Toyota

[Bryce]

http://jalopnik.com/5493693/america-you-brought-the-toyota-hoax-on-yourself

No matter how the Great Toyota Recall and Jim Sikes saga ends, two things are certain: one, American drivers are sheep, and two, yes, this will happen again.

So: Jim Sikes perpetrated a hoax, the media is confused, the demonization of Toyota is no longer so cut and dried, and the automobile as we know it is caught in the crossfire. Faced with all this, we have but one question: Why did no one see it coming?

Unintended acceleration is nothing new. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration receives countless complaints on the subject every year, and no make of car or driver demographic is left unscathed.

The volume and frequency of these complaints seem to ebb and flow with the cultural tide. Media coverage, statistical ignorance, and opportunism appear to have more to do with the recurrence of reported UA than anything else. And the patterns — Brian Ross and ABC reviving the 60 Minutes Audi hoax, a hefty swing in UA complaint sources toward older drivers (see our chart) — seem to have more to do with mass psychology and opportunism than technical problems.

If you haven't been following this drama at Toyota (since September), follow the links in the article.

The author almost hit the point. Akio Toyoda wrongly apologized for his company a few months ago, paving the way for this debacle that may cost the company more than $5 billion. His company has issued a series of recalls since September to add "safety devices" - essentially idiot-proofing - to a few million vehicles with floor mats that could cause unintended acceleration. That, after a California Highway Patrol officer and three of his family members died riding in a Lexus with non-OEM floor mats that caught the gas pedal. Then in January a woman experienced unintentional acceleration in her Toyota Avalon that was not caused by a floor mat, sparking the controversy and recalls the company is suffering today. Dozens of Prius, not Avalon, drivers have since come out of the woodwork to complain about similar issues. But the NHTSA and Toyota can't come up with a fix. All that Toyoda can do now is apologize more deeply.

The unreported issue is that Toyota doesn't have a problem to fix. And scammers like Jim Sikes are the least of the problem. It's the altruistic motives of regulators, Toyota's unwillingness to identify the market as dumb, and most importantly, the willful ignorance of Toyota's customers. Now, several groups are fighting to merge so they can form a class action lawsuit against Toyota, while others argue that they are due full refunds for their unsafe vehicles and are scared of their cars. One woman who testified before congress claimed that she had "nightmares" about her Lexus. Other problems include decreasing resale values, higher incentives to maintain sales, and a costly public relations ad campaign. The company will be put in an even more subordinate position to it's customers if it wants to survive. Toyota reaped what it sowed, though. It capitalized on a market that was eager to spend thousands to save hundreds on fuel and had grown naively afraid of Detroit iron. But one ideal ties all of these incidents and repercussions together: a sense of entitlement.

Edited March 17, 2010 by Bryce

[Alfonso Jones]

Thanks for posting this.

The current row over the pseudo-problem is disgraceful. I was discussing the situation with a senior representative of ANOTHER car company (not US-based) yesterday. Although they expect to benefit in a short-term way from the damage to Toyota's reputation, he acknowledged that he also saw no validity to the claim that Toyota has done anything wrong.

Since this is on OL, here's the quasi-obligatory Rand content: Seems vaguely reminiscent of the passage in Atlas Shrugged where the State Science Institute releases the statement about Rearden Metal which says nothing (and hence can't really be argued against!), but is extremely damaging nonetheless. The most telling difference - the current media releases says something, without foundation or documented failures. And the nature of discourse has been so debased that Toyota can't speak the open and obvious fact - - - this is almost surely a case of operator error in most cases, and possibly (in some cases) fraud.

Bill P

[Christopher]

Unless it already exists, I think Toyota is foolish for not programming a safety device (a hard-wire cutoff switch) that automatically shuts off acceleration when fully braking.

[Bryce]

Thanks for posting this.

The current row over the pseudo-problem is disgraceful. I was discussing the situation with a senior representative of ANOTHER car company (not US-based) yesterday. Although they expect to benefit in a short-term way from the damage to Toyota's reputation, he acknowledged that he also saw no validity to the claim that Toyota has done anything wrong.

Since this is on OL, here's the quasi-obligatory Rand content: Seems vaguely reminiscent of the passage in Atlas Shrugged where the State Science Institute releases the statement about Rearden Metal which says nothing (and hence can't really be argued against!), but is extremely damaging nonetheless. The most telling difference - the current media releases says something, without foundation or documented failures. And the nature of discourse has been so debased that Toyota can't speak the open and obvious fact - - - this is almost surely a case of operator error in most cases, and possibly (in some cases) fraud.

Bill P

Some domestic makes (and dealerships) are taking advantage of the situation. But I work with a Honda dealership that's noticed a significant loss in sales since Toyota's woes began.

Toyota, with it's huge global presence, has an opportunity (that it's management probably doesn't recognize) to take a stand against this injustice with an international audience. It might be costly, but the long-term affects of bowing to this kind of ignorance are much, much worse.

By the way, how do you like Buick models sold in China?

Unless it already exists, I think Toyota is foolish for not programming a safety device (a hard-wire cutoff switch) that automatically shuts off acceleration when fully braking.

The safety device I mentioned shuts off the engine when the gas and brake pedals are simultaneously pressed.

[Selene]

Yep.

Basically the software goes "Oh, oh, why is this asshole accelerating while braking?" Therefore let us shut the engine down and keep the steering integrity as well as other operating systems on line.

Adam

[jeffrey smith]

I am now on my third successive Corolla; the relatively low price and mechanical reliability is what keeps me going back to Toyota. And will probably keep me going back for the fourth one.

Based on my experience, the floor mat problem is valid: the hook to keep it in place under the driver's feet isn't long enough or curved enough to keep it in place, and therefore it can get entangled with the gas or brake pedal. The solution is of course very simple: the driver checks regularly to make sure the mat is properly hooked in and if it isn't, hook it properly. Of course, there probably are enough drivers without common sense that Toyota probably should have idiot proofed the mats. And there is the fact that the driver won't know he needs to check the floor mat until the entangling happens for the first time. For me, it was one morning when I was getting ready to start the car for my morning commute. For others, the timing may not be so fortunate--perhaps in the middle of their morning commute, or worse.

Jeffrey S.