CroOrange

I agree not to mention that the brakes are more powerful than the engine. So if you hit the brakes, the engine can push all it wants, the car stops.

People need to keep that in mind. In France, there was an incident a couple years ago where the accelerator of a vehicle got stuck at full throttle on the highway.

Driver still got a ticket because the car manufacturer and the equivalent of NHTSA officially stated that if you hit the brakes, no matter how much power is given to the engine, the car will stop.

This is a stick shift BTW, because we only have sticks in France.

a++ Cedric

teds427

Floor mat recall is just a toyota smoke screen, total coverup by the mainstrem press, if this whould have been a GM car front page National news 60 min expose death to the American car! Driver was CHP professonal driver brakes couldn't overcome engine and burn up, transmission can not be pulled out of gear. If you think the floor mat caused 4 people to die you need to open your eyes!

BringOnSpring

I think there's more to this too.

A few years ago I had a buddy that had a dodge 3500 deisel. He put aftermarket, fitted, molded mats. I was fooling around and pinned it up to about 60 on a side road (I know...very stupid) and the pedal got caught under the mat. I quickly put it in neutral, slammed on the brakes, cut the key off and back to ACC (didn't know if steering would lock or not). Stopped with no problem. Went back and cut a notch in the mat.

He's CHP then he's trained to work under pressure and not to mention most likely a trained driver. Just doesnt add up.

Vette Suspension

CroOrange

Don't know about US regulations but I believe EU regulations regarding brakes are such that a compliant vehicle (not modded) is designed in such a manner that the brakes will lock the wheels.

I'm pretty sure it's the same here to. Proof for me is that if you press the brakes to hard the rear wheels of the car freeze. Doing a burnout is finding the right amount of pressure on the brake pedal so as to not lock the rear wheels and stop the front wheels from moving.

Human beings panic in the face of danger and don't necessarily react in calm controlled manner.

Don't know what happened in the case of the CHP, but I'm sure that without any proven brake failure; nailing the brakes will stop the car.

a++ Cedric

peter pan

Toyota will have a big lawsuit forth coming after a family dies from those floor mats, the bigger you get the larger the lawsuit will be

rgregory

I also agree. I had a truck stick at full throttle one time while offroading and was heading for a train track under pass that I could not have negotiated at much more than a slow pace. I threw it in park, hit the brakes and was safe. This was when I was 16 so not an experienced driver. The noise of the transmission trying to engage park wasn't so good but it was better than hitting a large wooden pole.

RED HAWK

At least Toyota has not gone bankrupt like pos gm.

shinyvette

This reminds me of the problem Nintendo had with the interactive WII console... where Americans lost control of their controller and damaged their televisions and property because of a "defective" strap.

Nintendo had to "fix" the problem because some Americans thought it was a good idea to use an interactive video game controller like pitcher throwing a fast ball.

Nintendo still tops sales of Sony and Microsoft because most Americans aren't stupid.

Placing an "optional" car mat ontop of another car mat unsecured is not smart and Toyota won't be legally liable for dumb decisions.

Like Nintendo, Toyota will recall to compensate for bad driver decisions and sales will not be affected by it.
Cell phone companies would go out of business if people blamed the cell phones and not the driver for making dumb decisions.

carlton_fritz

Most ignorant post of the week.^^^^

Vette Suspension

Toyota is having more then it's fair share of problems including taking mony from the Japanese government. And if Toyota had to deal with the UAW and US governrment regulations it would no longer exist


TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. said it halved global production in February amid a Japanese outlook calling for vehicle sales next fiscal year to fall to the lowest level in 32 years. The news highlights how Japanese auto makers continue to be battered by the world-wide slowdown.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123789055391723961.html



Toyota (TM) Recall: Quality Problems On Top Of Poor Sales
Toyota (TM) moved from making most of its cars in Japan to opening plants all over the world as it marched to become the No.1 car company. The process took nearly two decades and there was an aspect of it that worried Toyota management.

In Japan, quality control was not an issue. Factories were with a few hundreds miles of the headquarters. Executives could go to sites to help train workers and impart the firm’s values for building vehicles were were nearly free of defaults.


As Toyota expanded it factory network along with sales, it ran into what should have been expected. Quality started to drop. Keeping a facility in South America operating using the same level of quality management that the firm could impose in Japan was impossible

Toyota began to slip in consumer satisfaction surveys and it began a series of large vehicle recalls cue to defects.

According to Reuters, Toyota recalled 1.3 million vehicles worldwide. The action will be embarrassing and costly. And, it comes with a dose of irony. Toyota will cut global production by 20% this year because the demand for cars is dropping in every major country.

Toyota now has the worst of both worlds–falling sales and quality problems from chasing sales which are no longer there.

Douglas A. McIntyre

http://247wallst.com/2009/01/28/toyota-tm-recal/

It’s True: Toyota Asks Japanese Government-Backed Bank For $2b

Toyota Financial Services has requested a $2B loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, a government-backed lending institution. TFS says it needs the money to cover the higher cost of borrowing in the US. According to Automotive News [sub], “Toyota may be the first of a string of Japanese companies with high credit ratings to turn to state-backed loans prior to the closing of books for the business year at the end of March.” Toyota’s “implied” credit rating based on credit-default swaps is considerably lower than its current Moody’s rating, as fears grow about liquidity problems across the automotive industry. The money will come from a $5B fund established by the Japanese government to provide liquidity for firms which operate abroad. These funds are said to come from Japan’s $1T+ in foreign cash reserves, the world’s second-largest foreign currency reserves after China. Nissan and Mitsubishi have also said they will apply for loans from this fund.http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/its...d-bank-for-2b/



Pressing matters - Toyota wasn’t alone in receiving government assistance
The automotive press was abuzz earlier this month as corporations flung around statements related to the development of hybrid vehicles, suggesting Toyota may have received an unfair advantage by receiving government funding for research and development. However, Toyota isn’t the only automaker to receive government assistance. More than a decade ago, American tax dollars supported an auto industry initiative to develop a marked advance focused on developing a marketable, 80-mpg family car.
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/car...ess-prius.html



Toyota Wants Japanese Government Loan : NPRToyota Wants Japanese Government Loan. March 3, 2009 ...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=101368702

juliarichard34

Seriously. It is difficult to believe.

shinyvette

I wish GM and Chrysler only got $2 billion, instead of receiving billions & billions more and then declare bankruptsy on top of that and screw their investors.

No doubt Toyota has it's problems but there's no comparason with what's happening here.
I bet Toyota will pay every penny back to their government and taxpayers and keep their investors safe unlike our leeches who take the money and run.

Vette Suspension

Japan is a business friendly nation unlike the US. A Japanese company does not have to deal wth a government that over taxes it, tells the company who it must hire, and does not have the UAW destroying it. At some point in 3-5 years when the economy is better GM will prosper and most likely pay off most of it's debt.

shinyvette

Sure they'll pay it back, but only when the UAW is eliminated and then GM can do whatever it wants to earn a profit.

Vette Suspension

Many things will change in about 3 years with a new administration and congress. The UAW will have major issues and on the brink of collapse when a new administration steps in. GM will at that point have the ball in their court. Also, when the economy turns around in a few years GM will also be in a better competitive position. The key is for GM to last another 3 years until the new administration comes to power.

bajapointe

Floormats are much cheaper/easier to replace than say the PCm or whatever. Total Smokescreen for sure.