Critical Mass?

I see no inconsistency with Toyota's claim that Sikes had used the brake and accelerator 250 times in the 23 miles with the officer's observation that by the time he got there, the front brakes were worn out. I would bet I could burn out the brakes on any production car you choose in 23 miles of acceleration and braking.

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_fade[/ame]

 

Sorry what did you say?

 

Is there any point where the CHP report and the Toyota press conference are in contradiction?

 

Malorn, it would be a lot simpler for GM to simply build a vehicle that got better mpg than the Prius (and not crush it), than for you to continue to make stuff up.

 

malorn: I appreciate that information, that I had not seen before your post. My experience with the media is that they will spin the story one way and then the other, until they wring the life out of it. That's easier than developing a real news story. Perhaps the recent Honda recalls will take some of the focus off of Toyata for long enough for the spin-doctors and sound bytes to move on to a new, equally unworthy topic.

 

Based on what? This: "I could see the driver sat up off his seat indicating that he was possibly applying the brake pedal with his body weight."

Or he was lifting his body with his left foot and not forcefully pressing on the brake with his right. That's easy to do both in a state of panic and when attempting to deceive.

It doesn't really matter. Silence from Toyota would be twisted as negative anyway.
.

 

The CHP is a good objective report. It does not back Sikes story nor does it discredit it---hence objective. It seems to me that the Toyota report is also an objective report, however, it raises into question the drivers behavior---it is not an attack on the driver with the purpose of discrediting him.

 

According to this report a Toyota spokesman later clarified that Sikes pressed and released the brakes 254 time while the throttle remained wide open:

Runaway Toyota Prius Driver: 'He Thought He Was Going to Die' DEK: California Highway Patrol's Official Report Offers Harrowing Narrative of James Sikes' March 8 Ride - ABC News

 

That observed action, lifting the buttocks off the seat, was an attempt to restore circulation to his nether regions due to the horrible seats Toyota installs in the Prius. That's where the recall should be focused, on those painful diabolical instrument of torture! Hey! Now there's an idea! Make terrorist drive around in a Prius until the pain forces them to talk.

For crying out loud does this guy expect us to believe that not only did his car suffer a sudden unstoppable acceleration but that all the safety mechanism's failed at the same time?!?!? There is one safety that shuts the engine off when the brake and the accelerator are depressed at the same time, the brakes and what the traction/stability control? I say this because I guess when he did apply the brakes he was afraid or some how had and indication that the Prius would lose control and crash?
Not to mention the merest flick of the wrist would put the Toyota in neutral or a 3 second press on the power button would shut the engine off! He was on a straight for miles interstate highway and he stated that he was able to reach down and attempt to free the “stuck” gas pedal while speeding out of control! And he expects us to believe he was to ascared to slip the car into neutral, shut it off or apply little more than medium braking power to stop!?!?!? LOL! Unbelievable! Simply unbelievable.

My tests, done at eighty miles an hour on a straight, single lane country road showed that with less than medium pressure on the brake there was an easily noticeable and significant deceleration. Not even a hint of control loss just straight down the road deceleration. I didn't even try to reenact reaching down to free the gas pedal, wayyyyy to scary! My panic stop which included a forceful and sudden application of the brakes was also uneventful. The Prius simply stopped, as it was designed to do. But since I had the gas pedal depressed at the same time the engine either went to idle or shut down. I didn't notice because I pulled over shut the engine off to see if there were any skid marks or other indications of control loss/brake failure. There wasn't. So anyone that believes this fraudster is naive beyond redemption.

 

Hey, a post we can agree on.

 

76 complaints out of 1.2 million vehicles.

Once again Toyota is in a no-win situation, even for the non-malorns of the world.

They can recall over issues that are (or appear to be) minor, bringing media attention and perpetuating a misconception.

Or they can not recall over minor issues, which would just lead to the same debacle a couple years down the road when they make a mistake and don't do a recall on something that is a real issue.

 

When I want to push real hard on the brakes I would be pushing my back against the seat. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction and my legs are stronger than my arms.

 

More importantly, most of us have leg strength that exceeds our body weight. The way to apply this is by pushing against the seat, not by getting up out of the seat.

 

i read in usa today that gm might make a profit in 2010 if the economy turns around and car sales rebound. they hope to pay back the taxpayers almost 7 billion out of 52 billion. but let's focus on touota's problems.

 

Geez, with all this stuff about Toyota in the news lately, you'd think Malorn would start a thread on the board spreading Fear and Loathing, yet as far as I know we haven't heard a peep from him. I hope he starts a thread discussing Toyota's problems soon!