It’s the war of the unreleased documents. Days after a former NHTSA chief accused the NHTSA of burying evidence that shows that driver error was the cause in 23 out of 23 cases, ABC has the story that Toyota knew long ago how to cause sudden unintended acceleration in their cars, and failed to tell everybody how to go about it.
ABC’s source: Plaintiff’s lawyers who have Toyota in U.S. District Court in Southern California. The charge: Forty Toyota owners claim that cases of sudden unintended acceleration have caused them financial harm by reducing the resale values of their cars.
According to the suit, “Toyota failed to disclose that its own technicians often replicated SUA events without driver error.” How it’s done is still murky.
When contacted by ABC News, Toyota would not comment on the documents that allegedly show the company’s technicians and dealers confirming sudden acceleration incidents. In reference to the class-action lawsuit, however, a Toyota spokesperson said, “To date, plaintiffs have not cited a specific cause that would support their claim of a defect in Toyota’s Electronic Throttle Control System.”
ABC is not a disinterested party in that matter. Ever since the David Gilbert / Brian Ross debacle, ABC has been the news outlet of choice for supposedly incriminating Toyota evidence – and has the black and blue eyes to prove it. The story appeared on Brian Ross’s blotter which has turned into a Toyota attack-page. Someone is desperately trying to redeem himself.
God no, not those idiots at ABC (so called News) again.
You would think after they were caught red-handed fudging video, and getting that professor to rewire, reprogram, and trick a Toyota to accelerate….ABC would lay low on this.
ABC….STFU
Sounds like ABC has taken a page from the FOX News (?) playbook by making things up.
Much as I’d like to blame Fox, this kind of thing didn’t start with them, not by a long shot. It happens all the time, on every network or paper, and irregardless of ideological bent.
Fox is often the most obvious (and low-brow) about it, but it wasn’t Fox who tried inflating Audi transmissions or rigged GM’s products with explosives.
Well, duh. If I designed the car, I most certainly know how to make it malfunction.
As for ABC, I note that all those bimbos and bimboys are in front of the cameras and microphones. All the talent is behind the equipment (designed it, operates it, and maintains it). Virtually none of the prettyfaces could make a light bulb work, given the bulb, batteries, and wires.
At least ABC isn’t in the top spot for evening news anymore. Whether the Toyota debacle is to blame for that or the change of anchors, running wild with a dubious Toyotagate scandal didn’t result in higher ratings in the long run.
So who is, FOX news?
If the NHTSA released their findings, manufactured stunts like this wouldn’t get any traction. Our so-called watchdogs can’t be separated from the administration we need them to watch.
Some one has paid Brian Ross to stick his neck out, maybe not ABC, will we ever find the truth?
Don’t really need to find something most of the people know about
Since ABC fanned the flames, maybe these guys should sue ABC for causing the drop in resale value.
Or better yet, LaHood for telling the world to park them….
+1,000,000.
A couple of days ago in Newburyport MA, a Dodge Caravan accelerated out of control and hit three people watching a parade. The driver was 91 years old. Yet another UA story that doesn’t show up in the national media. If it had been a Toyota, you can bet it would have been on the evening newscasts nationally.
ABC is still trying to figure out how to pin the out of control Dodge on Toyota. When they do, they will run another smear piece about Toyota and blame the entire accident on Toyota.
lol, no kidding.
http://imimpulsive.blogspot.com/2010/01/stuck-throttle-accelerator-that-almost.html
ABC is a joke.
Maybe the Caravan was bumped by an out-of-control Camry which upon impact corrected its own SUA fault…
The evidence of driver error is the combination of accelerator pedal pushed to the floor AND brake pedal not pressed. Most likely way to create that combination of ECU inputs is for the driver to push on the accelerator when they thought they were pressing on the brake. Alternate explanation requires multiple part failures to occur at the same time.
In that video, if you freeze-frame the moment where the engine RPMs “surge”, you notice a)That the “BRAKE” light is on and b)The speedometer shows “0”. That’s strange…
The video is old. It has been critiqued before.
Fox News wasn’t even in existence yet when CBS/NBC/ABC had already perfected the hour long so-called ‘news’ show. From blowing up trucks with remote triggered model rocket solid fuel boosters to employing vacuum (or something) lines to goose the ol’ Audi into a rampage to innuendos about nuclear power to hand wringing over global cooling to poison apples (alar scare) to God knows what else, these people are closer to a tabloid than a news organization. Except that the Enquirer tabloid got a Pulitzer, so its actually closer to a news organization than they.
It’s not a requisite, but a lobotomy sure would be helpful to tune in to over the air ‘news’. All true before Fox was in existence. Having a laugh over this assertion by ABC is like laughing at a dimwit, excuse me, mentally challenged person. Shame on you all, ABC et al can’t help themselves.