Houston Press "Investigates" Safety Record of Toyota Prius

Hence, Rush and Faux News will give it a lot of airtime

 

One of the best things about the various hybrid and Prius forums is early warning when nonsense shows up. Soon enough, this nonsense will show up at work and I'll simply point to my 10% hybrid discount from Travellers.

Bob Wilson

 

Mate it comes with the job. I put up with crap all day, 8 hours a day 5 days a week. When it comes to tolerating crap I'm like a marathon runner on a Sunday walk normally but this drivel has passed even my limits.

 

Does anyone know any of the folks in this article that have reported safety concerns with their Prius? I would think that they would check out this site. Also if they are pursuing a legal case, their lawyer would probably advise them to not discuss it...especially on a forum.

But the majority on here may be correct that this article is just garbage...except several instances were cited. It seem to me...the writer implies that Prius owners are so fanatical about their vehicle that a safety concern could be surpressed...even by the "victim".

 

I was thinking of him when the article mentioned something about an engine kill switch ordered from Japan. I figured Dan has an "EV" switch and the author decided to call it something else.

If I remember correctly, Dan is also a writer? I would wonder if he might consider sending his article or something like it to the publisher of this nonsense. Note, I suspect their rates are too low and would not mind one bit if Dan decided they weren't worth it.

What has me scratching my head is 'who benefits' from this bit of fluff?

• GM, Chrysler - "dead man walking"
• Consumer affairs - ambulance chasers anonymous
• Politically anti-hybrids - those who seem to think we're all environmentalists and 'the new liberals'

Usually when you find the revenue source, you find a reason for doing something. So I'm more interested in earlier work by the same author. Since this piece showed up in what are essentially 'freebie' news, is this just someone with a 'ax to grind' and resentment?

Oh well, I have a real job and not a whole lot of time to waste on this nonsense. But I think researching the author's original work makes a lot of sense.

Bob Wilson

 

I read it all. Here was my favorite:

Yeah, the Prius was responsible for the laws of physics. It didn't have anything to do with that snow.

The fact that all but one of these people didn't pursue a lawsuit says it all to me. One guy said "we're not the kind of people who sue". BS. Everyone becomes the kind of person who sues when their car jumps out of control and almost kills them. Especially so if there is a data recorder...

 

That would drive me seriously, and *dangerously*, unhinged

I'm not going to spend any more time on an obviously made-up "news" story. Like the crackpot university student who wrote about the "moonscape" around Sudbury, Ontario, caused solely by the Prius - even a certain famous British newspaper had to retract their story of the Sudbury "moonscape" after discovering it was NOT true

So, do I trust the "news" to be fair and balanced? No, it hasn't been for many years now. Titillating stories make headlines and sell copy. Then when they sheepishly - baaaaaaa - have to retract a story, they wonder why folks have zero confidence in their "fact finding"

With the imminent demise of major American auto companies, I'm sure there are many folks, such as auto workers, who still believe the Sudbury Moonscape story. There are folks who are upside down on a house mortgage they obviously did not need, and should never have purchased, who also want to believe science fiction

 

Don't forget that Prius owners are not only fanatical to the nth degree, but each Prius owner receives several million dollars from Toyota to cover the cost of such things as the car attempting to kill you

Yes, I'm being sarcastic ....

If you want a true example of a widespread problem, which a car company denied and tried to cover up at first, look up the Ford Expedition and the cruise control switch causing fires

 

Wow, the Houston Press really is on the witch hunt! Now they've added two slideshows deriding our apparent "smugness".

Houston Slideshows - Before the Prius: 10 Compact Cult Cars
They're compact, mostly cheap and often cute. Here are ten compact cars that inspired a following, long before smug Prius drivers took to the streets.

Houston Slideshows - Trading Their Porsche for a Prius: Celebrity Quotes
Celebrities have been early adopters of the Toyota Prius, as the car gives them the ability to both "care" about the environment while allowing them to set an example for the little people. Of course, any "caring" they're doing is offset the moment they hop in their private jets, but they'll do their best to convince you otherwise through rhetoric. It's what they do.

Who's paying these guys to write this crap? Nice cover graphic they've attached to the Wild Rides article too... Hell of a Hybrid?

 

I think I'd like that logo as a tattoo! :evil:

 

Yeah, that devil Toyota logo is pretty sweet. I need to try and photoshop it off of that background!

 

Bob,

I'm guessing it is that Hummer Dealer that shows up in the middle of the article, who refers to the Prius owners as a bunch of moochers.

What is sad is that his use/definition of moocher is wrong. Penny pinchers, maybe. But moochers?

I had a hard time reading the article, I found myself reading the first sentence or two of a paragraph and skimming the rest, a sure sign that my "BS" detector was fully pegged and I didn't want to waste brain cells on drivel. 8 pages of it....ugh!

 

Toyota should offer to buy Hummer from Government Motors Corp. That Hummer dealer would probably have a massive stroke

 

According to "Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism", May 2006, "Paul Kinght is a journalism senior at UNT and a freelance writer." So I'm thinking we're looking at another, newly minted college kid looking to make a name for himself. He hooked up with ConsumerAffairs, the bulk of his source material, and then looked about for others to interview. I'm thinking like that kid who wrote the other college news article, Knight too is trying to build some sort of 'creds.'

Darn shame because he spent some time collecting and editing this stuff. But you know, it hasn't been the first and it sure won't be the last time we see such nonsense.

Well I suppose we could post a comment that the new 2010 Prius has been completely redesigned and no one has reported run-away acceleration with that model. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

 

The first article plays into the "tiny Prius" claim and the second into the "Prius-envy" claim. Both are of course nonsense but these are emotion articles, meant to inflame. I notice that the small cars also included the Honda Insight, a vehicle of vanishingly small sales.

The "Prius-envy" will always be around. There are folks who prefer ad homin attacks and it is much easier to belittle rather than face the facts and data.

Bob Wilson

 

Hear hear!

 

Maybe they really meant Prion, in which case I call MAD COW ALERT!!!!

 

I think that the Houston Press and others are trying to "feed' off the success of a great vehicle like the Prius. However, an argument can be made that the Prius has a fanatical following. Just read the posts here...it is like they printed rumors about a beloved family member.

 

Well, I stole the "Hybrid from Hell" logo from the article and stuck it on my toolbox at work. I think it looks pretty wicked, I'd like to thank the Houston Press for designing it! All my Toyota buddies are jealous.