" Comments on Web sites across the country reveal that practically everyone thought the Prius incident was a hoax--though they couldn't prove it--except for the media. They have been as determined to not investigate Sikes' claims as Sikes was to not stop his car. It's a Toyota media feeding frenzy and the media aren't about to let little things like incredible stories and readily-refutable claims get in the way." Article in Forbes magazine Toyota Hybrid Horror Hoax - Forbes.com
Thats the media for you always twisting things and blowing things out of proportion, gotta get those ratings up. Its really nothing new. Toyota is under attack atm until the next H1N1 shows up.
As we all suspected this is Overblown Media Hype with the smallest basis in fact. I love my New Prius and feel perfectly safe driving it, as I did the 2007 I recently sold a relative, after driving it safely for 3 years. But then I'm not filing for Bankruptcy. Too bad the media has no real 'reporters' any longer who go beyind the scams and dig for the facts. Nice that Forbes magazine has a few of these, now rare professionals, in their employ.
His evidence Sure doesn't reveal that everyone thinks its a hoax, only says that idiots like me who post on websites think its a hoax. And it doesn't even reveal that--because the author doesn't even say whether or how he surveyed websites. Well, at least he tried an experiment himself. But he blames the media for not investigating the guy, at the same time he uses a bunch of media reports as his sources for the guy's questionable character. The author is mostly just another guy venting. Like me.
You have a guy who files multiple multiple insurance claims for stolen stuff, he filed a police report with the Merced County Sheriff's Department for $58,000 ... and his $24,000 in cash was stolen ... and on and on. You're RIGHT! Nothing there. Seems like a perfectly normal scenerio ... just a lot of bad luck. I agree this character is not credible ... but one can't dismiss every & all acceleration claim. Even if you realistically disclaim 80% over the past 1/2 dozen years ... Toyota still has a number of incidences that has to be dealt with ... and they are taking care of it at an acceptable rate. It's just good PR for them to take the appropriate/expected remedial measures. Sweeping the remaining 20% of the issues into the 'nut job' bin (Toyota now realizes) has bad backlash, so they're doing the right thing now ... even if not for the most honorable reason. I think part of their own "we're WAY better than the rest" lead them (albeit temporarily) to think the 20% (or so) actual problems ~ were NOT problems. Now they're over that belief and they know bad quality can happen to any company. .
I agree. All machines fail from time to time. The sad part is that a "bad apple" can distract everyone with dealing with the real incidents. I do wonder though if part of the problem isn't demographic. As has been noted, most SUA victims seem to be my age or older. I've read that Toyota Camry owners in particular (and Prii) seem to be the foreign car equivalents of Buick and Cadillac owners- getting up there in years.
Unfortunately, this 'distraction' is making our cars worthless if we're interested in trading them in.
Is there any possibility that insurance rates would increase because of all the so-called safety issues with the Prius??
If the so-called safety issues increase the claims, then yes. If that happens, I don't think we can use the phrase "so-called". Tom
you're way off base. try reaching for the acc. pedal. that's all you need to know. the toyota documents are available, not simply someone making a claim. you just have your prejudices and don't want to hear the truth.
fortunately, we are not looking to trade them in because we know there is no truth to these reports and if we are trading up to a new prius, we are getting it on both sides of the deal.
Maybe, If the dealers will go a few thousand under invoice on a Gen III, then it's likely a wash. Otherwise, I suspect that our Gen II's are probably worthless for the time being. Of course, this should blow over soon and gas prices will invariably go back up (a lot). The smart buyers are the ones that have enough sense to buy now. It would be interesting to know just how cheap some of the used Gen II's are selling for now - as well as the new Gen III's.
OhRely? If you believe that your car is 'worthless' then I'll offer you $10 for it right now. I'll give you cash tomorrow. Don't be put off by media hype. You'd end up like those in the stock market that sell at the end of a horrible day when the Dow tanks by 800 pts...only to recover a week later to end up ahead by 5 pts. Long view, long view. The 'value' of your vehicle is determined only by what a buyer is willing to pay for it at a given point in time. It's not a static number. If gas spikes up toward $6 per gallon ( Summer 2008 redux ) then you'll not only recover what you might have theoretically lost in early 2010 but possibly make money. The only ones who might lose value are those thining of trading/selling right now at this moment, 4 PM in the afternoon of a horrible day on Wall St. Ride out the storm and take the long view.
I tuned into the Pittsburgh news this morning to find out what was going on with the flooding in the area. This ABC local news channel plugged a breaking story about a possible hoax in the California run away Prius drama. They built this story up for like an hour and when it finally aired the blond babe said "investigators have now replicated the problems that the driver encountered." I assume that "now" should have been "not", but hey who care right? I strongly believe that news shows like this should feature topless newscasters so that when you tune in, you know not to take these people seriously. At least we would get a good show!
Finally we get to read something rational that confirms our suspicions. First Business Week and now Forbes challenge the reports - or at least the reporters - of SUA. I think I'll add those mags to my "Favorites" folder. I like the guys point about the falling standards of professional journalism. I hope other news outlets pick up on these stories the way they did on the BS stories that have been going around.
Since I'm much more likely to buy another Prius before they get my current one away from me, I'm doing well. I do wonder how many lives have been saved by the reduced emissions from the million plus Prii running around...
