gota911

Yeah, someting like this might work:

Toyota rep: "These drivers are morons of the highest order! They bought a Toyota didn't they?.... er, wait..... that didn't come out right!!"

That should resolve this issue!

Jon996

We did learn, however, that a Prius can actually do 94 MPH. Around here they do about 50 in a 60 zone.

Nugget

KeninBlaine

And it was later proven that there was no fault by Audi. But the false publicity and hungry lawyers almost took Audi down. It took them about 15 years to recover their reputation in North America.

Just part of the continuing dumbing down of America. People don't know the fundamentals of a machine they lay down $50-100k for, but they make sure they stay abreast of every two bit celebrity and "reality" TV show. That is what is really important.

I stopped watching CNN a few years ago due to their lame and over-dramatic coverage of "news". And FOX and the major networks are no better, so I seldom watch any TV news. All it does is remind me how stupid the bulk of their audiences must be to swallow all the tripe. "Thinking" is no longer cool to many people. That would be considered elitist.

camhabib

You know, reading through this thread, I'm seeing quite a bit of bashing of the consumer. Yes, most of you are correct, someone who doesn't have the common sense to know how to properly slow a car in the event of an emergency probably shouldn't be driving.

That being said, I'm not sure how many of you are familiar with the case of Bob Baker, a California Highway Patrol officer, who in a Lexus, was killed along with several of his family members, as he speed uncontrollably through an intersection due to an inability to stop the car. Now, I'm not sure, but something tells me that a highwat patrol officer would know a thing or two about stopping a car, and if he couldn't get the car to stop, there's a good chance that no one could.

While certain groups of people probably shouldn't have a license to operate, a company that can't properly design a floor mat, design a gas pedal assembly (and properly contract it out), program a car to, when both gas and brake are applied, favor break, and then on top of all that, NOT be able to find any problems with any of their cars, probably shouldn't be building cars.

Perhaps the only benefit Toyota drivers now get is that I, and I believe people all across the country, now let them go in front instead of behind as to not use their own car as a battering ram.

McCulla

Ok, I can't resist any longer, after seeing it 2 or 3 times in this thread...car guys, right? BREAK??? or BRAKE??? WTF? A "high" patrol?? Proof read...

theporscheguy

Got my '08 Camry fixed yesterday although I have never had a problem with the car. The gas pedal does feel more responsive so that is cool. Had a friend years ago that had a Ford truck that would hold the pedal to the floor if you gave it too much gas. He decided to show me one day and off we went to over 100 MPH. He then reached down grabbed the pedal and pulled it back until it finally disengaged, all while keeping the truck on the road. We just both used a little common sense and we were fine. Hope other people do the same.

Da Hapa

First of all, condolences to officer Baker and his family. A loss is a loss. No two ways around it.

But... I DO NOT assume that a peace officer is above making mistakes.

The physics are that the brakes are almost always going to be stronger than the motor. One of the major trade rag's just did a piece on this where they demonstrated that a V6 Camry with roughly 270hp and a few other cars (including a supercharged Mustang with 540 bhp) weren't strong enough to overcome the force of the brakes.

If the brakes somehow magically don't work... put the car in neutral and grenade the motor.

If that doesn't work, shut the damn car off.

Any loss of life is a tragedy. And I'm absolutely sure than in the millions of vehicles that Toyota has sold world wide there are defects which are inexcusable if it's your car and your family... but let's be real folks... this is a witch hunt. Pure and simple.

camhabib

I think a certain level of intelligence is assumed by most posters that despite some errors here and there, the main message of post will come across regardless.

I will add to that only with "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Da Hapa

Come on... how many of you guys had cars w/o power steering, etc. as kids. We all did just fine. I'm only 37 but my first car was a big, heavy Jeep 4X4 that did not have power steering and other than parking lot manuevers... it wasn't an issue.

And even if it isn't "fun" it's better than crashing.

camhabib

Cold brakes are a much different thing then boiling brake fluid hot brakes.

I'm not sure of the circumstances, but keep in mind, this man was a veteran highway patrol officer, not an average joe, and not even a local town cop, but a highway patrol. If there was ANYTHING wrong with the car, brake, accelerator, software, whatever the case, that prohibited this man from stopping his car, it's enough to make me scared. Even if there is nothing wrong with the car on top of what they're already recalled, we're talking about a gas pedal and a floor mat - one of which is THE single most basic item in the car. Aren't you just a tad bit concerned that the company couldn't even get that right?

Da Hapa

And brakes don't boil over that easily.

In the trade rag article I referenced the 540bhp supercharged mustang didn't overcome the brakes until the testers got it up to some silly speed (I think 100 mph) before applying the brakes. And even in this case they got the car down to something like 10 mph before the brakes gave out.

Even veteran police officers make mistakes and panic.

And correct me if I'm wrong.. the floor mats in question weren't bad, per se, they weren't be installed correctly. I do not blame a car company for people not being able to install floor mats properly. That kind of dumb it down attitude is why McDonald's needs warning stickers telling consumers their coffee is hot.

Edgy01

These cars are god's way of killing off IDIOTS who don't deserve to live and BREED on this planet!

The next time I get pulled over for doing 180 mph on the freeway I will claim that my accelerator was stuck....

All vehicles' braking systems are designed to fully stop that vehicle even when the accelerator is stuck on full throttle.

alexb76

I totally agree! They have taken an incredibly defensive position, probably due to Asian culture.

Definitely there was an issue, albeit not as critical as everyone made it out to be, it was fixed at a huge cost to them, and if your car is affected you need to know how to safely avoid it.

alexb76

Good one! I think we all should buy Toyotas so we can legally speed and blame it on Toyota!