Side note: malorn has been noticably quiet regarding the Lexus rollover warnings from Consumer Reports, and it dawned on me why. It's a paradox! GM LOVES SUV/land barge sales, as it's easy profit. Never mind the danger of ALL SUV's ... never mind their inherant poor mileage ... because profit is most important to GM ... not dwindling fuel supplies that come from countries that want to kill all "non-muslim infidels". But if you raise a red flag about SUV's ... in essence, you've just cut off your own nose to spite your face. I was reading an old article suggesting "roll-over" danger be posted on window stickers, because so many deaths happened during the Ford SUV debacle: Formula Predicts Rollover Risk | The Center for Autosafety And of course, now days the risk/danger IS placed on the window sticker. Sure makes Unintended Acceleration look pale in comparison. Now ... how is it that over 10,000 deaths are alowed to take place via high center of gravity vehicles ... and yet the design is still allowed. Might it be the balancing act between profit, versus ... what. .
Honestly, it's not like Toyota doesn't make a killing selling SUVs either. Apparently the Lexuses in particular (like the GX, especially since it has a unsophisticated, cheap to construct body-on-frame design) make 5-10x as much in margin as a run-of-the-mill Corolla.
I'd guess its pretty much like why in Colorado, you can talk on your handheld cell phone and don't have to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle. Or why you can talk on a hands-free cell phone in CA (even tho the evidence says its no safer). If enough people like SUVs...
Seems consumer reports is CORRECT. http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100418/OEM/100419899/-1 LOS ANGELES (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said it's seeking a fix for the Lexus SUV identified as a “safety risk” by Consumer Reports as a U.S. congressional committee set a new hearing to examine unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles. Toyota said Friday its engineers reproduced the same “slide” Consumer Reports magazine found in its tests of the 2010 GX 460 SUV.
As I said in earlier post: As for the new hearings, I find it interesting that with thousands of experts on automotive engineering, electronics and computer in this country, they have to bring us the same bunch time and time again. Of course, even CR admits that at worst, SUA would happen only once in 2 million miles of driving. I'm amazed that the politicians think this is the most important issue in auto safety today.
Silly boy, it's a very public and effective smokescreen to keep the sheep ... I mean the "public" baaaaaa .... from worrying about REAL issues Like the Global Economy teetering on the edge of the cliff, a volcano that could wipe out all of the EU, etc
Sorry that struck me as sadly funny! And I thought the volcano was God's punishment for make it harder for some folks to make money at the expense of the sick and helpless...
