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You know NBC, ABC, and CBS is going to have her crying face all over the news tonight as the clip from the hearings about Toyota's problem!
"David W. Gilbert is an Associate Professor of Automotive Technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He holds a Master of Science degree from Oklahoma State University and is also ASE certified as a master automotive technician, master engine machinist and advanced engine performance specialist".
AutoInc
I haven't been keeping score - I wonder if it's only the Dems who call him "Dr."?
Smarty, we haven't seen Akio Toyoda cry yet.
If some of the upcoming class action law suits are successful the lawyers will have a field day, not only with Toyota but with every car manufacturer in the world. Every accident will be blamed on faulty electronics, no matter who the manufacturer is. That is what hired guns and crying victims are for.
Just remember, Toyota and the other manufacturers won't be footing the bill to make these lawyers rich, we will, and If the lawyers have their way, in a few years none of us will be able to afford a car.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Got it playing in the background while I'm printing out reams of spreadsheets for a meeting. This is not going to be pretty when Lentz gets to the stand. Unfortunately, I'm going to miss it.
I see where, even though Mr Toyoda received his MBA from Babson here in the U.S., he's bringing a translator with him. High theater, indeed!
Mr Gilbert said he's tested UA in GMs, Fords, Chryslers and Hondas. Toyota is standing alone in this, so it seems.
I'm sorry, man. But this beats the daylights out of American Idol. :P
It was also noted that the Toyota system was supposedly "Easy to crack"...
Hmmmm. This is major entertainment!
As for Mr. Gilberts testimony, I found it confusing. He compared Toyota electronics to Honda electronics, saying Honda was better and could detect this type of failure. Then when asked what other cars had been tested, he did not mention Honda, he said Ford F150, Buick Lesabre and a Chrysler they were going to test. Then he said they could not break the code on the Lesabre. No mention of Honda. As I said, very confusing.
IMO, if they can pin this on Toyota, they can pin it on any other manufacturer as well. Bye, bye auto industry.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
"In a move to offset more negative fallout from Congressional hearings beginning today, Toyota announced it would install a brake override feature on "an expanded range" of its vehicles."
Toyota to Install Brake Override Feature as Congressional Hearings Begin (Edmunds Daily)
Lentz is up....
http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNTOE5BL02020091222?rpc=44
They caught him in fixing sticking pedals in England before they did anything with it here. I didn't catch the time frame, but it sounded like while pedals were sticking there and being fixed, in the US they were telling people that it was their imagination and there was nothing in the computer to indicate an error.
Lentz just said they would like to have problem cars within 24 hours. But he couldn't to explain why the Smith's Lexus hasn't been checked.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Okay, that was extremely disturbing to hear! So is he and Toyota finally admitting s now that there are other problems that are causing the UA that they haven't found or addressed yet? I don't understand, I thought Toyota found that the mats and sticky pedals were what was causing the UA? I don't know if Lentz was referring to the possible electronic problem or something else but he gave the impression that Toyota is still investigating and still doesn't completely know what exactly is causing the UA! Man this is one huge mess!
Although, he has thrown a good part of the responsibility for the issue over the fence back to Japan.
Nobody is buying the "shim" or floormat fix as a real fix......Congress cut through that.
He's also trying to stay out of the commitment that would have Toyota to replace ECUs, EPROMS, and re-flashes of their computer systems going all the way back to at least 2004, maybe 2001 "Ti-Yodo" and Lexus vehicles.
How long does anyone think that Lentz will still be employed by Toyota by this time next year?
They're making him the fall guy for all of this. He won't be around long.
Dingle is lighting him up. Best Lentz can say is "I'm just a sales and marketing guy".
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Now, I'm going to have to watch the news tonight to see which tears get the headlines....Smith's or Lentz's.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Lentz said he made a note to personally see to it for the Smith's. I wonder if part of that $100,000 would be to give the Smith's a new $80K LS460 as part of the "apology"?
Shoot, I left to run errands too early. Right now there must be a recess, but the mics are on. Haven't overheard any good dirt though.
-Lentz recalls his brother dying in a car crash (tears ensue)
-More "I don't knows" from Lentz. "Japan makes decisions on recalls"...more "I don't knows".
-Mrs Smith reems Lentz
-Lentz doesn't know if they've fixed UA or not
-Lentz (for the first time I've heard) mentions that their cruise control may also be an issue
- Congressmen pull some quotes from newspapers and press conferences where Lentz states that electronics and/or software are not to blame. Lentz dances a bit stating that all of their research is incomplete. Congressman catch him...."how can you say that electronics and/or software are ruled out as a cause when you're research is incomplete?". Lentz gives another "I don't know....I have no power (my comment....."President of Toyota's largest market, and you have no power?")...all those decisions are made in Japan....I'm sorry.....I don't know."
That about sums it up.
And what about LaHood? Turf protecting or ?
Rep Buyer's questioning is funny to read about - he's alleging that Sean Kean and David Gilbert, were "sponsored" by five attorneys so they are biased. He compared them to Dateline and rigging GMC trucks to explode.
Turns out that Buyer has a Camry plant in his district. "He is also set to resign at the end of this term amid an ethics scandal." (Fox)
Good theater.
Leaves me speechless....
She did put it into neutral. She put it in reverse and all other gears she said. 6 miles later it stopped slowly to 35 mph. She was finally able to turn the engine off.
When her husband put the car in neutral without the key fob, the car started again. When the wife had stopped the car the radio and dash lights had stayed on.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
some guy cracks the ECU for BMW, Ford, Honda, Subaru etc.., comes up with a new 'tune', the factory engineers buy it, figure out how it works, and try to counter act it in the next generation. this knowledge can then be cascaded to the other model's of that manufacturer.
One interviewed said they shouldn't do anything to cost jobs!!!!
How about toyota having not hidden and manipulated this problem and having cost lives!
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm starting to wonder if the motorists involved with the acceleration problems are "perceiving" the vehicle is still out of control when they shift to neutral because they still hear the engine racing.... Completely disconnected from the drivetrain and effective but they are still in a complete panic.....
For myself - if I'm in a motor vehicle that is driven by a driver that really doesn't know you can shift to neutral - I want OUT of that vehicle immediately!
Huh? guess that would be the first thing that comes to a drivers mind in the time of panic;
This video shows how the sudden acceleration problem can actually be reproduced.
And, unlike what Toyota has been claiming all along, it IS a software problem.
Even worse, the onboard computer cannot "see" it.
So if you go to your dealer, it'll say your car is fine and that nothing ever happened.
Which is what people have been experiencing.
I just wonder how far this will go for Toyota. Sales are down, reputation that took decades to build is getting worse every day.
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington - Under withering questioning from a congressional committee Tuesday, a top Toyota executive said that the automaker still hasn't ruled out electronics as a potential cause of sudden acceleration, acknowledging that fixing floor mats and sticking pedals would "not totally" solve the problem.
Speaking before the House Commerce and Energy Committee for over two hours, James E. Lentz, Toyota's top U.S. sales executive, apologized for what he said was poor communication inside the company and with its customers that led to the recall of nearly 10 million vehicles.
"The two fixes solve the problems that we know of," said Lentz, noting that the company was awaiting results of two studies of whether electronics in Toyota and Lexus vehicles could cause them to accelerate out of control.
His testimony came in the first of three congressional hearings called to investigate how Toyota and federal safety officials handled the sudden acceleration problem. Other Toyota officials, including Chief Executive Akio Toyoda, are scheduled to appear Wednesday and early next week.
In response to what he characterized as a communications breakdown between customers and company safety engineers, Lentz told the committee that the automaker would soon implement a "swat team" of specialists who would investigate vehicles with safety troubles within 24 hours.
In addition, the company plans to install an electronic program that allows the brake to override the throttle on a larger number of its vehicles than previously announced, but stopped short of promising to install it on all of the millions of Toyota vehicles already on the road.
His remarks about the potential causes goes to the heart of the congressional investigators' concern about the problem of sudden acceleration and how Toyota has responded to the safety crisis. The panel is also looking at how U.S. regulators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dealt with the company.
Did the recall solve the problem, asked committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman, (D-Beverly Hills).
"Not totally," Lentz replied, but adding that Toyota's recall would resolve the bulk of the issue.
In a day of hearings, the panel also heard from motorists forced to deal with the acceleration and safety experts who questioned whether the mechanical repairs would fix the problem.
In a tearful recounting, Rhonda Smith of Sevierville, Tenn., told the panel how her Lexus dangerously and suddenly sped up to 100 mph in 2006.
"I prayed for God to help me," Smith said as she recalled how she pumped the brakes. Finally, she called her husband. "I knew he could not help me, but I wanted to hear his voice one more time."
When the vehicle finally dropped to 35 mph, Smith said she was finally able to turn off the engine. Smith was especially caustic about the brakes, which the company said were designed to override the accelerator.
"This is a lie," she said.
"Shame on you, Toyota," Smith said.
Sure.... But you can do the same thing in other automakers cars..... Also with no error code.... I don't find this compelling. The ABC News piece is exciting but unfortunately, conveniently leaves out the fact that other vehicles can be "messed with" that don't have a Toyota logo on them.
Her efforts eventually got the car to slow to 35 MPH, but that was 6 miles down the road from where the whole event started. She eventually got the car to start. She called her husband, who eventually met up with her. He said the
The car started on its own when he tried to shift it into "N" during his inspection.
Further, expert testimony was attempted to be impeached by saying Toyota vehicles during testing had been sabotaged. Congress (as well as myself) found this unfounded. I would be incredulous if someone told me that.
At first, it looked like the same old, same old from Toyota. Deny, dismiss, shift blame. As the hearings went on, and some of the Congrssman started quoting from past statements made by Toyota (particularly Lentz) in newspaper articles and press conferences, the tone changed dramatically. Lentz became, all of a sudden, a dunce.....stating "I don't know" over and over again when asked about his knowledge of UA, how far back it went, Toyota's lack of and dismissive responses in the past (most notably, being aware of the problem as far back as 2001-2002), yet not informing NHTSA about the potential issues.
Toyota you should be ashamed:-(
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/jeep_accel.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBJPM-la2mQ
Yes. It was one of the first segments on the ABC news last night. I briefly looked at it on the internet also. I also watched the testimony of the Tennessee woman today. Once again - just like the curious situation in San Diego, cell phone calls were placed. They have enough time to use the cell phone in a vehicle violently out of control (apparently) but don't have enough time to disable the vehicle. VERY strange!
Just like aircraft with Flight Data Recorders, I think it's time for Vehicle Data Recorders that record driver inputs. I think we would find that the drivers in the out of control vehicles really didn't have the vehicles in neutral after all.
Didn't somebody post previously that when coming upon the wreckage of the SAN Lexus, officials found the shifter in "Drive" or am I mistaken?
As for the ABC News piece tonight, Brian Ross said "In any case, simply put the vehicle in neutral" and that was the wrap up.....
I'm convinced that the drivers did NOT have the vehicles in neutral. They are convinced they did, but in the panic, they did not.
On a side note, does anybody know of a complete number and list of automotive safety recalls issued for all vehicle manufacturers since the concept was realized? I am researching other automotive issues. It does NOT have anything to do with Toyota, pro or con.
i don't want try to counterpoint each of your statements, but look at the recall situation this way, GM used to have 50% of the market. just about any recall would be a huge number going back.
Gosh Batman - there's other cars that have had accelerator problems?
This Toyota thing is eclipsing recalls that have been (or are) much worse. Big loss of context in the whole scheme of things.....
how many pinto's actually blew up or how many explorers actually rolled over?
not many compared to how many were on the road.
with so many toyota models sharing the same bones and technology, a lot of seemingly different vehicles are going to be affected. the recall list has a long way to go.
I talked to an "EVOC" instructor and a few cops about the subject. They all said he "screwed up" and that was their opinion.
Don't shoot the messenger.
Sorry, it's not changing my opinion or the other cops opinions.
This logic would state that an airline pilot with thousands of hours is incredibly safe in a Cessna simply because of his/her experience level. If you have a friend or acquaintance that's an airline pilot - ask them if they've had a colleague hurt or killed in a light aircraft. You'll be shocked.
Well, It's been scintillating but I got to put this posting in neutral (pardon the pun), my wife gets irritated with it and I have bigger fish to fry.
I lurk a lot and once again, if somebody comes across a "quick list" of all automotive recalls since the concept started please post.....