So I started off the weekend with our 2004 Toyota Prius but then on Saturday got an urgent phone call from Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds saying that he needed it for a "Good Morning America Weekend" piece he was doing later that afternoon.
Well, here's the piece he did on "GMA Weekend" (I tried to embed it here but our blog just wasn't having it), demonstrating how easily one can shift the Prius into neutral should it speed out of control like that one San Diego driver claimed it did.
By the way, that should say "Insideline.com" not "Isideline.com." Pfft!
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor
throwback says:
11:31 AM, 03/15/10
ABC was actually interested in facts? Wow, I guess this is their one for the year. "On Next week's show, Evil car companies want to kill their customers"
creeper says:
11:48 AM, 03/15/10
I have already posted it, but here it is again. this whole san diego incident is a hoax.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/12/toyota-autos-hoax-media-opinions-contributors-michael-fumento_3.html
stovt001 says:
01:36 PM, 03/15/10
Throwback, you're surprised the media is defending Toyota? Reports that this one single incident was a hoax is now the top news story on every news source I check, and everyone is falling over themselves trumpeting this one hoax is proof that there is no problem at all with any Toyota. The Sacred Cow is back to being completely blameless and untouchable.
mtnshm7 says:
03:05 PM, 03/15/10
I don't doubt that this may very well be a complete hoax. The problem I have is that Toyota gets no benefit of doubt from me right now. They did everything they could to keep the truth from coming out about these defects and people DIED because of their lack of a proper response. Anyone can make a mistake or improperly engineer a car or a part for a car. How you respond to the problem defines the character of the company. I had an 06 Tacoma and never had any problems with acceleration. When this issue first came out I received a letter that told me to immediately take out me floor mats. That's the last I heard about it. I was never notified about any fix, just take out your floor mats. Now my carpet has a hole in it where the floor mat should be. I called the dealer to ask is they would replace the carpet and was told no they would not. I recently sold it and will not buy another another Toyota. That was my fourth Toyota, they lost me.
brn says:
03:26 PM, 03/15/10
ABC news is top notch. They get criticized for having one irrelevant video, so they follow it up with another irrelevant video.