Next, we will find out that the “rich” aren’t really “rich” because they have been “rich” all along. I could live with that .. anyway to end “class warfare” is welcome. But please, don’t extend this logic to “serial killers.”

[Buford Gooch]

So, stupid people are blaming others for their idiocy, and the lawyers jump in on the side of the stupid.

[Rorschach]

Funny you should post this. I experienced an acceleration issue with my 2004(not among the recall group)Corolla coming back from Arkansas Monday the 5th. I put the vehicle in neutral, shut off the engine and pulled over to the side of the road. And waited for three hours in the Texas sun for a tow to Lufkin. Apparently the nut that holds the throttle actuator pulley on the throttle body in the engine compartment came off and the cable fell down behind the pulley and got hung up in the torsion spring that acts as the spring return on the throttle. The Toyota dealer fixed it for free and said he had never seen that before. But if it can happen to me, it can happen to others.

[pst314]

Rorschach, what happened to you is trivially easy for a mechanic to diagnose.

The "sudden acceleration" cases that Toyota was being demonized over were unexplained because there were no such obvious explanations.

Once again, the usual suspects--opportunistic safety Nazis, leftist business-haters, and unprincipled journalists--cooperated to defame a fine company.

[Porchlight]

OT,

for a tow to Lufkin.

Sure love your neck of the woods, Rorschach. Nacogdoches is as pretty a town as I've ever seen in Texas.

Glad you got your Toyota safe again.

[Rick Ballard]

Psst - Toyota, Honda, KIA, Nissan, Suzuki, Hyundai, Mazda and Mitsubishi all use Alar in their paint. This can lead to spontaneous combustion and exploding gas tanks as well as mesothelioma, black lung and the bubonic plague - pass it on.

Steve Rattner Ron Bloom
Govmo Czar

[Clarice]

Has exploding alar caused you and your loved ones injury?

Call shyster 1-800. We will see that you get the compensation you deserve.

All consultations are free and confidential

SHYSTER 1-800, A DIVISION OF SCAM LTD.

[hit and run]

Porch:
Nacogdoches is as pretty a town as I've ever seen in Texas.

mrs hit and run and I met in Nacogdoches. We fell in love in Nacogdoches. We got married in Nacogdoches.

But our anniversary is not within a two week period centered around the Fourth of July . . . unlike just about everybody else here.

[Porchlight]

That's so cool, Hit. I take it that you met at SFA. Now I think it's an even nicer town. :)

[hit and run]

Yes,I am a Lumberjack.

Naca-nowhere really is a great town.

[Ignatz]

--Yes,I am a Lumberjack....--

...and he's OK.
In fact I'm OK, he's OK.

Still looking to order my Lumberjack's baseball cap one of these days, hit.

[JorgXMcKie]

OMG, Neo. I almost hit that link until I noticed that it led to Ezra Klein. Seriously, if he had his cranial cavity inserted into his anal cavity he'd need a plexiglass belly button just to see which direction he's facing.

I refuse, on principle, to read juvenile "intellectuals" who have zero useful practical experience in the world. Life is too short for that.

[JorgXMcKie]

Oops. "inserted any further into" his anal cavity.

[Brian G.]

And let's not forget the hatred of George W. Bush will never go out of style.

[Neo]

JorgXMcKie: sorry about the link
I'm going to have to leave hints to toxic sites

[Neo]

I really just went there today for the 1st time was was overwhelmed by the blatant illogic. To think that somebody is paying this cretin for this dribble just boggles the mind.

[matt]

The Law Firm of Lerach, Edwards, Clinton & Gore* is here for you 24/7....operators are waiting for your call now.....

*Lerach, Edwards, Clinton & Gore are not licensed in any of the 57 States and may use other attorneys.

[glasater]

I follow Ezra Klein on twitter just as I do a few other liberal commentators just to see what they're up to.

The other day he was tweeting he would be on Kudlow's show so I had to see what this fellow looked like on air.
It was amazing that he seemed pretty reasonable in his comments after a question from Kudlow. His head didn't spin around or anything...
Could not find the video of David Stockman versus Klein but here is Kudlow's "take" from the exchange.

[Replica Aigner Watches]

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[glasater]

Who are you trying to impress Replica...?