I don't follow the news that much but noticed this story. I was thinking the whole Toyota deal has kind of faded out. Will this actually be a hit to Toyota or is it pretty much a non issue?
It would be nice to see the car makers get all this sorted out and see the auto industry get back on its feet at any rate....
Judge gives Toyota 30 days to produce documents: Reuters
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According to Reuters, a U.S. federal judge has given Toyota 30 days to turn over documents sought by class-action lawyers from previous investigations of complaints about the company's cars racing out of control.
The order by U.S. District Judge James Selna marked a defeat for Toyota as it battles with lawyers who have brought many personal injury and class-action consumer claims against Toyota.
The automaker faces potential civil liability estimated at more than US$10 billion as it struggles to overcome an auto safety crisis that has tarnished its image. Complaints of runaway vehicles have led to the recall of more than eight million Toyota vehicles worldwide for repairs of ill-fitting floor mats and sticking gas pedals the automaker blames for surging engines.
Many of the lawsuits assert at least some of the acceleration problems are rooted in an as-yet unidentified electronic glitch. Toyota has denied such a glitch exists.
Two key U.S. lawmakers have said their preliminary review of internal documents turned over to Congress suggest Toyota "consistently dismissed the possibility" of electronic failures for years without thoroughly examining the issue.
Plaintiffs attorneys were seeking immediate possession of roughly 125,000 pages of internal documents already submitted to congressional panels and auto safety regulators.
Those papers have remained largely confidential, except for a relative handful cited in recent congressional hearings on Toyota's handling of complaints of sudden, unintended acceleration in its vehicles.
Under the judge's order, Toyota has 30 days to turn over any English-language documents it does not consider privileged -- those involving communications with its own lawyers.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
Sounds like a license to print money for the lawyers at this stage.
The whole thing definitely diminishes my comfort level for drive-by-wire technology. I've had a few gas peddles stick on different vehicles. Turning off the ignition worked until they built the locking steering wheels (was in a 70 GTO that got messed up when the throttle stuck and my friend, the driver, turned off the ignition half way through a 'S' bend and we hit the trees at 60 mph). Kicking it out of gear works but not ideal with no rev-limiter. Emergency brake saved me once. And reaching down to pull the linkage up has saved me several times. As I understand it, the latter won't work with drive-by-wire and the Toyotas don't have enough brakes to overcome engine torque (which I find hard to believe).
Sounds like a license to print money for the lawyers at this stage.
The whole thing definitely diminishes my comfort level for drive-by-wire technology. I've had a few gas peddles stick on different vehicles. Turning off the ignition worked until they built the locking steering wheels (was in a 70 GTO that got messed up when the throttle stuck and my friend, the driver, turned off the ignition half way through a 'S' bend and we hit the trees at 60 mph). Kicking it out of gear works but not ideal with no rev-limiter. Emergency brake saved me once. And reaching down to pull the linkage up has saved me several times. As I understand it, the latter won't work with drive-by-wire and the Toyotas don't have enough brakes to overcome engine torque (which I find hard to believe).
thought my vibe was doing the same thing at an itersection, the harder i stood on the break the higher the engine would rev as i crept through the intersection until i realized i had my foot on both the break and gas pedal at the same time now i drive left foot right.poor pedal layout
I've had that problem too - I've got size 13's and adding winter boots can create a real problem. I have to change into shoes to drive my standard trans Toyota. There's just not enough room down there!
I think that's what has been happening in most cases- driver error (foot hitting both pedals, aftermarket mats bunched up and getting caught-we see tons of those fat Michelin floor mats-or just simply mixing up the gas and brake) . The brakes are more than capable of stopping the car with the pedal floored. Motor Trend tested a bunch of Toyotas and they all stopped without a problem. Shifting into neutral will work as new cars all have rev limiters. Most of the folks I've talked to complaining of unintended acceleration are over 65 years of age.
Even though I am not a big supporter of anything but the "big 3", it's nice to hear of automakers and dealerships doing well. We need that kind of news in the auto industry these days...
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars (now converted to a "factory" 4 speed)
