Chili Finger Lady
After they are done with discrediting Toyota, it will be Hondas’ turn.
Chili Finger Lady
He had an aching need to explain away his failure to make payments on his Prius.
He never thinks of turning off the ignition to shut down all systems.
None of what he claimed made any sense and before I ever took to the roads (at age 14, some 52 years ago) I knew about shifting into neutral, pushing on the clutch pedal or shutting off the motor.
The smell of the UAW, big stockholders of General Motors courtesy of Obama, pervades this story. Non Union Toyota have their own Pearl Harbor on their hands.
Toyota has become the primo lottery box and the lawyers and opportunist car owners are all pushing forward to get their piece. Many will make up stuff and Toyota will probably pay out settlements just to get it to stop, but it won’t. The government is heavily involved in this fleecing of the Japs because it is how a government company, GMchrysler for instance, competes in the market.
The fact is, the Prius has always had a brake override. It needs it to prevent overloading the regen braking system. The Prius has to return the throttle to idle when you step on the brake. So that system would also have to have failed for this guy’s story to be true.
Many people who drive a Prius are unaware that it already has a brake override system.
AUDI went through all of this a few years back. Most of those were debunked eventually as hoaxes too, but not before 60 Minutes and the rest of the ever compliant media helped the plaintiffs bar whip up a mad frenzy.
Mt husband had a pick up converted to run on propane a few years ago. It ran away with him on a crowded freeway where he couldn’t just put it in neutral and come to a slow stop. He finally got over in the right lane where he was able to exit and get it stopped but he was one scared driver for a few minutes. He said bye bye to a bad idea.
I had a car that could not only move its own gas pedal but could start its self and drive away in the middle of the night. I know it did because I had the keys in my pocket and when it was found no one was in it!
What are the chances of being on an empty California highway where you can speed for 20 minutes. Where are the witnesses besides the police officer.
I don’t believe during our vacation in California we were able to drive the speed limit for 2o minutes without having to slow down.
I got very suspicious when I heard him interviewed the next morning on KABC in Los Angeles (Peter Tilden show). Well into the interview, he said (and I’m paraphrasing):
“I’m heading over to El Cajon Toyota at 9 o’clock to talk to the management there...”
If he wasn’t seeking publicity, why the specifics about where he would be and when. My instant reaction was: he wants the press there.
Some Fords were notorious for the throttle linkage or carb valves getting “sticky”. I had one. The linkage was supposed to be lubed with each oil change but since I was poor and did oil changes myself it was never done. Occasionally the throttle would stick and I had to either “goose” the pedal, which is a very counter intuitive move, or pull it back with my hand.
I guess that experience along with several spectacular crashes on go-karts and minibikes due to stuck open throttles, taught me how to handle an unruly gas pedal.
I have drove so many junkers that I am always ready for the gas pedal to stick, the breaks to fail, the tires to blow out, or even the occasional exploding engine.
(I wonder if our comments had any impact?)
The British Army took delivery of fifty Toyota Prius early this month. The cars will be used by the White Fleet, which is the Army’s non-combat corps of administrators and officers. Sources say that they did test the Prius with a 30mm canon on it, but that the recoil crumpled the car’s roof, so the plan to field them as ultra-efficient combat vehicles was scrapped. ;o)
I’m still amazed that a Pious (yes, purposely misspelled) could do 90.
And I still love my Toyota!!!
It was without a doubt a hoax. I’ve never seen a Pius do 90mph.