RUNAWAY Vehicles? Look At The Evidence So Far And Tell Us Who The REAL Victim Is?

Yes we all know Toyota is going through probably the worst crisis ever in their history. The press and the public is hypersensitive about anything Toyota right now.

For goodness sake I posted yesterday coming down on the side of Toyota and was immediately chastised as being critical of the automaker. Come on , I'm not that bad. It is true I am no fan of the company, however I do have a healthy respect for them. So when we had two case of two runaway Prius models in two days It really raised my concerns.

I had known that was going to happen I should have been in Vegas playing my odds. Now at first the San Diego runaway incident seem pretty clear cut. The video of the 911 call sure sounded damning. But again what are the odds of two runaway events in the midst of a huge public investigation? Something isn't right.

With no errors codes giving a trail of deception, it seemed to be pretty easy to fake such an event if there was ample motivation and if we had a competent driver. I voiced my concerns with the Spies and we took a wait and see attitude. After all this was getting press everywhere, and we would simply be piling on. In the mean time Jim Sikes the heroic driver of the out of control Prius, started appearing all over the evening news.

Was a case being built?

Our good friends over at Jalopnik must have been on the same trail and went as far as file a public record search on Mr Sikes. This uncovered an mountain of debt to the tune of $700,000 and a certain Toyota Prius that appears to be 5 month behind on payments. Hmm, the same Prius that almost killed him?

While I am in no way implying Mr Sikes did anything other than be in a car careening down the highway at 90 mph, it seems the rest of this story remains to be told.

Who is the REAL victim here, Mr Sikes or perhaps my Japanese nemesis? You tell us!

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M35MT - 3/11/2010 3:25:49 PM

+6 Boost

egmcartech.com posted an article showing wearing a Corvette Car Club jacket - evidence of faking it? I dont think so, because why would he wear that jacket on the day he supposedly pulled this stunt? Or is he using reverse psychology?

Wouldnt a Corvette enthusiast know to just put the car in neutral?

Whatever.

Agent001 - 3/11/2010 3:29:10 PM

+2 Boost

The AutoSpies.com BS Decoder smells stinky fish here....

001

M35MT - 3/11/2010 3:37:35 PM

+3 Boost

BTW, 009, I'm surprised you didnt alter your tagline to: "If everything seems under control, you're just not driving a Toyota."

Joe_Limon - 3/11/2010 4:06:40 PM

+6 Boost

If we compare this to the Pinto Fiasco, you'll find that in both cases the companies got destroyed by the media over a very small number of incidents (in fact, compared to its competitors, the Pinto actually ended up with fewer accidents/fatalities overall). It took Ford Years to clean their name up, and it will take Toyota many years to clean their name too.

Joe_Limon - 3/12/2010 9:55:17 AM

0 Boost

The point in the Pinto comparison, was that even though the issue wasn't that big, it was still an issue because Ford sent the Pinto to market fully knowing that their is an issue with the gas tanks. In the pinto case they were forced to make a decision where to fix the car it would delay the launch by a year and cost about $11 a car (on a $2000 car) to fix. This would mean a huge loss in sales and they did the math and figured that even with the speculated death toll (which they came really close to) that they would be better off releasing a faulty (yet still technically legal) product. Ford deserved to be burned at the stake for their decisions, and with Toyota actively trying to cover up their issues they deserve the same media stake burning.

Agent009 - 3/12/2010 10:11:51 AM

0 Boost

Badgewhore- As president of my personal fan club, I am shocked you don't see my point.

AS you know I am no fan of Toyota, however I have to admit I do respect them. I tend to want more out of a product that just A to B transport, so their products really do not fit my needs.

I have mentioned numerous times that I have owned SEVERAL of their product and my experiences with them had proven to me they really aren't that much better than say a domestic product. So my biggest issue with the fanboys has always been their insistence of place them on a mythical pedestal. As history is now proving it appears Toyota is no different than anyone else.

Do I feel vindicated? Yes and No. While I am more than happy to finally see the truth have been uncovered. It really pisses me off to see all of the BS out there as well. You want to know why we minimized all of the recall coverage? Because a lot of it was BS. It simply wasn't fair to Toyota and we all felt it was unfair to report it as so to you.

Toyota makes a great product and they do have issues, but they will recover from all of this crud. As far as the preponderance of Toyota articles I post in general. Toyota simply gets more press because they are number one at this time.

Just like don't hear a whole heck of a lot about Dolly Parton but you do hear a lot about Taylor Swift. What is "in" is going to get the attention.

MSP6 - 3/12/2010 12:42:36 PM

+1 Boost

That's a good assessment of the situation from Joe
+1

Joe_Limon - 3/12/2010 2:55:37 PM

-2 Boost

Badgewhore, I've almost come to the conclusion that you are so delusional that Mr Akio Toyoda himself could slap your mother in front of you and you would still bend over and kiss his ass.

If this was a volunteer recall, why did they wait till they had to be told to do it? Why not issue a recall 2 years ago? And lol at you bringing up that challenge again. Go back and read my reply. I don't think it's a simple thing that can be repeated. If it was, I would change my opinion from burn Toyota in the media, to ban them from the roads entirely. I am not an electrical engineer, and when I think it's an electrical gremlin it really could be anything, and this anything doesn't sound like it's very repeatable.

Joe_Limon - 3/12/2010 7:01:10 PM

-2 Boost

"If you can't back it up or won't make an attempt to back it up, stop spewing crap."

I told you my opinion, I'm not going to adopt the opinion you're trying to get me to take. I won't say it is in the code! or that the damn sensor wires are loose! or the throttle control wires short circuited! Because I don't know. And before you start hating at me for not answering questions maybe you should answer these ones?

"If this was a volunteer recall, why did they wait till they had to be told to do it?"

"Why not issue a recall 2 years ago?"

I mean, they aren't that hard to answer. If you have trouble answering those questions, then even I could phrase a stronger pro toyota argument then you, and that's just sad.

Joe_Limon - 3/14/2010 1:23:59 PM

+1 Boost

I fail to see what's laughable, the media doesn't know what is going on, nor does it state anywhere that these issues are non-repeatable. What would be laughable is if I adopted the stupid stance badgewhore proposed, the laughable part would be you laughing at me.

The difference, is that Ford didn't keep putting out knowingly defective product. Toyota did, for 2 years, and the only reason why they even addressed the issue (in a way that doesn't even appear to be working since it was a cheap bandaid) is because they were told to. lol that's why they deserve the media burning them. Refer back to the pinto case explained earlier, the media performed admirably their as well.

Joe_Limon - 3/14/2010 1:25:48 PM

+1 Boost

there*

fourmccs - 3/11/2010 4:37:27 PM

+3 Boost

I am not a fan of Toyota. That said this incident seems to be BS. Listening to the call, it was very "dramatic". I won't say positively that it didn't happen because I wasn't sitting in the drivers seat at the time, but it seem contrived. The whole Pinto fiasco stemmed from a accident where the Pinto was rear-ended by a van that was going approximately 40 - 50 mph. They had just filled it and didn't put the gas cap back on. I agree there was a problem with design but it was over blown. Then there was the Corvair.

kuvakas1 - 3/11/2010 4:48:55 PM

+10 Boost

I'm still not clear on the whole 'neutral' issue. Do these folks claim they tried to put their cars in neutral and it doesn't work? This guy had 30 miles to figure that out.

M35MT - 3/11/2010 4:57:20 PM

+7 Boost

you dont have to have your foot on the brake to shift into neutral (like you do when shifting out of 'park')

I guess if you have never driven a manual transmission it wouldnt naturally occur to you to at least attempt this.

pushrod27 - 3/11/2010 5:46:43 PM

+8 Boost

I too am bewildered by this. If my throttle suddenly developed a mind of its own, I would simply shift into neutral and let it rev its heart out while I slow down. I wasn't there, but I don't understand how or why shifting into neutral and disengaging the motor from the driveline doesn't stop this. That's what makes it seem like B.S. to me.

thetruth01 - 3/11/2010 4:54:11 PM

+2 Boost

When 009 and TTAC are both reluctantly coming down in favor of Toyota, much as it dismays them, you know this story has turned a corner. Balloon Boy 2 needs to go to jail. The New York housekeeper needs to just admit she wrecked her boss's car. What's the unemployment rate in NY righht now? Good luck, sweetheart.

BondMI6 - 3/11/2010 4:56:42 PM

+8 Boost

Anytime a major FUBAR happens with a company and there are recalls the lawsuits start flying- especially in times of a recession. Interestingly enough, the Ford Explorer/Firestone Tire debacle from the early 90's also happened during a recession.

But this does not mean that every case of unintended acceleration happened due to driver error and/or driver negligence either.

thetruth01 - 3/11/2010 6:20:04 PM

+5 Boost

check out the NY Times op/ed, it almost always is driver error.

kpaxx - 3/11/2010 5:01:54 PM

-3 Boost

I am sure there are some disingenuous reports of unintended acceleration in toyotas but there is no hiding the fact that toyotas have a problem with unintended acceleration. As such every case of UA in a toyota needs to be taken seriously and studied thoroughly until toyota fesses up and fixes the problem.

thetruth01 - 3/11/2010 6:22:11 PM

+2 Boost

"SOME(?) disingenous reports" C'mon, seriously take off your Toyota hating glasses for a hot minute.

"every case of UA in a toyota needs to be taken seriously and studied thoroughly until toyota fesses up and fixes the problem" As should each of the other 27,000 UA case. Sure.

Dr550 - 3/11/2010 5:46:54 PM

-2 Boost

The "black box" evidence, under the drivers seat, should clear if any foul play was involved. But Toyota has never released the code to NHTSA. Ford and GM have. They tell of braking, gas, throttle, etc. This is why LaHood was under fire from Congress. Reports on Toyota acceleration issues date back to 2004. Too "cozy" relationship with ex NHTSA agents working for Toyota, according to Wall Street Journal.

bluedart - 3/11/2010 6:09:13 PM

+9 Boost

just as I thought: all Corvette drivers are sissy.

Ricks2Dogs - 3/11/2010 7:48:34 PM

+8 Boost

Of course no one can deny that a UA problem does exist with certain Toyota/Lexus cars. But when Mr. Sikes refused the cops instructions to 'put it in neutral', saying later he was afraid of flipping the car...what is that crap?? Along with checking out his money problems, check out his prescription meds. too, cause this guy must be insane to think he can fool everyone, let alone a large powerful corporation!...I wonder if he was on a suicide mission and just chickened out.

freeagent - 3/11/2010 8:00:58 PM

+7 Boost

I cant say I've been following every nuance of this story, but I do not understand how these people cannot think of putting the car into neutral. the D-to-N shift does not have a lock on it in any car I've driven. If the car cannot shift, then there's clearly a problem other than the carpet or a sticky throttle. Since this hasnt been raised I must conclude that all of these episodes, even if otherwise valid, could have been eliminated just by tapping the shifter back a notch. In the end I suspect we'll have another Audi 5000 situation on our hands.

LACMAN - 3/12/2010 9:49:11 AM

+1 Boost

Badgewhore, can you PLEASE tell me how old you are? I know your an adult, I just want to know how old you are and where you live. Its really bothering me because I can just about paint a vivid picture of everyone on this site except you. Which is not common when it comes to myself. Its not to spark up a convo or prove a point, its for personal reasons...

rxh8me9000 - 3/12/2010 10:05:41 AM

+7 Boost

You ok bro?That's on the borderline of freaky,but hey whatever gets you off.Lol.

pennfootball - 3/12/2010 10:40:52 AM

+6 Boost

This guy owes 700,000 dollars and stopped payments on his Prius hmmmm?

Lemonade - 3/12/2010 2:58:26 PM

+2 Boost

The funny thing is, his 2008 model year Prius was equipped with the brake-override system.

Ricks2Dogs - 3/12/2010 5:24:02 PM

+6 Boost

Nice try Sikes...the latest polls show 80% say your a scam! Your shady history says it all. In the USA you can get legitimate help for financial problems ya know...O well...Have fun in the can with your own kind!

Lexus - 3/13/2010 9:58:01 PM

+1 Boost

Thank you for posting an unbias video bro. Why can't people who watch that video think for themselves, instead they belief everythning they see on TV or hear on the Radio. Or least try to do a research before coming to a conclusion.

Nice video bro = )

Joe_Limon - 3/14/2010 1:23:34 PM

0 Boost

Joe_Limon - 3/14/2010 4:33:24 PM

0 Boost

"All I hear is media, media, media."

You know... the media isn't always wrong, most of the time it is actually quite accurate.

True following everything they say is pretty close minded, but then again, it's less close minded then totally shutting it off when they don't agree with you.

Joe_Limon - 3/14/2010 4:52:14 PM

-1 Boost

I was thinking... I hope badgewhore doesn't get banned from one of his police/racial outlashes... it's funny to see what twisted views he writes, with you taking his place, I don't think I'll ever derive any joy from what you write.

Joe_Limon - 3/15/2010 12:27:47 AM

0 Boost

"But it seem that you only pick statements supporting Toyota bashing, while skipping anything else."

So you're almost a mind reader? I've looked at almost all of the articles and postings here on the matter and what I have gathered is that Toyota has been very deceitful in to their customers. Be it cheap zip ties or a single aftermarket pin installed, Toyota's intentions throughout this whole ordeal appear to have been in no way focused around their unfortunately loyal customers.

Joe_Limon - 3/14/2010 6:26:02 PM

0 Boost

I know it exists, it's not part of this argument. Also, I'm talking about the government having to get off it's lazy honcho and having to tell Toyota, not actively concerned customers voicing their own opinions.

Yes, those are all the same issue, and ford got burned by the media for each and every single one of them.