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Subject: Toyota: lessons in mass
hysteria
Hey Bart,
I'd recommend reading this article (http://www.washington.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&File_Id=5136)
about the so-called Seattle Windshield Pitting
Epidemic, and consider whether the Toyota mess could be largely the
result of mass hysteria.
There are complaints of "unintended acceleration"
by cars from all manufacturers. So, it's a real thing that happens.
(Never mind that any driver of moderate awareness
would immediately shift to neutral and then safely stop.)
Because it really does happen, sometimes, the
hysterical reaction seems validated.
Statistics showing that it happens only slightly
more often in a Toyota would be boring; sensationalism sells.
I recommend this article (http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car/10q1/toyota_recall_scandal_media_circus_and_stupid_drivers-editorial)
from Car and Driver for a blunt reality check
on the subject.
Is there somehow a plot here to discredit Toyota
because their cars are efficient and a threat to oil company profits?
Nah. That is just as hysterical. Why didn't the
government kill the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, with a much more
advanced hybrid system than the Prius, when it
bought GM?
Not every falsity is a fabrication. Somehow the
Toyota story has become a mirror of our fears,
because no matter what we're afraid of, we can
find it in somewhere in there.
The media picked up on a story of a common malfunction
occurring somewhat more commonly in Toyotas.
The reporters lacked the skill to understand
the limited significance of the reported events; they lacked the desire
to consider whether the story was not as sensational
as it seemed on the surface; and they lack the credibility to
put together the whole picture in a way that
would validate the true occasional incidents while still reassuring the
public of how very unlikely those incidents remain.
So, keep swinging that hammer -- and don't be
afraid to drop the hammer in your Toyota.
-tom,
What is the reason why we're not getting any answers?
How many weeks or months does it take to find out why a car accelerated
suddenly?
Why is the Transporation Department dragging their feet?
Is the problem that they can't find anything wrong with the wrecked
cars?
If there's no evidence of defect or breakage, shouldn't we assume
driver error?
I guess when I'm in my Toyota, if I screw up and rammed into somebody,
I'd be crazy NOT to say the accelerator ambushed me, right?
If Toyota is guilty - where is the evidence?
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