76 and 77

FYI, the guy in jail was a recent immigrant who just learned to drive. This makes me recall my days working for a company with a large number of Hong Kong-origin employees. One thing they told me was that in Hong Kong, you simply are not allowed to get your first license if you are older than a certain age (like 40 or 50). The inexperience of a teenager without the reaction time.

Will

John,

Your March 11th report on cross country boots and unattended acceleration is an excellent observation. I have had this happen with just regular winter boots. Much like the gentleman with diabetic problems, the boots were too thick to feel the peddles. Fortunately I only tapped a parked vehicle while I was parking and only caused minor damage to my car. The fact that I was parking and switching from gas peddle to brake frequently aggravated the solution. I now try to always wear shoes if possible.

Jack Brown
Delanson, NY

Dear John,

I'm not generally a conspiracy theorist, but can't help but wonder if perhaps the recent complaints about Toyota's problems with unexpected acceleration might be a part of plot on the part of other automakers to de-throne Toyota from its lofty position. Remember how the Big 3 and their friends in Washington successfully conspired to derail Preston Tucker and his innovative Torpedo in the late 1940's? Paid saboteurs could have fairly easily altered the braking systems on Toyota's, either at the factories or dealerships. What do you think?

I applaud your speaking out on the possibility that at least some of the "runaway Toyota's" might be due to driver error. I also wonder how people can drive for long distances in a runaway car without thinking of shifting the transmission into neutral.

Thanks for listening.

John Delaney

John,

I just viewed the Autoline Daily video and the Toyota S.U.A. You so easily seem to blame the driver first than the electrical problem Toyota is trying to hide. I feel Autoline Detroit should go out and test the Toyota automobiles effected by the recalls. Remember people have died or are in jail because of Toyota S.U.A. Sure their might be fake-o-driver error, but I don't think people would crash their car or truck and drive them out of control with a loss of life. Shame on John for his pass on Toyota and safety! I wonder if the United States can order Toyota to stop selling "Lemons" and fine the company big time...

Carroll E. Gant, JR.

John,

Toyota's current problems may or may not be caused by driver error. There are several manufacturers that have similar pedal orientation like Toyota's. The obvious statement is that currently only Toyota's cars are under heavy scrutiny.

The Bigger problem for them is the way they have approached it. Toyota is between a rock and a hard place. Currently they have had two recalls for the same problem. Neither published fix has fixed the issue. Couple that with an ex-attorney gone whistle blower and Toyota has a big publicity mess. If it comes out and tells everyone that the electronics is bad and has been since '99, that will severely limit sales and resale and further escalate the ongoing litigation against them.

The fact that Toyota is now applying a cut off program to their ECU mapping indicates to me that they know they have a problem and how to work around it as others using that same system do.

Toyota will survive this like Ford with the Pinto and Heavy truck chassis did in the 70's and GM did with the Corvair. However, with today's media being larger and easier to access, Toyota will in the long run pay a bigger price.

David Sprowl

John,

You got it right, Toyota's problem is no different than Audi's back in the 80's. People just can't admit that they were confused and in some cases caused a serious accident or damage, and want to blame the car.

Richard Sutherland
Albuquerque, NM

John,

Your observations regarding pedal placement involve cars with particularly bad pedal placement.

Americans have gotten used to transverse engine FWD cars which have relatively wide footwells due to a lack of a transmission hump. Through the early 1970’s our rear wheel drive cars also had wide footwells (because those cars were particularly wide).

The Audi 5000 came along. It was a small car with a longitudinal engine/FWD configuration which created a big transmission hump (even wider than would be required for a RWD car) which resulted in a particularly narrow footwell. This forced the accelerator pedal to be close to the centerplane of the driver’s body (where one would expect the brake pedal to be).

The IS250 you showed on Thursday also has a large transmission hump due to the longitudinal engine/AWD configuration.

Very occasionally, I will find my foot on both the brake and accelerator of my IS350 (which, being RWD, has a slightly narrower transmission hump than the IS250 AWD). However, there is no runaway acceleration, and I instantly know what I have done.

Will
New Haven

Concerning letter from Ron Malinowski, the 911 operator asked the driver if he had shifted to neutral and he said no. He stated later that he was unsure of what would happen if he put the transmission in neutral!!! It took a patrolman driving alongside him issuing directions to use the foot and emergency brakes to get him to stop. With this kind of response from drivers it is no wonder we have so many accidents. Talk about clueless in LA.

Chuck Genrich

The following was a quote from the Senior Director of Consumer Reports Auto Testing Division in a New York Times article:

"Analysts say Toyota's have declined in quality in the last couple of years, because the company has simply grown too large to maintain standards the way it once did. Nonetheless, this is a golden moment to buy a Toyota, Mr. Champion says: its cars are still terrific, the fixes prompted by the recalls have already been made, and the company has just announced some very aggressive incentive programs to tempt buyers, including zero percent financing on some models for up to 60 months."

This doesn't sound like a fair and impartial quote from a director of a magazine that is supposed to conduct fair and impartial testing of autos. Sounds more like a Toyota Salesman. HMMMM… Apparently he thinks the "fixes" of floor mats and pedal redesign have solved the problem.

The New York Times article appears to be as pro Toyota as it can be under the current circumstances. By digging up the past history of Big 3 quality failures they have managed to change the conversation away from the seriousness of Toyota's runaway vehicles. Not to mention Consumer Reports contradiction in rating 27 out of 32 Ford vehicles as recommended buys but ranking the company as 11 out of 14 in overall report card performance. How can Consumer Reports maintain credibility after continuing to place Toyota in the top 3 car companies in the world when they haven't fixed the quality issue, meaning there are still risks of more people getting hurt or dying? At the very least he should reserve comment until the case of the runaway Toyota's are solved.

Lauren Kenny

John,

With “drive-by-wire” becoming common place, why haven’t automakers installed “panic stop” buttons in cars similar to industrial equipment control systems? I know it is not as simple as it might sound but safety should be a priority in any design.

Jim
Overland Park, Kansas

Dear Autoline,

Day after day I keep to continue to hear of another car out of control, this time the police used their cruiser to stop a Prius that was out of control. What is bothering me, is why these people are not able to shut the car off or put it in neutral, or why police dispatch doesn't guide them to do this, is there something with the Prius that makes it not shut down, I know some of them have a push button, but Toyota stated many times, hold the button for three seconds. I know this is probably a software feature, is this not working? Is this another reason why we should go back to a key? I really want to know more. Cause it seems like we have been told what to do if this happens, but we still hear stories of people having issues that they can't bring the vehicle to a stop. If this is not covered in the manual, it should be resent to customers to every Prius owner, and other vehicles affected stating what to do, maybe certified mail.

Ron Malinowski
Georgetown, KY

John,

Woe be it for me to pat myself on the back, but when the throttle cable on my Civic started getting sticky last year, I took it to the dealer to check it out. They fixed it and smooth control was returned.

Drivers bear responsibility for their safety, and car makers shouldn't have to deal with customers that don't pay attention.

Michael Weber

Why hasn't anyone pointed out that most of the automakers (if not all) with the EXCEPTION of Toyota have multiple APP sensor inputs. Toyota chose to eliminate the redundancy in the accelerator pedal circuitry to a single APP sensor. If there were to be a failure in the single APP sensor due to a sensor failure or RF interference in the wire loom or vehicle circuitry, unintended acceleration could result. The lack of redundant APP sensors in the accelerator pedal to PCM circuitry is irresponsible and dangerous.

For comparison, Below is the APP Sensor circuitry in a 2007 Mustang:

Acceleration Control

The engine management system electronically operates the throttle of the engine in response to throttle pedal movements initiated by the driver. In the event of a system failure, the engine management system provides a “limp home” mode which allows the car to be driven with limited performance.

Accelerator Pedal Position (APP) Sensor

The APP sensor is an input to the powertrain control module (PCM) and is used to determine the torque demand. There are 3 pedal position signals in the sensor. Signal 1, APPS1, has a negative slope (increasing angle, decreasing voltage) and signals 2 and 3, APPS2 and APPS3, both have a positive slope (increasing angle, increasing voltage). During normal operation APPS1 is used as the indication of pedal position by the strategy. The 3 pedal position signals make sure the PCM receives a correct input even if 1 signal has a concern. There are 2 reference voltage circuits and 2 signal return circuits for the sensor.

Don Campbell
Ogden, UT

Try stopping a 2006 Camry at 20-30 mph in ~ 1 inch of heavy slushy snow and a perfect brake pulsating hydroplane sets in creating approximately 2-4 times normal snow stopping distance without anti-lock brakes.

This is real bad, and to the point of disconnecting the system for safety reasons, interesting to hear of any other similar issues.

J. Mohr
Kenosha, WI

Hi John,

If I ever have trouble sleeping, I will replay this episode with Alan Taub.

I was hoping to see news about ECO Motors.

What about a show that talks about the Global Warming Myth and the fact that CO2 is in TINY amounts, not harmful, and does not cause global warming, even if global warming did exist?

Also, the "Zero Emissions" crowd (I agree that smog in big cities is a health hazard) is overlooking emissions created by a variety of electric power plant technologies. The pollution is not eliminated, just moved to another location (still on Planet Earth).

I think for my lifetime, we should "drill here, drill now", and refine the IC engine. "Fossil Fuels" is also mis-named. Dinosaurs did not die 15,000 feet below the surface at the bottom of the ocean. The Earth makes these fuels with a natural process.

Just my thoughts...

Alan Andrews
Grants Pass, Oregon

Hello Mr. McElroy!

My husband and I enjoy your reports regularly. We recently had our third child which means we currently have 3 car seats lined up in the back seat of our 2004 Toyota Highlander. We are looking for another vehicle. After a little research, my husband is currently deciding between a used Mercedes R350 and a Traverse. With the Mercedes I am concerned with the cost of maintenance and gas mileage. With the Traverse I am concerned with safety and quality.

Could you shed some light on the two vehicles? We would be most appreciative of your opinion on any other vehicle recommendations that are not considered minivans. Thank you for your time:-)

Mrs. A. Grace

Consumer Reports touts itself as a barometer of product quality and frequently harps on their subscriber survey as a way to lend statistical merit to their opinions.

Because of that, shouldn't CR have seen this pattern of Toyota faults in their OWN survey results, and shouldn't they have been informing the public for months or years?

CR did finally change their recommendations on select Toyota models, but only “after” their recall. If CR's survey is as valuable as they posit, shouldn't Consumer Reports have been at the forefront of the Toyota acceleration debacle?

Matthew

Hi John,

The new GM is back, but not in a good way. What we have at the top is a non-automotive guy, which I thought was a good thing in the beginning. Bringing in new ideas to a company that was lost. But what we have now is a guy at the top that is lost, with a 1.7 million base pay. When he was on the board he let Fritz Henderson go, and now he has hired him back. To advise the company how to proceed at a great pay check.

It wasn't too long ago when everyone at the company, retirees and bond holders were told that we had to take a haircut. For the new GM to survive. Now that all of that is behind us and everyone below a certain level is bald, the new GM can go back to the old GM.

Mr. Whitacre you must be relying on that tool they used in the movie “Men in Black”, to erase everyone's memories. Don't worry you aren't fooling anybody.

Espo

John,

I've enjoyed your coverage of automotive news for years. I've always liked your positive energy and enthusiastic demeanor even in the dark days of the North American Automotive journey. But like some of your readers, recently, specifically since the Toyota debacle started, I have noticed you be 'noticeably' slanted towards the Japanese company. Today you simply dismissed the current drivers that still have the 'sudden acceleration' AFTER the supposed fix as "driver's error". 2 weeks ago when Toyota chose to send the replacement parts to the 'empty' cars in their factories to stop their production blood-dollar-letting rather then to the 'alive human beings occupied' cars all over the country first you diverted attention from this by saying "they were trying to fix the same amount of cars", yeah, never mind all the cars they choose to fix first were empty. While the mothers, sisters and children driving the occupied cars took a back sit to corporate greed. You are obviously smart enough to notice this, and I would think it would put you off to notice such a foolish and irresponsible move on Toyota's part. But your reaction was just the opposite. Has something happened to you that we (your decades long fans) are unaware of? Has your checking account suddenly been blessed by Asian car makers? Or are you simply way off your game? Say it ain't so Joe!!

Regards,

Alex Cruz
Product Development, Ford Motor Co.

John,

It was interesting to see that the Ford and Nissan brands had significant sales gains in February, 2010. I missed the part about GM and Ram truck sales - how did they do?

I also heard from another source that Chrysler got a big boost in mid-sized car sales by government fleet purchases. Is that correct? Is government fleet sales the driver behind Chrysler's purchase of Sterling Heights Assembly Plant back from "Old Car Co.?" I do not think general customer acceptance of recent products is the driver.

Lastly there was an interesting story about customer complaints about unintended acceleration of all brands, import and domestic over the last decade on NPR today.

I enjoy your stories. Keep up the good work!

John V.

While Toyota is touching every one of the recalled vehicles, there has been talk that the “fix” may not work either. With that, why wouldn’t Toyota create a flash update of the ECM to put the engine at idle whenever the brake lights come on and re-flash all of the ECMS as part of the fix? I mean, it would seem that this would be the be all/end all fix for the issue. Instead, they are playing with fire.

On another issue entirely, we have been thinking about trading up but now I am not so sure. All three vehicles in our stable right now have throttle cables. Hell, two of them have manual transmissions. Just to think as recently as six months ago I was ready to sign the papers on a new car.

Eric,
Troy, OH

John,

I really enjoy watching you on Autoline every week. I'm a mechanical engineer working on electric steering systems for TRW.

A couple weeks ago, you were talking about Toyota and you had Paul from CSM on your show. He mentioned that all the mechanisms in cars are going to "by wire" technology, including steering. I wasn't sure if you were just too polite to correct him, but I don't know of any steer by wire systems that are in production in the auto industry. (Do you know of any?) Electric-assisted steering means that a dedicated motor is hooked up to the steering gear and only provides assist when assist is required by the driver (like at low speeds - like parking). If the motor shorts out or stops working, the driver still has manual steering. The Toyota recall for the Corolla steering issue is a big deal because while the driver is steering straight ahead, the electronics think the driver is requesting for assist to turn, and the motor makes the wheel turn, which steers the car off the road.

You probably already knew all this, but I just wanted to make sure we were clear ;-) Keep up the good work!

Colleen

John,

I applaud your move to report more useful data like horsepower-to-weight ratios. I'd been computing them in my own auto evaluations for decades and never understood why they weren't more common. But I've also come to suspect that horsepower-to-weight is deceptively useless compared with torque-to-weight.

Horsepower is apparently just torque multiplied by RPMs, so the horsepower curve shows {torque times RPMs} vs. RPMs, which tells us...nothing! What we really care about is how much we can accelerate at any speed...which IS the torque-to-weight ratio.

From what I can find, the ONLY reason anyone uses horsepower is...because they've always used horsepower! Apparently, James Watt started it in the 1700s for the sole purpose of selling steam-engines to workhorse-owners. Which was great then, but when was the last time YOU needed to replace a workhorse? I can understand an automaker's reluctance to give up an historical comparison spec still in use by its customers and competitors, but that strikes me as a dumb reason for everyone else. Especially a savvy journalist like you (and a savvy audience like yours).

What's your take?

Love the show -- keep up the good work.

Regards,
Ken

John,

As I said in prior emails... the only thing that will slow the hysteria down about ETC is

a) The OEMs meeting the 2013 EDR (Event Data Recording) standards NOW. with a standardized interface.

b) a Driver-Commanded save of data function on the dash board (like pushing the trip reset budget for 5 seconds)... if a driver has an unusual glitch, they push the button and the all the needed data is saved until they can have the dealer download the data which shows everything that happened.

Dave Tuttle

John,

What baffles me is that this capability may cost a little bit extra up front (but not much.. do you know how cheap a 4GB SD memory card is at Best Buy for your camera?...less than $15 retail.. my new digital camcorder can store 8 HOURS of video on 32GB!).. so the incremental hardware costs are small. The existing EDR (Event Data Recorder) hardware may already have all that is needed!

In the end when Renzo talks about "Electronic Gremlins" the only way to put this issue to bed is to have the data... and I'm not convinced that some cars don't already have all the hardware needed already.. it's just some cleaver new software.

GM may have all the hardware needed already.. just push the trip button for 5 seconds and the computer should send the EDR (Event Data Recorder) data via OnStar.
That way GM can save it forever (for diagnosis and legal protection) and forward it in an email to the driver.

Our new Ford has Sync with a Vehicle health report function that is sent over Bluetooth. Same idea.. just push the trip computer button for 5 seconds and the report is sent over your Bluetooth phone to Ford. Ford stores it, analyzes it and sends you the data in an email.

And with cars getting even more computerized, this issue will keep surfacing even more.. so this function is required to finally put this issue to bed..If Toyota were smart, they would lead the industry for this.

All the OEMs should do the following: GM, Ford, Chrysler might be able to do incorporate this relatively soon.

a) Brake over-ride software across the board (even if it isn't needed technically). Brake + Gas = error-> idle the engine.
b) Driver commanded data logging (either download via dealer or OnStar/Sync) software upgrade.
c) Increase the EDR memory to store more information..sufficient to debug ANY glitch (say 5 minutes of data?).. what happens if it takes a driver a few minutes to pull over after a harrowing event and then push the button to save the data? So 5 minutes might be plenty.

I also own a recalled Lexus so I know this problem in detail... I have a very technical background (I used to design computers for IBM) so I've been keenly interested in this topic. . and the bottom line is that Toyota screwed up.

It's idiotic for them to have not had the Brake override system from day one (it's not a hard scenario to imagine..nor hard software to write).

The latest thing that disappoints me is their laggardly EDR capability..check out this website.

And the more I hear about the way they hide their problems, the more their reputation is tarnished.

And check out this article from the WSJ.

Dave Tuttle

When will you bring any of the Chrysler CEOs to the show. It seems you do not care about Mopar fans. Love your show keep it up.

Mario,
New York City

Hello Mr. McElroy,

I was listening to the news in the morning as I usually do during my morning routine (today is 03.01.2010). Among other news, I heard your voice at the part "Automotive News". I always pay attention at this news. I'm a retiree now. I used to work at Ford Motor Co. I met you once about 10 years ago. We made a presentation for the media about the Human Presence Detection at Ford in Dearborn. I was one of the participants of the presentation. So I have two reasons to pay attention at your words: because of my past as an engineer at the Safety Research Department and because of my sort of acquaintance with you.

Your words today made me very upset. The meaning of your short comment was the following: we should not make such a big noise about 2 (!) people killed because of Toyota sudden acceleration; there are 38,00 people killed each year. And you added: Stop this nonsense!

This is so wrong! We are not talking about the statistical data, we are talking about the responsibilities of Toyota Motor Company.

I'm sure you do not drive a Toyota. I'm sure your wife doesn't drive it, your daughter or son doesn't drive it. But be careful even if nobody in your family drives a Toyota. Its sudden acceleration may be dangerous for everybody around. And if we, as Americans let them go with this (and others) problems we'll end up with a BIG statistical data and it will be too late for the innocent people who lost their lives or lost loved ones.

I hope you'll not repeat your comment again,

Yelena M. Rodin

Another View Of Clunker Math

Think of it this way:

A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800 gallons of gas a year. A vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480 gallons a year.

So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.

They claim 700,000 vehicles so that's 224 million gallons saved per year.

That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil. 5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption. More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs about $350 million dollars

So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350 million. We spent $8.57 for every dollar saved.

I'm pretty sure they'll do a great job with our health care, though.

Joseph Phillippi

John,

Regarding your program about movies and cars. There were others that you could have mentioned, and if you had Eric on the show from Autozone Hobbies, on Woodward in B'ham MI, I'm sure he would have mentioned them because he has them for sale for about 15 bucks. Here go's: Two Lane Black Top, The California Kid, The Hollywood Knights, Thunder Road, Christine, Rebel Without a Cause, American Graffiti, and many others that I can't think of at the moment. In, Vanishing Point, if you look closely a Camaro was switch to crashed into the barricade. And the Pontiac in the Roy Snyder movie, slid under the back of a cargo hauler truck that didn't have a crash bar in the back.

Bernard

Hi John,

As I listened to today's radio segment, your comment about the silliness of the political process. Well these silly politicians have a sixty percent interest in General Motors. The more bad publicity from Japan the better for GM.

Jeff Roberts

Hey John, here is a good question for you,

Dodge is awarded Truck of the Year, but sometimes I have to wonder about what Chrysler is really thinking. For 2010 they drop a bunch of colors, so instead of 12 choices I believe it is down to 8. The 8 they offer couldn't be more dull, the brightest eye catching color they offer is Deep Water Blue. The same Deep Water Blue that they feature in most of their adds dating back to 2009. As a matter of fact Truck Trend uses a monotone Deep Water Blue in their article and it just happens to be the same monotone Deep Water Blue on the back of their brochure, as limited as that is. So I ask you this, why when I order a 71000.00 Deep Water Blue Monotone Laramie does it get backordered? I am told they have no flares, other than the gold one???? So you can only get monotone in white, silver, gray and tan, you have got to be kidding? I even asked the dealers to just paint the thing blue and throw the gold flares in the backseat, I am planning to put oversize bushwhackers on it anyway, but I am told that is not possible either. I have been driving Rams since they brought them out in 94 but I might be jumping back to Ford, I hate to give up the Cummins but Chrysler sure doesn't seem to be very interested in selling trucks anyway.

Take care,
"Angry Dodge Guy"

I listened to some of the Toyota hearings on Wednesday. What a pity we can't power cars with political hot air.

Ralph Norek

Someone did an awesome job putting this together and with sound to boot. At the very end of the video you'll hear the song "Thunder Road" sung by the star of the movie for which it was the theme!

Not uncommon except this is the one and only song ever recorded, for publication, sung by Robert Mitchum!

Cars we drove in the 50's and 60's.

Bernard

Hi John,

Enjoyed the "Hollywood Drivin'" show - there are plenty of car-oriented movies for a few more shows, such as:

The Great Race
Cannonball Run & Gumball Rally
Death Race 2000 & Gone In 60 Seconds (Original Versions)
Ronin (great chase scene!)
Smokey And The Bandit
The Transporter
Two-Lane Blacktop
...and many more!

In reference to "Black Test Car," I wanted to let you know that it is available from Netflix as a DVD. I watched it a few months ago and it is definitely worth viewing from an enthusiast's perspective.

Keep the good stuff coming!

Steve Fogel
Allentown, PA

Just wanted to tell you I enjoyed watching the roundtable about Hollywood car movies. The panelists were so impressively knowledgeable about cars. I consider myself an expert on TV and movie cars, but these guys put me to shame. I could've watched them go another hour. How about a sequel? Cannonball Run? Smokey & The Bandit? Gumball Rally? The list goes on and on.

Thanks and keep up the good work.

Joe Johnson
Lake Orion, MI

John,

Here is the best montage of movie chase scenes I've ever seen.

Buck Van

RE: Movies with Cars

John,

I suggest the movie “Fear is the Key” starring Barry Newman and a black Oldsmobile racing around the bayous of Louisiana dodging the police and the bad guys. The movie was made, I believe, in the early 70’s.

Jim Adcock
Yakima, WA

Finally something Jim Hall didn't know. I think the explanation for how theMinis got on the rooftops in “The Italian Job” was that they went up to the roof of the FIAT factory in Torino. That was their test track, as everybody knows.

MW

PS, Where does that guy buy his coffee and doughnuts? You guys under-cranking his audio?

Autoline #1409,

Don't forget about “What's Up Doc” with Barbra Streisand, very funny!!!

Thank You,
Jay Razor

Just got done watching this rather interesting episode. I'd like to suggest a couple of movies with great car chases, "The Bourne Identity", "The Bourne Supremacy". These two chases were pretty exciting. I think that it was a good show, and agree that you guys need to do another episode.

David B. Fishburn

Hello John,

I am glad that you did an interesting story about movies and cars. However, I got disappointed when you touched only films that were made when my parents were born (1950-1970). What about many movies of the last 2 decades (1990-2010)? They might not be amazing, but they are part of the car/film culture. Today's car culture made a huge shift into tuning small compact cars. Muscle cars are still a huge part of it. Especially the series of "The Fast and The Furious", for a young generation of tuners. It might be BAD, (even though I like the whole series) but you got to admit, that it did 4 movies and it's official that they are doing 5 and 6. It's got to tell you that they are making money because people watch it.

Again, thank you very much for the show.

Daniel,
Toronto, Canada

Hey John,

In the midst of the Toyota recall craze, it seems like I've heard a lot of journalists bring up the old Tylenol recall as the gold standard for what to do in this situation. Because of this, I was practically rolling on the floor at the grocery store two nights ago when I came across a sign that said certain Tylenol products have been recalled. I guess the two companies are tied together more closely than we thought when it comes to recall woes. What a coincidence!

Rich

With all the talk about Toyota adopting a brake override system, led by Congress asking why Toyota hasn't done what other manufacturers have, I have a question. Just what cars on the road today have this system? Listening to Congress it would seem everybody does, but is that true?

Thanks,
Bryan

John,

Quit harping on driver error as the cause of unintended acceleration. You made your point already. Your point is that if you were an auto executive you would be burying your head in the sand just the way that they do: blame the customer.

You have to remember two things:

1. If drivers are making fatal errors in your cars and not in other peoples cars then you have to fix the problem. You don't want your customers dying while you look on smugly passing judgment on them.

2. Most car accidents are driver error. If we ignored driver error then we wouldn't have seat belts, air bags, crumple zones, and collapsible steering wheels.

Even professional race-car drivers make errors. In the old days one in seven drivers was dying every year! Then they said "We can save some lives" and made many safety changes such as reinforced frames and break-away wheels.

For heaven's sake give your fellow human beings a break and quit being so smug!

Dan Salomon
Winnipeg, Manitoba

I was curious if start/stop technology is the rage in Europe, why no one has done it in the USA accept on hybrid cars? Is it that expensive? Does the EPA not know how to calculate gas mileage with it?

Have they all gone mad?

Don
Hopewell, NJ

John,

I haven't watched or listened to all your coverage about the Toyota recalls. Have you had a discussion about Japanese culture? I would be interested to know if their response is what would be expected in Japanese culture. It doesn't excuse their handling of things in the US because if you are going to be an international company you need to know all your markets. However, it would be interesting to know their default. Maybe you discussed in the AAH #42 or the Autoline Detroit #1408, i just haven't gotten to them yet. The creeping crud is rampant in Portland. I expect to see an increase in Campbell soup ads any day now.

Cheryl

Mr. John,

With 34 deaths attributed to Toyota's acceleration problems, this information is on the NHTSA website, it would seem prudent to fully investigate the issue. Try to be empathetic with the 34 families, rather than poo pooing the entire issue. I pray you and yours never have to deal with that kind of "unintended" grief. I enjoy your reporting and will continue to watch Daily.

Regards,
Lou Keedy
Brooksville, FL

John,

First let me say, love the shows! Big fan! Keep up the GREAT work.

Now, in regard to Toyota's "problem," the two questions I would like to see answered are;

1. Why can't the ignition be switched off? Is this a programing error specific to "push button" ignition switches?

2. Why won't these cars go into neutral? Are the gear selectors on these cars Fly By Wire as well?

On the surface, it would seem that TM has fallen into the same trap as Airbus did by allowing Programers to to take the "pilot" out of the loop. This is going to be very costly for TM from a liability standpoint, not to mention P.R. & sales. Clearly, it would seem that more than a few KLOC's are missing here.

Best regards.

In vino veritas
Jan Kulas

Well done on highlighting the sensationalizing underway by the lame stream media on this one. Wonder what they'll do when some new gen E vehicle runs amok??

Joe Phillippi
Short Hills, NJ

John,

Consumer Reports touts itself as a barometer of product quality and frequently harps on their subscriber survey as a way to lend statistical merit to their opinions. Because of that, shouldn't CR have seen this pattern of Toyota faults in their OWN survey results, and shouldn't they have been informing the public for months or years? CR did finally change their recommendations on select Toyota models, but only *after* their recall. If CR's survey is as valuable as they posit, shouldn't Consumer Reports have been at the forefront of the Toyota acceleration debacle?

Matthew

John:

Thanks for calling ABC and Brian Ross on reaching an all-time low in "investigative journalism" last night. Any half-wit who knows his way around an ECU could make a modern-day vehicle do cartwheels if he wanted by inducing a direct short in the engine's computer. My guess is you could perform this hat trick just as easily on a Chevrolet or BMW as on an Avalon, but that wouldn't get Dave Gilbert any notoriety or an appearance before a Congressional panel. This PROVES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and the network should be ashamed of such yellow journalism tactics. That's it for me; I'll never darken ABC's World News portal again. It's too easy to find an equally crappy MSM news outlet to put up with this BS!

Ron Paris

Hi John.

This is the first time I have written to a media outlet with a comment. However your statements in Episode #334 struck a cord with me and I think are important for the public to hear. As a part-time automotive journalist I what to thank you for telling the "rest of the story" about the recent ABC coverage of Toyota. I have no interesting in taking sides on the issues however if the media are not informing the public in a fair and open manner then this needs to be exposed more fully.

Well done. Continued success.

Paul J Byrne
Passing Lane

Congratulations John,

I applaud your comments against ABC, as you mentioned, the claims might have traction but I truly believe that the ‘Big 3’ are behind most of this negative press on Toyota. Those who live in glass houses … you know the rest.

Keep up the great reporting.

I own a 2007 Tundra and I LOVE it.

W Hanisch
London, ON, Canada

John, John, John, John,

How you do love automotive computer bling? All these cars will be nothing but door stops. Listen buddy, Microscoft can't even get Internet Explorer 8 to function with Adobe pdf reader. That's why they send out updates every night. Just talk to your IT people, if they can find time for you. Who's going to repair this crap?

If you believe that a mechanic hooks up a diagnostic reader, gets a code and then knows the problem and solution then you need to check on your unicorns. Incompatibility is rift. Sensor wear out is rift. Schools turn out morons, so who'll fix the cars. Who'll manufacture chips and boards after a couple of cycles? By the time something is approved for manufacture it's outdated. China makes utter crap. They promise the world initially to get the contract but when they deliver the goods its garbage. This doesn't even begin to touch on the unemployment picture for the young male in the USA. We're doomed!

Okay, your new hybrid gas engine is going to be started and run for 10 minutes. Just how does that rejuvenate the fuel?

Chuck Genrich

Why is it if I want to purchase a diesel vehicle in America, other than a Super Duty or antiquated van, must I as an American, purchase this vehicle from a foreign manufacturer? How is it VW and shortly Mahindra can manufacture vehicles that meet U.S. emission standards/regulations but there are no options from an American manufacturer, any American manufacturer?

I think Mr. Haelterman hit it on the head when he said that Toyota's response was not what North American culture expects. Any company doing business internationally needs to understand these differences and respond, market, and perform accordingly. Toyota enjoys doing business in the United States. You would think they would be smart enough to understand that they cannot naively or smugly hide behind their culture if they want to compete in a world market.

I'd really like to know how this is playing out in Japan. Do you have a sense of this? We've heard the rhetoric that the Japanese press feel like the American news media are being biased. Can we assume then that in their home market, this is not being seen as a big event or one that is being mishandled? Would this be due to cultural or economic differences, or perhaps both. I ask this as a question of curiosity, not condemnation.

Robert

John,

Bzzzzzt!

I have to take exception to the "correct" answer given to this week's trivia question. The answer given is not quite right.

Today's program asked and answered the following, "name all the car company brands that Volkswagen AG owns outright. And the correct answer is it’s Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Porsche and Scania."

It ain't so and on two different grounds:

1a) Volkswagen owns 99+% of all Audi shares but there remains a fraction of a percent of the shares that are publicly, although thinly, traded. So it's a "no" on the matter of owning this car brand outright.

1b) On a similar note, Volkswagen's ownership stake in Porsche is currently in the area of 50%, not an outright ownership stake.

2) As to the matter of Scania; since when is that truck-maker a car brand?

Technicalities? Yes, but facts are facts.

Please donate my winnings to a worthy charity of your choice.

Bob Sharp
Rochester, MI

John;

Just an added note to your comments about the snow conditions for the Olympics (I know not really automotive related). Whistler had over 18 feet of snow in November, had an early start to their season and officials were very optimistic about conditions for the Olympics. Unfortunately, they have now been hit with the warmest February on record just when the best conditions were needed. The only criticism I have for VANOC is holding some of the outdoor events at Cypress Mountain rather than Whistler. Cypress is just outside Vancouver and the Vancouver area is not known for consistent weather conditions while Whistler usually has more favourable conditions.

Now, for an automotive related question. Have there been any more rumours/speculation/facts concerning the future of the Dodge Dakota (or Ram Dakota????)? I am now on my 2nd Dakota and would be disappointed if it were discontinued or radically changed to a small uni-body version. The first one lasted 13 years and my present one has been on the road for almost 10 years. They both were ideal for my needs and fit in our garage a lot easier than a full sized pick up. Hopefully, if sales warrant, the folks at Fiat-Chrysler (or is it Chrysler-Fiat????) have the good sense not to mess with something that works.

An auto nut from North of the border.

Hello, big fan of your show (normally). I have a comment regarding the conclusions that your panel came to regarding Toyota's ability to overcome it's recent issues. As a car enthusiast and a devourer of auto news, I have heard rumblings since 2002 that Toyota had ways of stopping/slowing investigations into car issues, and was able to repair thousands of cars without having to announce a 'recall' like the Big 3 did. If we can say fairly that Toyota really starting building a reputation for quality around 1995, but now there is evidence that it starting covering up defects in 1996 (the 1996-2000 Camry issue), can we not conclude that while their quality may have improved from the 80's, the reputation as a high quality manufacturer may be over-inflated? There are reports of at least 5 major coverups involving flaws with their vehicles that led to deaths. If they knowingly put the public at risk, how can your panel state that Toyota is still a quality and customer driven company? They are deceitful and should be punished accordingly. If they went under it would be deserved.

Brian Williamson

Hey John,

Years ago I remember a buzz going around in the auto mags about a company from Australia called Orbital.

They had a working prototype of an all ceramic engine. This was supposed to be the next big thing. The big advantage was being light weight but also being able to run at higher engine temps without the need for any water cooling.

Do you remember any of this?

I haven't heard this mentioned in years and was wondering if it is all dead.

Thanks,
Fred Walker
Severna Park, Maryland

John,

Great show, (as usual). I have to tell you something I recently heard, my wife was traveling to New York on business last week and at the car rental, the man in front of her was handed a set of keys to a Toyota, he promptly handled them back and asked for anything other than a Toyota. It's already started.

Thanks and I look forward to next weeks show.

John Grande
ADAC Automotive