Talk about a thigh-slappin' hoot:
Toyota - that paragon of the best money can buy when it comes to electronic throttle controls - sez they're not interested in this "driverless" car thing. And nobody can blame 'em. After all, if their vehicles didn't have a driver, who would the admitted crook blame when their little glitch-mobiles sped out of control?
Yessir, with hundreds of pending lawsuits revolving around evidence of electronic defects in that pesky ol' throttle control, they know better than to dabble about in the world of cars that drive themselves. Just think how utterly terrified Toyota must be at the thought of wunna their vehicles speeding out of control with no driver to blame. No possibilities for blabber about pedal confusion, medical conditions, floor mats, or sticky accelerators.
I'll bet Toyota's Washington gang is breathin' a sigh of relief. U.S. Attorney Eric Holder, along with the admitted crook's new "safety monitor," the "investigators" at NHTSA, and our "representatives" in Congress must be high fivin' each other. No tellin' how much sleep they've lost worrying about wunna Toyota's "driverless" vehicles takin' off with nobody and no thing to blame but their good friend's electronics. In fact, I'll bet the entire auto industry is relieved by Toyota's decision to stay out of the "driverless" car business.
Embedded systems expert Michael Barr must be rollin' in the aisles. He's the guy who examined Toyota's much ballyhooed source code for 18 months, found electronic defects galore, and convinced an Oklahoma jury to return a guilty verdict in that landmark unintended acceleration case last October. In spite of a well-orchestrated effort by government, the auto industry, and mainstream media stooges to keep things quiet, word has gotten out about the "house of cards" architecture in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Read trade journal EDN's article, "Toyota's Killer Firmware: Bad Design and its Consequences." Here's what Mr. Barr found:
* Toyota's electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
* Toyota's source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA).
* Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
* Toyota's fail-safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a 'house of cards' safety architecture).
* Misbehaviours of Toyota's ETCS are a cause of UA.
The jury was so incensed they declared Toyota guilty of reckless disregard in the way the throttle control was designed. Looked bad for the entire auto industry, 'cause other makes - Jeeps are notorious for speeding out of control at carwahes - have also been involved. In fact, as NHTSA (No Help To Solve Anything) stonewalls the evidence, the National Carwash Association has been takin' notes. Is it any wonder that Toyota immediately went into settlement mode when the Oklahoma jury's sentiments were revealed?
Just think of the money ol' Sammy's corporate friends in the auto industry would be be out if they had to install the kinda failsafes that have been required for years in the airline industry. Amidst the current epidemic of runaway vehicles crashing into buildings and causing deaths, injuries, and close calls galore, it all boils down to teamwork. By not dabbling in driverless cars, admitted-crook Toyota is simply doing their part to see that their team prevails. Can't blame 'em fer that, can ya?
Consumers should be thrilled.
Update 9/10/2014 - Speaking of driverless cars, Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Dr. Paul Craig Roberts featured some apt remarks in his introduction to a guest article, "Putting Big Brother in the Driver's Seat: V2V Transmitters, Black Boxes & Drones."
Showing posts with label Dept. of Justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dept. of Justice. Show all posts
Monday, September 8, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Picketing resumes over engine failures in MR2 Spyders
The Toyota Center - where my MR2 Spyder engine was rebuilt - has now moved into fancy new digs about two miles from my house, under the name Fred Anderson Toyota. Day before yesterday, I got an e-mail inviting me to "join" them for their grand opening.
So I did.
I arrived yesterday afternoon by bicycle, with a sign that read "BEWARE OF TOYOTA" on one side, and this blog's address on the other. It's been quite a while since I picketed a Toyota dealership, and it was good to be back. The thousands of dollars I lost when the engine disintegrated in my MR2 Spyder are still missing from my bank account. I'm just as fed up with now-acknowledged-crook Toyota as I ever was, and I wanna thank passing motorists for the friendly beeps, thumbs ups, and waves. As I've come to expect from Toyota dealerships, several unpleasantries were instigated by dealership personnel.
My previous blog post explains what's going on with MR2 Spyders. I've also had a couple of articles published about the issue, here are links to those:
Torque News
Design News' "Made by Monkeys"
Over the years - as this blog indicates - my gripe with Toyota has come to be about a lot more than engines disintegrating in MR2 Spyders. Toyota is a murderous, dishonest corporation - backed by a corporate-controlled government - that treats people like dirt. At first, it was a simple effort to get my money back over an obvious manufacturing defect that had been all over the Internet for years. Then I found out about Toyota's disgraceful shenanigans regarding oil sludge. Then the unintended acceleration scandal broke loose, amidst revelations of cover-ups, federal criminal investigations, record-setting fines, deaths and injuries galore, and an endless parade of recalls for every defect imaginable. Not that the government has disciplined the Recall King. It hasn't. Toyota is a filthy rich corporate slob with cash stockpiled to the tune of some $60 billion. Unfazed - as the government well knows - even by payola in the billion dollar range forked over to end criminal investigations. The "Just Us" Department functions primarily as a corporate-controlled tool to make sure crooked auto executives like those at Toyota and GM don't do prison time for their unconscionable deeds.
Currently, Toyota, the government, and the government's mainstream media stooges are trying every trick in the book to keep things quiet about compelling evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. Evidence which raises questions about the reliability of electronic throttle controls in every brand, amidst an epidemic of runaway vehicles crashing into buildings. The brand most often involved is Toyota, but other brands are far from immune.
My journey with Toyota had scarcely begun when I began to realize what a profoundly crooked corporation I was dealing with. I just LOVE the Toyota dealership's new location. Now I won't have to rent storage space for my car to make sure it isn't vandalized while I'm picketing.
Update 6/12/2014 - Toyota's junk parade continues with another recall. A whopping 2.27 million vehicles because airbags could fail, also involving a fire hazzard. 20 models are on the list, including the Corolla, Yaris, and Noah. Note that as part of Toyota's recent federal criminal settlement, "...the automaker admitted that it lied when it insisted that it had addressed the "root cause" of the (unintended acceleration) problem by fixing floor mats that could trap the accelerator."
Update 6/14/2014 - Here's a video which puts Toyota's unintended acceleration scandal in proper perspective. There's now evidence GALORE of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. Read "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences." Embedded systems expert Michael Barr found the following, resulting in a guilty verdict in the landmark unintended acceleration case last October in Oklahoma:
* Toyota's electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
* Toyota's source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA)
* Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
* Toyota's fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a 'house of cards' safety architecture).
* Misbehaviours of Toyota's ETCS are a cause of UA
Acknowledged crook Toyota is being allowed to ignore Mr. Barr's findings, and drivers of runaway vehicles involved in crashes are being unjustifiably found at fault and charged accordingly.
Update 6/18/2014 - For another account of Mr. Barr's findings, published 2/26/2014, read "Toyota Code Could Be Lethal." As the author says, "Put simply, it's frightening enough to make you buy a pre-computer car." There's been a mainstream media news blackout regarding Mr. Barr's findings. Only a few trade journals have dared to publicize the facts.
Update 7/9/14 - Million thanks to Clarence Ditlow and Michael Brooks for posting a link to this blog on the Center for Auto Safety website.
Update 7/10/14 - See 6/14 update above. Mr. Barr's findings raise questions about the reliability of electronic throttle controls in all brands, and the facts are being exposed as the auto industry tries to delay having to implement fail-safes that have been mandated for years in the airline industry. Today there's news that Honda has admitted to electronic defects causing unintended acceleration and has recalled 175,000 hybrid vehicles. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME AN AUTOMAKER HAS MADE SUCH AN ADMISSION. STAY TUNED.
So I did.
I arrived yesterday afternoon by bicycle, with a sign that read "BEWARE OF TOYOTA" on one side, and this blog's address on the other. It's been quite a while since I picketed a Toyota dealership, and it was good to be back. The thousands of dollars I lost when the engine disintegrated in my MR2 Spyder are still missing from my bank account. I'm just as fed up with now-acknowledged-crook Toyota as I ever was, and I wanna thank passing motorists for the friendly beeps, thumbs ups, and waves. As I've come to expect from Toyota dealerships, several unpleasantries were instigated by dealership personnel.
My previous blog post explains what's going on with MR2 Spyders. I've also had a couple of articles published about the issue, here are links to those:
Torque News
Design News' "Made by Monkeys"
Over the years - as this blog indicates - my gripe with Toyota has come to be about a lot more than engines disintegrating in MR2 Spyders. Toyota is a murderous, dishonest corporation - backed by a corporate-controlled government - that treats people like dirt. At first, it was a simple effort to get my money back over an obvious manufacturing defect that had been all over the Internet for years. Then I found out about Toyota's disgraceful shenanigans regarding oil sludge. Then the unintended acceleration scandal broke loose, amidst revelations of cover-ups, federal criminal investigations, record-setting fines, deaths and injuries galore, and an endless parade of recalls for every defect imaginable. Not that the government has disciplined the Recall King. It hasn't. Toyota is a filthy rich corporate slob with cash stockpiled to the tune of some $60 billion. Unfazed - as the government well knows - even by payola in the billion dollar range forked over to end criminal investigations. The "Just Us" Department functions primarily as a corporate-controlled tool to make sure crooked auto executives like those at Toyota and GM don't do prison time for their unconscionable deeds.
Currently, Toyota, the government, and the government's mainstream media stooges are trying every trick in the book to keep things quiet about compelling evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. Evidence which raises questions about the reliability of electronic throttle controls in every brand, amidst an epidemic of runaway vehicles crashing into buildings. The brand most often involved is Toyota, but other brands are far from immune.
My journey with Toyota had scarcely begun when I began to realize what a profoundly crooked corporation I was dealing with. I just LOVE the Toyota dealership's new location. Now I won't have to rent storage space for my car to make sure it isn't vandalized while I'm picketing.
Update 6/12/2014 - Toyota's junk parade continues with another recall. A whopping 2.27 million vehicles because airbags could fail, also involving a fire hazzard. 20 models are on the list, including the Corolla, Yaris, and Noah. Note that as part of Toyota's recent federal criminal settlement, "...the automaker admitted that it lied when it insisted that it had addressed the "root cause" of the (unintended acceleration) problem by fixing floor mats that could trap the accelerator."
Update 6/14/2014 - Here's a video which puts Toyota's unintended acceleration scandal in proper perspective. There's now evidence GALORE of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. Read "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences." Embedded systems expert Michael Barr found the following, resulting in a guilty verdict in the landmark unintended acceleration case last October in Oklahoma:
* Toyota's electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
* Toyota's source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA)
* Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
* Toyota's fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a 'house of cards' safety architecture).
* Misbehaviours of Toyota's ETCS are a cause of UA
Acknowledged crook Toyota is being allowed to ignore Mr. Barr's findings, and drivers of runaway vehicles involved in crashes are being unjustifiably found at fault and charged accordingly.
Update 6/18/2014 - For another account of Mr. Barr's findings, published 2/26/2014, read "Toyota Code Could Be Lethal." As the author says, "Put simply, it's frightening enough to make you buy a pre-computer car." There's been a mainstream media news blackout regarding Mr. Barr's findings. Only a few trade journals have dared to publicize the facts.
Update 7/9/14 - Million thanks to Clarence Ditlow and Michael Brooks for posting a link to this blog on the Center for Auto Safety website.
Update 7/10/14 - See 6/14 update above. Mr. Barr's findings raise questions about the reliability of electronic throttle controls in all brands, and the facts are being exposed as the auto industry tries to delay having to implement fail-safes that have been mandated for years in the airline industry. Today there's news that Honda has admitted to electronic defects causing unintended acceleration and has recalled 175,000 hybrid vehicles. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME AN AUTOMAKER HAS MADE SUCH AN ADMISSION. STAY TUNED.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
"City mechanic" checks Lexus - cops charge driver
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Update 5/31/2014 - Tuesday, a runaway RAV4 smashed into Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley, New York. Police have now released security cam video, which caught the entire event. The RAV4 was SLOWLY turning into the parking lot when the vehicle suddenly took off like a rocket. Consistent with the video, the driver says his foot was on the brake pedal when he heard the engine rev up as the RAV4 simultaneously accelerated. This makes AT LEAST THREE CASES during the past two months suggesting electronically-induced unintended acceleration in runaway Toyotas. Common denominators include parking lots, turning corners, slow speeds when the events begin, and driver complaints that the brakes failed to stop the vehicles. NONE OF THE DRIVERS IN THESE CRASHES - WHICH HAVE RESULTED IN INJURIES GALORE AND THE DEATH OF A FOUR-YEAR-OLD - HAVE BEEN ELDERLY. All of the vehicles - various models - crashed into public buildings. A Solara into a daycare, a Lexus into a church, the RAV4 into a library.
###################################################################################
Be warned. If your vehicle speeds out of control - and the vast majority of complaints involve Toyotas - you may wind up facing criminal charges. You may wind up in prison.
Easter night, a Lexus - raising justifiable concerns of electronically-induced unintended acceleration - crashed into a church. In a previous blog post, I addressed the situation:
Case in point is this week's Easter night crash of a 2006 Lexus into a church full of people, injuries galore. All the earmarks of an unintended acceleration event, and given NHTSA's outright lies regarding the issue, nobody can be blamed for wondering. It's especially noteworthy that the driver says she was applying the brake when the Lexus suddenly accelerated. Embedded systems expert Michael Barr addressed this all-too-frequent situation in court testimony regarding the defects he found in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Mr. Barr pointed out that the driver would actually have to take their foot off the brake pedal and immediately press the pedal again in order to stand a chance of stopping the vehicle. I won't belabor the obvious unlikelihood that anyone would ever do that in such a situation. Note the eerie similarity of the Easter Sunday crash to a complaint filed with NHTSA on 4/14/08 regarding a 2006 Lexus:
LEXUS LS 430 BRAKES FAILED MOVING INTO A PARKING SPACE. PRESSED ON THE BREAKS THE SURGED FORWARD WENT OVER A BUMP, CURB, HANDICAP SIGN AND INTO THE BUILDING. WAS PRESSING ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR JUST TOOK OFF. *TR
News reports went on to say that the make and model of the Easter night Lexus had been spotlighted in complaints to the federal government of "brake failure or uncontrollable acceleration," and I went on to point out what Michael Barr found (see "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences") when he examined Toyota's throttle control:
> Toyota’s electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
> Toyota’s source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA).
> Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
> Toyota’s fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a “house of cards” safety architecture).
> Misbehaviors of Toyota’s ETCS are a cause of UA.
It's a major consideration - referenced by Michael Barr when he testified about brakes - that many of the events suggesting electronically-induced unintended accleration have common denominators. The events are triggered when the drivers are trying to park, and are in the process of shifting gears. And the vast majority of such cases involve transmissions designed so that drivers must push the brake pedal in order to move the shift lever. All of this tends to strongly corroborate statements from the driver in Easter night's Lexus crash that she was pressing the brake pedal when the unintended accleration occured.
Fast forward to this week's news announcing that the "investigation" of Easter night's crash has been completed. And we're told that the cops - in an effort to conserve tax dollars - hired a "city mechanic" to examine the Lexus. And the "city mechanic" found nothing wrong with the brakes. And the Lexus driver was therefore charged with careless driving. And because the crash involved serious injuries, the Lexus driver must appear in court...
Nuthin' like gettin' a good deal for the taxpayin' public. Who needs embedded systems experts, electrical engineers, and other pricey professionals when the cops can get an opinion - dirt cheap - from a city mechanic?
Well, as a matter of fact...
Not that the sweet land of liberty and justice for all would ever railroad anyone in the name of corporate interests, but it was false testimony from a "city mechanic" - about brakes - that figured prominently in sending Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee to prison for four years. And Lee was lucky. Ironically, his "trial" was so egregiously wrongful that Texas attorney Bob Hilliard stepped in pro-bono (Lee's initial attorney had been a public pretender), got the penniless immigrant released, charges dropped, and is now in the process of suing Toyota.
Turned out the "city mechanic" - hired by the prosecution for the "trial" that sent Lee to prison - falsely testified under oath that Lee's Camry did not have anti-lock brakes. Given the absence of skid marks, this later-determined-to-be-false testimony weighed heavily in discrediting Lee's claims that he had been desperately trying to stop his Camry as it sped out of control and crashed, killing three people, injuring others.
Really, folks. Amidst well-publicized evidence that "city mechanics" may not even be able to tell whether or not a vehicle has anti-lock brakes, by what standard of fairness - or common sense - do cops decide to charge someone with careless driving based on a city mechanic's "investigation" of an event that raises questions of electronically-induced unintended accleration?
Here's the deal. The only lawsuit based on claims of electronic defects in Toyota's electronics was won - hands down - by the plaintiffs. The jury - after hearing testimony from bonafide software experts - went even further, finding Toyota guilty of "reckless disregard" for public safety in the way it designed its throttle control. The Oklahoma case put the Recall King in settlement mode, and put the U.S. Department of Justice in "No comment" mode.
Acknowledged crook Toyota - admittedly guilty of misleading the public about safety defects - is now being allowed to ignore the evidence presented to the jury in Oklahoma. The only media organizations that dare to discuss the evidence are trade journals, bloggers, and one or two small publications. And the taxpaying public is left holding the bag. Short of expensive, time-consuming lawsuits that present testimony from bonafide experts, consumers - especially those with limited resources - have no recourse if their vehicle speeds out of control. Indeed, such cases may be determined by a "city mechanic."
Let's face it. Consumers have become pawns in a deadly game of corporate cover-up.
Update 5/31/2014 - Tuesday, a runaway RAV4 smashed into Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley, New York. Police have now released security cam video, which caught the entire event. The RAV4 was SLOWLY turning into the parking lot when the vehicle suddenly took off like a rocket. Consistent with the video, the driver says his foot was on the brake pedal when he heard the engine rev up as the RAV4 simultaneously accelerated. This makes AT LEAST THREE CASES during the past two months suggesting electronically-induced unintended acceleration in runaway Toyotas. Common denominators include parking lots, turning corners, slow speeds when the events begin, and driver complaints that the brakes failed to stop the vehicles. NONE OF THE DRIVERS IN THESE CRASHES - WHICH HAVE RESULTED IN INJURIES GALORE AND THE DEATH OF A FOUR-YEAR-OLD - HAVE BEEN ELDERLY. All of the vehicles - various models - crashed into public buildings. A Solara into a daycare, a Lexus into a church, the RAV4 into a library.
###################################################################################
Be warned. If your vehicle speeds out of control - and the vast majority of complaints involve Toyotas - you may wind up facing criminal charges. You may wind up in prison.
Easter night, a Lexus - raising justifiable concerns of electronically-induced unintended acceleration - crashed into a church. In a previous blog post, I addressed the situation:
Case in point is this week's Easter night crash of a 2006 Lexus into a church full of people, injuries galore. All the earmarks of an unintended acceleration event, and given NHTSA's outright lies regarding the issue, nobody can be blamed for wondering. It's especially noteworthy that the driver says she was applying the brake when the Lexus suddenly accelerated. Embedded systems expert Michael Barr addressed this all-too-frequent situation in court testimony regarding the defects he found in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Mr. Barr pointed out that the driver would actually have to take their foot off the brake pedal and immediately press the pedal again in order to stand a chance of stopping the vehicle. I won't belabor the obvious unlikelihood that anyone would ever do that in such a situation. Note the eerie similarity of the Easter Sunday crash to a complaint filed with NHTSA on 4/14/08 regarding a 2006 Lexus:
LEXUS LS 430 BRAKES FAILED MOVING INTO A PARKING SPACE. PRESSED ON THE BREAKS THE SURGED FORWARD WENT OVER A BUMP, CURB, HANDICAP SIGN AND INTO THE BUILDING. WAS PRESSING ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR JUST TOOK OFF. *TR
News reports went on to say that the make and model of the Easter night Lexus had been spotlighted in complaints to the federal government of "brake failure or uncontrollable acceleration," and I went on to point out what Michael Barr found (see "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences") when he examined Toyota's throttle control:
> Toyota’s electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
> Toyota’s source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA).
> Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
> Toyota’s fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a “house of cards” safety architecture).
> Misbehaviors of Toyota’s ETCS are a cause of UA.
It's a major consideration - referenced by Michael Barr when he testified about brakes - that many of the events suggesting electronically-induced unintended accleration have common denominators. The events are triggered when the drivers are trying to park, and are in the process of shifting gears. And the vast majority of such cases involve transmissions designed so that drivers must push the brake pedal in order to move the shift lever. All of this tends to strongly corroborate statements from the driver in Easter night's Lexus crash that she was pressing the brake pedal when the unintended accleration occured.
Fast forward to this week's news announcing that the "investigation" of Easter night's crash has been completed. And we're told that the cops - in an effort to conserve tax dollars - hired a "city mechanic" to examine the Lexus. And the "city mechanic" found nothing wrong with the brakes. And the Lexus driver was therefore charged with careless driving. And because the crash involved serious injuries, the Lexus driver must appear in court...
Nuthin' like gettin' a good deal for the taxpayin' public. Who needs embedded systems experts, electrical engineers, and other pricey professionals when the cops can get an opinion - dirt cheap - from a city mechanic?
Well, as a matter of fact...
Not that the sweet land of liberty and justice for all would ever railroad anyone in the name of corporate interests, but it was false testimony from a "city mechanic" - about brakes - that figured prominently in sending Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee to prison for four years. And Lee was lucky. Ironically, his "trial" was so egregiously wrongful that Texas attorney Bob Hilliard stepped in pro-bono (Lee's initial attorney had been a public pretender), got the penniless immigrant released, charges dropped, and is now in the process of suing Toyota.
Turned out the "city mechanic" - hired by the prosecution for the "trial" that sent Lee to prison - falsely testified under oath that Lee's Camry did not have anti-lock brakes. Given the absence of skid marks, this later-determined-to-be-false testimony weighed heavily in discrediting Lee's claims that he had been desperately trying to stop his Camry as it sped out of control and crashed, killing three people, injuring others.
Really, folks. Amidst well-publicized evidence that "city mechanics" may not even be able to tell whether or not a vehicle has anti-lock brakes, by what standard of fairness - or common sense - do cops decide to charge someone with careless driving based on a city mechanic's "investigation" of an event that raises questions of electronically-induced unintended accleration?
Here's the deal. The only lawsuit based on claims of electronic defects in Toyota's electronics was won - hands down - by the plaintiffs. The jury - after hearing testimony from bonafide software experts - went even further, finding Toyota guilty of "reckless disregard" for public safety in the way it designed its throttle control. The Oklahoma case put the Recall King in settlement mode, and put the U.S. Department of Justice in "No comment" mode.
Acknowledged crook Toyota - admittedly guilty of misleading the public about safety defects - is now being allowed to ignore the evidence presented to the jury in Oklahoma. The only media organizations that dare to discuss the evidence are trade journals, bloggers, and one or two small publications. And the taxpaying public is left holding the bag. Short of expensive, time-consuming lawsuits that present testimony from bonafide experts, consumers - especially those with limited resources - have no recourse if their vehicle speeds out of control. Indeed, such cases may be determined by a "city mechanic."
Let's face it. Consumers have become pawns in a deadly game of corporate cover-up.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Did Toyota's $1.2B criminal deal involve a coverup of electronic defects?
A few days ago, I got an interesting reply from a troll. Not just any troll. This one has been really persistent in posting obnoxious, name-calling replies - which I generally ignore - to comments critical of Recall King Toyota. Not that an avowed crook like Toyota would feel the need to hire reputation management firms, but it's a thigh-slappin' hoot the way such trollish, anonymous "replies" pop up, unfazed if the people who are targeted have given real names. I always give mine. Lately, the troll usernames are often prefaced with "disqus," and "disqus_oJp8Vkk4DJ" is the current subject's choice.
Lately, I've been commenting about two attorneys and a TV station saying Toyota's $1.2 billion payola - er I mean settlement - to end the federal criminal investigation involved an admission of electronic defects in the Recall King's throttle control:
3/20/2014 Podcast, Bob Hilliard (segment 20:00-20:53)
4/24/2014 article, Eric Snyder, Bailey and Glasser Law Firm
4/25/2014 article, WESH.com
These statements are quite at odds with Attorney General Eric Holder saying Toyota's plea deal was about floor mats and sticky gas pedals. The electronics issue raised eyebrows when the Justice Department mouthpieced a curt, corporate-kissin' "No comment" after David Benjamin, a freelance writer for the trade journal EE Times dared to confront the DOJ with the evidence embedded systems expert Michael Barr presented to an Oklahoma jury last October resulting in a landmark guilty verdict in an unintended acceleration case. The specifics of Toyota's $1.2 billion settlement has now become the source of speculation, and I've mentioned the issue in recent blog posts. By what rhyme or reason would the Justice Department refuse to comment when asked if it was aware of evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control? It looks like the U.S. Department of Justice lied to the public in an effort to keep things quiet about electronic defects associated with Toyota's unintended acceleration scandal. If so, the public needs to know, especially now that NHTSA has been exposed as a liar and a cheat for its complicity in GM's deadly ignition switch scandal. Good ol' corporate-controlled NHTSA. Same gang that broadcasted the big lie claiming NASA had ruled out electronics as a cause of Toyota's unintended acceleration. NHTSA's big lie is now laid bare by NASA physicist Henning Leidecker warning of increased unintended acceleration risk in '02-'06 Camrys, comparing it to a game of Russian roulette.
Cuttin' back to the chase, I had just finished posting comments questioning the Justice Department's credibility, and here came the troll:
Granted, this is an anonymous comment. Nonetheless, given the context of disqus_oJp8Vkk4DJ's activities, the remarks tend to underscore discrepancies in the DOJ's public statements versus the public statements of two attorneys and a TV station. Not to mention the "hints" dropped by mainstream media that electronic defects were involved in the criminal settlement.
As crashes bearing the earmarks of electronically-induced unintended acceleration continue, somebody needs to file a freedom of information request with the curt, no-commentin' "Just Us" Department, find out what's goin' on, and let the public know. Legitimate questions have been raised. The time has come to investigate the investigators.
Lately, I've been commenting about two attorneys and a TV station saying Toyota's $1.2 billion payola - er I mean settlement - to end the federal criminal investigation involved an admission of electronic defects in the Recall King's throttle control:
3/20/2014 Podcast, Bob Hilliard (segment 20:00-20:53)
4/24/2014 article, Eric Snyder, Bailey and Glasser Law Firm
4/25/2014 article, WESH.com
These statements are quite at odds with Attorney General Eric Holder saying Toyota's plea deal was about floor mats and sticky gas pedals. The electronics issue raised eyebrows when the Justice Department mouthpieced a curt, corporate-kissin' "No comment" after David Benjamin, a freelance writer for the trade journal EE Times dared to confront the DOJ with the evidence embedded systems expert Michael Barr presented to an Oklahoma jury last October resulting in a landmark guilty verdict in an unintended acceleration case. The specifics of Toyota's $1.2 billion settlement has now become the source of speculation, and I've mentioned the issue in recent blog posts. By what rhyme or reason would the Justice Department refuse to comment when asked if it was aware of evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control? It looks like the U.S. Department of Justice lied to the public in an effort to keep things quiet about electronic defects associated with Toyota's unintended acceleration scandal. If so, the public needs to know, especially now that NHTSA has been exposed as a liar and a cheat for its complicity in GM's deadly ignition switch scandal. Good ol' corporate-controlled NHTSA. Same gang that broadcasted the big lie claiming NASA had ruled out electronics as a cause of Toyota's unintended acceleration. NHTSA's big lie is now laid bare by NASA physicist Henning Leidecker warning of increased unintended acceleration risk in '02-'06 Camrys, comparing it to a game of Russian roulette.
Cuttin' back to the chase, I had just finished posting comments questioning the Justice Department's credibility, and here came the troll:
disqus_oJp8Vkk4DJ
|
As crashes bearing the earmarks of electronically-induced unintended acceleration continue, somebody needs to file a freedom of information request with the curt, no-commentin' "Just Us" Department, find out what's goin' on, and let the public know. Legitimate questions have been raised. The time has come to investigate the investigators.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Government the "Toyota Way"
A government serving the interests of the public would be sending Toyota executives to prison. Instead, consumers are confronted with corporate-controlled thugs refusing to acknowledge - publicly, at least - compelling evidence of electronic defects in the Recall King's throttle control. So what if people get injured or killed? Isn't it ridiculous when taspayers have reason to doubt the government's story of what the terms were when a crook like Toyota handed over $1.2 billion in payola to end a federal criminal investigation? Toyota is notorious for confidentiality agreements, and nobody can be blamed for wondering if an admission of covering up electronic defects associated with unintended acceleration was part of the deal Toyota cut with the feds.
First off, there was the weird language used by mainstream media, "hinting" that Toyota had admitted to covering up electronic defects. Then the feds exhibited a high-handed attitude when confronted with evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. Now, claims are being made that Toyota's billion dollar federal criminal settlement did in fact have to do with concealing electronic defects in its throttle control. At least two attorneys, and an Orlando TV station have come right out and said so. One of the attorneys is the highly prominent Bob Hilliard, currently representing unjustly imprisoned Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee. Furthermore, two of the news reports addressed Toyota's criminal settlement in the context of reporting a fatal crash strongly suggestive of electronically-induced unintended acceleration. It's beginning to look like the public has been lied to - not only by NHTSA - but also by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Don't be misled by the government's mainstream media stooges. Unintended acceleration events are continuing - probably on a larger scale than most folks realize - and it's a hoot the way news media avoids divulging too many details - such as a vehicle's model and year - when accidents are reported. Cases suggesting electronically-induced unintended acceleration pop up constantly, such as this 5/3/2014 mishap in Natick, Massachusettes. The vehicle's year wasn't reported, but it was a Toyota Camry. And it's amazing the way accident investigators are usually so quick to consider every conceivable possibility - dutifully reported by the news media - except an electronic problem. Of course, as word spreads regarding evidence of electronic issues, the tune seems to be changing. Exceptionally well-credentialed electrical engineer Dr. Antony Anderson - as part of his recent study published in the prestigious IEEE Access - estimates that 10,000 unintended acceleration events occur worldwide each year. In fact, so many vehicles are crashing into public buildings that the issue of storefront safety is now being addressed by non-profit organizations. Problem is, amidst government efforts to keep things quiet, these well-intentioned groups are failing to address compelling evidence of electronic issues while admirably encouraging the installation of safety barriers.
Granted, storefront crashes are caused by a variety of things, and nobody knows what percentage of these crashes are caused by electronically-induced unintended acceleration. But the mere fact that parking is involved is enough to raise eyebrows. Accounts of unintended acceleration events show some common denominators. Most of these events begin at a slow speed, driver's foot likely on the brake pedal when the unintended acceleration starts. Events occurring in parking lots, driveways, and garages are typical, as evidenced by today's report of a Camry crashing into a home in Rochester, New Hampshire last night. Embedded systems expert Michael Barr addressed this situation in testimony that won the landmark lawsuit against Toyota last October in Oklahoma. He found that a driver in such a situation would have to remove their foot from the brake pedal and instantaneously reapply pressure to stand any chance at all of stopping the vehicle. With only seconds to spare before a collision, it's unlikely that enough pressure could be applied quickly enough to avoid a crash. Elderly drivers are at even more of a disadvantage, because extra forceful pedal pressure is required. Let's review once again (see trade journal EDN Network's article, "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences") what Mr. Barr concluded:
> Toyota's electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
> Toyota's source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA)
> Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
> Toyota's fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a 'house of cards' safety architecture).
> Misbehaviours of Toyota's ETCS are a cause of UA.
It's a shame when the public has to depend on a few trade journals for information about what led a jury to find a crook like Toyota guilty of reckless disregard in the design of its electronic throttle control. Take a look at yesterday's EE Times article, "Video: Michael Barr Speaks of Software That Kills."
The government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - isn't ignorant. Or underfunded. Or merely inefficient. The government is crooked. Enter NHTSA's big lie that NASA had ruled out electronics as a cause of unintended acceleration in Toyotas. Enter NHTSA's complicity in allowing GM to avoid recalling millions of units for defective ignition switches, ignoring evidence of a problem, including deadly crashes. Driving the point home, NASA physicist Henning Leidecker is warning of increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys due to "tin whiskers" in the throttle control. The models Dr. Leidecker are concerned about have one of the highest rates of unintended acceleration. And never mind that Toyota's unintended acceleration events increased dramatically after the company introduced electronic throttle controls in 2002.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on as the government now wrings its blood-drenched hands over GM's ignition switch scandal. Not to worry. Ol' Sammy's "Justice Department" will make sure, Toyota style, that nobody at GM - not to mention NHTSA - winds up in prison. Meanwhile, as Toyota rushes to settle hundreds of remaining unintended acceleration cases, the tax-paying public is left to wonder if the Recall King has corrected the problems Mr. Barr found in the automaker's electronics.
It takes gall for NHTSA and Toyota to say that the increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys isn't enough to warrant public concern. And it's downright insulting when the "Justice Department" simply refuses to comment when questioned about Michael Barr's findings. How much longer are Americans gonna put up with a government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - that lies with impunity, thumbs its ugly nose at anyone who dares to ask justifiable questions, and allows crooks like Toyota and GM to treat people like dirt?
First off, there was the weird language used by mainstream media, "hinting" that Toyota had admitted to covering up electronic defects. Then the feds exhibited a high-handed attitude when confronted with evidence of electronic defects in Toyota's throttle control. Now, claims are being made that Toyota's billion dollar federal criminal settlement did in fact have to do with concealing electronic defects in its throttle control. At least two attorneys, and an Orlando TV station have come right out and said so. One of the attorneys is the highly prominent Bob Hilliard, currently representing unjustly imprisoned Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee. Furthermore, two of the news reports addressed Toyota's criminal settlement in the context of reporting a fatal crash strongly suggestive of electronically-induced unintended acceleration. It's beginning to look like the public has been lied to - not only by NHTSA - but also by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Don't be misled by the government's mainstream media stooges. Unintended acceleration events are continuing - probably on a larger scale than most folks realize - and it's a hoot the way news media avoids divulging too many details - such as a vehicle's model and year - when accidents are reported. Cases suggesting electronically-induced unintended acceleration pop up constantly, such as this 5/3/2014 mishap in Natick, Massachusettes. The vehicle's year wasn't reported, but it was a Toyota Camry. And it's amazing the way accident investigators are usually so quick to consider every conceivable possibility - dutifully reported by the news media - except an electronic problem. Of course, as word spreads regarding evidence of electronic issues, the tune seems to be changing. Exceptionally well-credentialed electrical engineer Dr. Antony Anderson - as part of his recent study published in the prestigious IEEE Access - estimates that 10,000 unintended acceleration events occur worldwide each year. In fact, so many vehicles are crashing into public buildings that the issue of storefront safety is now being addressed by non-profit organizations. Problem is, amidst government efforts to keep things quiet, these well-intentioned groups are failing to address compelling evidence of electronic issues while admirably encouraging the installation of safety barriers.
Granted, storefront crashes are caused by a variety of things, and nobody knows what percentage of these crashes are caused by electronically-induced unintended acceleration. But the mere fact that parking is involved is enough to raise eyebrows. Accounts of unintended acceleration events show some common denominators. Most of these events begin at a slow speed, driver's foot likely on the brake pedal when the unintended acceleration starts. Events occurring in parking lots, driveways, and garages are typical, as evidenced by today's report of a Camry crashing into a home in Rochester, New Hampshire last night. Embedded systems expert Michael Barr addressed this situation in testimony that won the landmark lawsuit against Toyota last October in Oklahoma. He found that a driver in such a situation would have to remove their foot from the brake pedal and instantaneously reapply pressure to stand any chance at all of stopping the vehicle. With only seconds to spare before a collision, it's unlikely that enough pressure could be applied quickly enough to avoid a crash. Elderly drivers are at even more of a disadvantage, because extra forceful pedal pressure is required. Let's review once again (see trade journal EDN Network's article, "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences") what Mr. Barr concluded:
> Toyota's electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
> Toyota's source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA)
> Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
> Toyota's fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a 'house of cards' safety architecture).
> Misbehaviours of Toyota's ETCS are a cause of UA.
It's a shame when the public has to depend on a few trade journals for information about what led a jury to find a crook like Toyota guilty of reckless disregard in the design of its electronic throttle control. Take a look at yesterday's EE Times article, "Video: Michael Barr Speaks of Software That Kills."
The government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - isn't ignorant. Or underfunded. Or merely inefficient. The government is crooked. Enter NHTSA's big lie that NASA had ruled out electronics as a cause of unintended acceleration in Toyotas. Enter NHTSA's complicity in allowing GM to avoid recalling millions of units for defective ignition switches, ignoring evidence of a problem, including deadly crashes. Driving the point home, NASA physicist Henning Leidecker is warning of increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys due to "tin whiskers" in the throttle control. The models Dr. Leidecker are concerned about have one of the highest rates of unintended acceleration. And never mind that Toyota's unintended acceleration events increased dramatically after the company introduced electronic throttle controls in 2002.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on as the government now wrings its blood-drenched hands over GM's ignition switch scandal. Not to worry. Ol' Sammy's "Justice Department" will make sure, Toyota style, that nobody at GM - not to mention NHTSA - winds up in prison. Meanwhile, as Toyota rushes to settle hundreds of remaining unintended acceleration cases, the tax-paying public is left to wonder if the Recall King has corrected the problems Mr. Barr found in the automaker's electronics.
It takes gall for NHTSA and Toyota to say that the increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys isn't enough to warrant public concern. And it's downright insulting when the "Justice Department" simply refuses to comment when questioned about Michael Barr's findings. How much longer are Americans gonna put up with a government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - that lies with impunity, thumbs its ugly nose at anyone who dares to ask justifiable questions, and allows crooks like Toyota and GM to treat people like dirt?
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Mysterious Lexus crash. '02-'06 Camrys still not recalled.
Update 5/28/2014 - The Lexus driver has now been charged with careless driving after a "city mechanic" was used - to "save tax-payers' money" - to examine the vehicle.
We now know that NHTSA is a bald-faced government lie. Not only regarding a crook like Toyota, but also GM. It's outrageous that NHTSA would dare to use NASA as a pawn, then broadcast a big lie about the space agency's conclusions concerning electronics in Toyota's throttle control. Equally outrageous when the auto industry "regulator" is caught red-handed allowing a murderous thug like GM to avoid recalling vehicles the corporate-kissin' slobs knew were unsafe to drive. The very idea of NHTSA ignoring bloodcurdling complaints, accidents, and at least 13 deaths.
NHTSA has been exposed as a taxpayer-financed propaganda machine for big business. And that gives consumers good reason to be uneasy about most anything imaginable when it comes to the safety of motor vehicles.
Case in point is this week's Easter night crash of a 2006 Lexus into a church full of people, injuries galore. All the earmarks of an unintended acceleration event, and given NHTSA's outright lies regarding the issue, nobody can be blamed for wondering. It's especially noteworthy that the driver says she was applying the brake when the Lexus suddenly accelerated. Embedded systems expert Michael Barr addressed this all-too-frequent situation in court testimony regarding the defects he found in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Mr. Barr pointed out that the driver would actually have to take their foot off the brake pedal and immediately press the pedal again in order to stand a chance of stopping the vehicle. I won't belabor the obvious unlikelihood that anyone would ever do that in such a situation. Note the eerie similarity of the Easter Sunday crash to a complaint filed with NHTSA on 4/14/08 regarding a 2006 Lexus:
LEXUS LS 430 BRAKES FAILED MOVING INTO A PARKING SPACE. PRESSED ON THE BREAKS THE SURGED FORWARD WENT OVER A BUMP, CURB, HANDICAP SIGN AND INTO THE BUILDING. WAS PRESSING ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR JUST TOOK OFF. *TR
Easter night's mysterious Lexus crash hasn't exactly made national headlines. One reason, "Lexus" is a buzzword. It's the same make that Mark Saylor was driving when he make the 911 call that brought national attention to the problem of unintended acceleration. Amidst government efforts to hush things up about uninintended acceleration, Easter night's crash sounds the alarm bell that such events are continuing. In the wake of recent , compelling evidence of electronic defects, it's imperative that a bonafide investigation be conducted into where Toyota now stands regarding the things Michael Barr found in the automaker's electronic throttle control. A government with the best interests of the motoring public at heart would have no problem with that. Sadly, this sold-out excuse for a government and its presstitute mainstream media stooges are instead intent on keeping things as quiet as possible when motor vehicles - especially a Lexus - mysteriously speed out of control.
Which brings up the ongoing '02-'06 Camry scam. It's one of the grandest performances NHTSA and its good friend and corporate crook Toyota have ever come up with. Evidence relevant to the Camry scam has been around for years. But while consumers are ripped off by settlements the "Toyota Way," and placed at risk for injury, death, and financial ruin, one brave NASA physicist has apparently had enough of the Recall King's shenanigans. Dr. Henning Leidecker is speaking out - much to the chagrin of those less honest - about evidence of tin whiskers posing an increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys.
It makes no sense - outside the context of greed - for a lying slob like Toyota to ignore - with the blessings of government - the tin whiskers issue in '02-'06 Camrys. Isn't it a cryin' shame when a country is ruled by two-bit punks? Deceitful, self-absorbed thugs whose only yardstick for morality is the almighty (for the moment, at least) dollar? How much would it cost Toyota - with an ill-gotten cash stash of $60 billion - to update the pedal sensors in '02-'06 Camrys?
Here's the problem.
Toyota and its good friends at NHTSA know that NASA's Dr. Leidecker is beyond reproach. And a cowardly smear campaign - like the one Toyota contemplated against Southern Illinois University's Professor David Gilbert - isn't to be dared against a NASA physicist. In fact, that would spread the truth even more about NHTSA's big lie regarding NASA's conclusion about the electronics issue. Worse yet, if the Recall King recalled '02-'06 Camrys, the electronics issue associated with unintended acceleration would break loose in worldwide, eye-catching headlines. Then the Recall King would have to address whether or not its electronic throttle control is still as defective as embedded systems expert Michael Barr found it to be.
As instances of unintended acceleration continue, the public has a right to know of Dr. Leidecker's concerns about '02-'06 Camrys, and whether or not Toyota has corrected the defects Mr. Barr found during his exhaustive, 18 month investigation of Toyota's much ballyhooed source code. Defects which produced a resounding guilty verdict in the landmark unintended acceleration case in Oklahoma last October. Take another look at what Mr. Barr found - prompting a jury to say Toyota exhibited "reckless disregard" for public safety - and ponder the government's highanded response. Trade journal EDN's article, "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences," gives an apt summary of the evidence:
***Updates 4/25/2014 -
> News coverage is now associating Easter Sunday's Lexus crash with consumer complaints - to the federal government - of "brake failure or uncontrollable acceleration" for the Lexus LS 430. Coverage also states that Toyota never issued a recall.
> Unrelated to the Easter Sunday Lexus crash, this 4/24/2014 article confirms that accident investigators are taking the electronics issue seriously. Also noteworthy is the attorney's statement that Toyota's $1.2 billion federal criminal settlement was for "misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle system." This is the second attorney to make such a statement in recent weeks. The other attorney is Bob Hilliard, who represents unjustly imprisoned Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee. Mr. Hilliard addressed the issue in a CBS radio interview (segment 20:00-20:53) with John Williams.
> This 4/25/2014 article states that "Toyota was fined by the Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a 'faulty electronic-throttle system' in their cars after settling a lawsuit in July that claims the same make, model and year of the Toyota Solara involved in the day care crash lost resale value after sudden acceleration complanints."
> My 3/30/2014 post questioned what Toyota had admitted to as part of the federal criminal settlement. Has the Justice Department been lying to the public?
Update 4/24/2014 - When writing this post, I focused on news coverage in the Fort Meyers area. National coverage of Easter Sunday's Lexus crash - while not approaching the same level as the Saylor event - was better than I realized. Stay tuned.
We now know that NHTSA is a bald-faced government lie. Not only regarding a crook like Toyota, but also GM. It's outrageous that NHTSA would dare to use NASA as a pawn, then broadcast a big lie about the space agency's conclusions concerning electronics in Toyota's throttle control. Equally outrageous when the auto industry "regulator" is caught red-handed allowing a murderous thug like GM to avoid recalling vehicles the corporate-kissin' slobs knew were unsafe to drive. The very idea of NHTSA ignoring bloodcurdling complaints, accidents, and at least 13 deaths.
NHTSA has been exposed as a taxpayer-financed propaganda machine for big business. And that gives consumers good reason to be uneasy about most anything imaginable when it comes to the safety of motor vehicles.
Case in point is this week's Easter night crash of a 2006 Lexus into a church full of people, injuries galore. All the earmarks of an unintended acceleration event, and given NHTSA's outright lies regarding the issue, nobody can be blamed for wondering. It's especially noteworthy that the driver says she was applying the brake when the Lexus suddenly accelerated. Embedded systems expert Michael Barr addressed this all-too-frequent situation in court testimony regarding the defects he found in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Mr. Barr pointed out that the driver would actually have to take their foot off the brake pedal and immediately press the pedal again in order to stand a chance of stopping the vehicle. I won't belabor the obvious unlikelihood that anyone would ever do that in such a situation. Note the eerie similarity of the Easter Sunday crash to a complaint filed with NHTSA on 4/14/08 regarding a 2006 Lexus:
LEXUS LS 430 BRAKES FAILED MOVING INTO A PARKING SPACE. PRESSED ON THE BREAKS THE SURGED FORWARD WENT OVER A BUMP, CURB, HANDICAP SIGN AND INTO THE BUILDING. WAS PRESSING ON THE BRAKES AND THE CAR JUST TOOK OFF. *TR
Easter night's mysterious Lexus crash hasn't exactly made national headlines. One reason, "Lexus" is a buzzword. It's the same make that Mark Saylor was driving when he make the 911 call that brought national attention to the problem of unintended acceleration. Amidst government efforts to hush things up about uninintended acceleration, Easter night's crash sounds the alarm bell that such events are continuing. In the wake of recent , compelling evidence of electronic defects, it's imperative that a bonafide investigation be conducted into where Toyota now stands regarding the things Michael Barr found in the automaker's electronic throttle control. A government with the best interests of the motoring public at heart would have no problem with that. Sadly, this sold-out excuse for a government and its presstitute mainstream media stooges are instead intent on keeping things as quiet as possible when motor vehicles - especially a Lexus - mysteriously speed out of control.
Which brings up the ongoing '02-'06 Camry scam. It's one of the grandest performances NHTSA and its good friend and corporate crook Toyota have ever come up with. Evidence relevant to the Camry scam has been around for years. But while consumers are ripped off by settlements the "Toyota Way," and placed at risk for injury, death, and financial ruin, one brave NASA physicist has apparently had enough of the Recall King's shenanigans. Dr. Henning Leidecker is speaking out - much to the chagrin of those less honest - about evidence of tin whiskers posing an increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys.
It makes no sense - outside the context of greed - for a lying slob like Toyota to ignore - with the blessings of government - the tin whiskers issue in '02-'06 Camrys. Isn't it a cryin' shame when a country is ruled by two-bit punks? Deceitful, self-absorbed thugs whose only yardstick for morality is the almighty (for the moment, at least) dollar? How much would it cost Toyota - with an ill-gotten cash stash of $60 billion - to update the pedal sensors in '02-'06 Camrys?
Here's the problem.
Toyota and its good friends at NHTSA know that NASA's Dr. Leidecker is beyond reproach. And a cowardly smear campaign - like the one Toyota contemplated against Southern Illinois University's Professor David Gilbert - isn't to be dared against a NASA physicist. In fact, that would spread the truth even more about NHTSA's big lie regarding NASA's conclusion about the electronics issue. Worse yet, if the Recall King recalled '02-'06 Camrys, the electronics issue associated with unintended acceleration would break loose in worldwide, eye-catching headlines. Then the Recall King would have to address whether or not its electronic throttle control is still as defective as embedded systems expert Michael Barr found it to be.
As instances of unintended acceleration continue, the public has a right to know of Dr. Leidecker's concerns about '02-'06 Camrys, and whether or not Toyota has corrected the defects Mr. Barr found during his exhaustive, 18 month investigation of Toyota's much ballyhooed source code. Defects which produced a resounding guilty verdict in the landmark unintended acceleration case in Oklahoma last October. Take another look at what Mr. Barr found - prompting a jury to say Toyota exhibited "reckless disregard" for public safety - and ponder the government's highanded response. Trade journal EDN's article, "Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences," gives an apt summary of the evidence:
- Toyota’s electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
- Toyota’s source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA).
- Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
- Toyota’s fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a “house of cards” safety architecture).
- Misbehaviors of Toyota’s ETCS are a cause of UA.
***Updates 4/25/2014 -
> News coverage is now associating Easter Sunday's Lexus crash with consumer complaints - to the federal government - of "brake failure or uncontrollable acceleration" for the Lexus LS 430. Coverage also states that Toyota never issued a recall.
> Unrelated to the Easter Sunday Lexus crash, this 4/24/2014 article confirms that accident investigators are taking the electronics issue seriously. Also noteworthy is the attorney's statement that Toyota's $1.2 billion federal criminal settlement was for "misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle system." This is the second attorney to make such a statement in recent weeks. The other attorney is Bob Hilliard, who represents unjustly imprisoned Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee. Mr. Hilliard addressed the issue in a CBS radio interview (segment 20:00-20:53) with John Williams.
> This 4/25/2014 article states that "Toyota was fined by the Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a 'faulty electronic-throttle system' in their cars after settling a lawsuit in July that claims the same make, model and year of the Toyota Solara involved in the day care crash lost resale value after sudden acceleration complanints."
> My 3/30/2014 post questioned what Toyota had admitted to as part of the federal criminal settlement. Has the Justice Department been lying to the public?
Update 4/24/2014 - When writing this post, I focused on news coverage in the Fort Meyers area. National coverage of Easter Sunday's Lexus crash - while not approaching the same level as the Saylor event - was better than I realized. Stay tuned.
Monday, April 14, 2014
NASA physicist warns of unintended acceleration risk in '02-'06 Camrys
"A case of a Toyota with galloping acceleration — but not a fully open throttle — was attributed to tin whiskers. And Leidecker pointed out that Toyota redesigned its pedal sensor in 2007 and again in 2008, expressly to eliminate the risk of tin whiskers. Why would it do that if tin whiskers were never a problem? he asked. Toyota did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Leidecker said he believes the tin whisker risk remains for Toyotas in model years 2002-2006. While the risk is small, it increases with time. 'It’s a game of Russian roulette,' he said."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/5/2014 article, "A Carbondale professor, runaway Toyotas, and the hunt for 'tin whiskers'"
So you'd think Toyota, NHTSA and the Department of Justice would be anxious to learn more. You'd think Toyota would be concerned enough to advise Camry owners accordingly, and issue a recall for those models to update the pedal sensors.
But you'd be wrong.
Instead, our tacky little corporate-controlled government and its good friend Toyota are trying to keep things quiet about any electronics involvement in the unintended acceleration scandal. So when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch repeatedly asked Toyota to comment on Dr. Leidecker's remarks, the Recall King - in typical, highhanded, "Toyota Way" fashion - smugly refused to respond. Reminds ya of the "Department of Justice" e-mailing a curt "No comment" when trade journal EE Times' freelance writer David Benjamin asked 'em if they'd ever heard of embedded systems expert Michael Barr finding bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Congress has done no more than display some grand theatrics, and NHTSA (No Help To Solve Anything) had the unmitigated gall to bow out of the unintended acceleration issue by broadcasting the now-obvious lie that NASA had ruled out electronics.
"No comment" indeed. Not to mention lies.
People's lives are at stake. Compelling evidence of defects in Toyota's electronic throttle control has been produced. How dare this corporate-controlled slob of a government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - and its good friend Toyota remain aloof. Refuse to even acknowledge the issue, and have its mainstream-media stooges do likewise. In what sense do we have a free press when consumers have to depend on trade journals to reveal the facts? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is to be commended for daring to take a step in the right direction.
The scam regarding '02-'06 Camrys is apparent in this interview with the owner of a 2005 model, justifiably unhappy with the chump change she got in Toyota's much-ballyhooed billion dollar, class-action economic loss settlement. Toyota (!) "never determined that sudden acceleration was the reason her vehicle crashed." Never mind, of course, that '02-'06 Camrys have an exceptionally high rate of unintended acceleration complaints.
Talk about a racket.
BIG BUCKS for attorneys. CHUMP CHANGE AND BALD-FACED LIES for consumers, who never shoulda had to file lawsuits in the first place. Worse yet, much of Toyota's "settlement" money is earmarked for "safety research" that blames drivers for unintended acceleration. Settlements the "Toyota Way" cleverly promote the myth of driver error, while creating a database of misleading information that the Recall King can blabber about in future cases of runaway Toyotas.
It's about time consumers demanded a bit of fundamental fairness outta dishonest corporate slobs like Toyota, GM, and their government mouthpieces.
Update 4/18/2014 - The '05 Camry case referenced below targeted "tin whiskers" and software. No wonder the Recall King reached a settlement :-)
Update 4/17/2014 -
> This just in: "Attorney: Family of dead motorist, Toyota reach settlement in Flint sudden acceleration suit." As word of Dr. Leidecker's concern leaks out, Toyota is probably in a BIG hurry to settle as many lawsuits as possible involving '02-'06 Camrys. NHTSA, where are ya?
> Found some background on the above case. One of the victim's children summed things up quite well: "The 2005 Camry should have been one of the first ones to be in the recall," said Lilia Alberto. "How many more deaths do they want to have before they have to put it in the recall?"
> This 2/8/10 article shows that Toyota's electronic throttle control was blamed from the get go. "Eric Synder, a lawyer for the family, told the Times, 'We think Toyota has a safety problem with the electronic throttle control system in Camrys and other Toyota models."'
> One more background article - from 6/1/12 - aptly titled "Toyota Owners Forced to Continue Driving Ticking Time Bombs"
Update 4/15/2014 - A German firm has published some interesting revelations about tin whiskers: http://www.dguv.de/ifa/Praxishilfen/Zinnwhisker-auf-Leiterplatten/index-2.jsp
Leidecker said he believes the tin whisker risk remains for Toyotas in model years 2002-2006. While the risk is small, it increases with time. 'It’s a game of Russian roulette,' he said."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/5/2014 article, "A Carbondale professor, runaway Toyotas, and the hunt for 'tin whiskers'"
So you'd think Toyota, NHTSA and the Department of Justice would be anxious to learn more. You'd think Toyota would be concerned enough to advise Camry owners accordingly, and issue a recall for those models to update the pedal sensors.
But you'd be wrong.
Instead, our tacky little corporate-controlled government and its good friend Toyota are trying to keep things quiet about any electronics involvement in the unintended acceleration scandal. So when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch repeatedly asked Toyota to comment on Dr. Leidecker's remarks, the Recall King - in typical, highhanded, "Toyota Way" fashion - smugly refused to respond. Reminds ya of the "Department of Justice" e-mailing a curt "No comment" when trade journal EE Times' freelance writer David Benjamin asked 'em if they'd ever heard of embedded systems expert Michael Barr finding bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control. Congress has done no more than display some grand theatrics, and NHTSA (No Help To Solve Anything) had the unmitigated gall to bow out of the unintended acceleration issue by broadcasting the now-obvious lie that NASA had ruled out electronics.
"No comment" indeed. Not to mention lies.
People's lives are at stake. Compelling evidence of defects in Toyota's electronic throttle control has been produced. How dare this corporate-controlled slob of a government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - and its good friend Toyota remain aloof. Refuse to even acknowledge the issue, and have its mainstream-media stooges do likewise. In what sense do we have a free press when consumers have to depend on trade journals to reveal the facts? The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is to be commended for daring to take a step in the right direction.
The scam regarding '02-'06 Camrys is apparent in this interview with the owner of a 2005 model, justifiably unhappy with the chump change she got in Toyota's much-ballyhooed billion dollar, class-action economic loss settlement. Toyota (!) "never determined that sudden acceleration was the reason her vehicle crashed." Never mind, of course, that '02-'06 Camrys have an exceptionally high rate of unintended acceleration complaints.
Talk about a racket.
BIG BUCKS for attorneys. CHUMP CHANGE AND BALD-FACED LIES for consumers, who never shoulda had to file lawsuits in the first place. Worse yet, much of Toyota's "settlement" money is earmarked for "safety research" that blames drivers for unintended acceleration. Settlements the "Toyota Way" cleverly promote the myth of driver error, while creating a database of misleading information that the Recall King can blabber about in future cases of runaway Toyotas.
It's about time consumers demanded a bit of fundamental fairness outta dishonest corporate slobs like Toyota, GM, and their government mouthpieces.
Update 4/18/2014 - The '05 Camry case referenced below targeted "tin whiskers" and software. No wonder the Recall King reached a settlement :-)
Update 4/17/2014 -
> This just in: "Attorney: Family of dead motorist, Toyota reach settlement in Flint sudden acceleration suit." As word of Dr. Leidecker's concern leaks out, Toyota is probably in a BIG hurry to settle as many lawsuits as possible involving '02-'06 Camrys. NHTSA, where are ya?
> Found some background on the above case. One of the victim's children summed things up quite well: "The 2005 Camry should have been one of the first ones to be in the recall," said Lilia Alberto. "How many more deaths do they want to have before they have to put it in the recall?"
> This 2/8/10 article shows that Toyota's electronic throttle control was blamed from the get go. "Eric Synder, a lawyer for the family, told the Times, 'We think Toyota has a safety problem with the electronic throttle control system in Camrys and other Toyota models."'
> One more background article - from 6/1/12 - aptly titled "Toyota Owners Forced to Continue Driving Ticking Time Bombs"
Update 4/15/2014 - A German firm has published some interesting revelations about tin whiskers: http://www.dguv.de/ifa/Praxishilfen/Zinnwhisker-auf-Leiterplatten/index-2.jsp
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
NASA physicist targets Toyota's electronic throttle control
"Leidecker said he believes the tin whisker risk remains for Toyotas in model years 2002-2006. While the risk is small, it increases with time. 'It’s a game of Russian roulette,' he said." - 4/5/2014 article, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "A Carbondale professor, runaway Toyotas and the hunt for 'tin whiskers"'
Toyota and its government friends refuse to talk about it, but there's evidence galore of electronic issues associated with sudden, unintended acceleration. After all, the Recall King did fork over some payola to end the federal criminal "investigation," shamfully (sic) limited to floor mats and sticky gas pedals. It's obvious that Congress, NHTSA, and the DOJ put on one whopper of a performance, intended all along to let a filthy-rich corporate slob - with a cash stash of 60 billion bucks - off the hook, nobody jailed. More of the same is underway with GM.
Never mind that renowned embedded systems expert Michael Barr found bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control and gave the Recall King a whuppin' in an Oklahoma court. Never mind that Mr. Barr's findings put the Recall King in "settlement mode" for hundreds of remaining unintended acceleration cases. And never mind that tenured professor Dr. David Gilbert impressed NASA - yes, NASA, but don't tell NHTSA - with electronics-related findings now supported by NASA physicist Henning Leidecker who refers to Dr. Gilbert as a "hero" regarding the tin whiskers issue. Physicist Leidecker has concluded that the risk of unintended acceleration increases as tin whiskers grow, and points to Toyota's redesign of pedal sensors, expressly intended to address the tin whisker risk. "Why would (Toyota) do that if tin whiskers were never a problem?" he asks. Of course, the Recall King simply ignored repeated requests to comment about Dr. Leidecker's remarks.
Soon to be published in the prestigious online engineering journal IEEE Access is yet another electronics study - this time by Dr. Antony Anderson - offering a detailed look at the potential for false speed signals to be accepted as authentic, triggering unverifiable instances of unintended acceleration. Dr. Anderson butts heads with NHTSA, demonstrating that "absence of proof" isn't "proof of absence."
A decent government would have taken a serious look at the unintended acceleration issue instead of trying to snow the public by grandstanding with NASA and then broadcasting an outright lie, claiming NASA had ruled out electronic involvement. NASA did no such thing, never claimed it had, and physicist Leidecker's outspoken interest in tin whiskers confirms it.
Instances of sudden unintended acceleration continue. For thousands of customers, Toyota's oil sludge fiasco never got resolved. Engine failures in MR2 Spyders are ignored, and class action lawsuits lining barrister pockets make headlines as Toyota treats customers like dirt.
Does anyone believe Toyota, GM, or the auto industry has changed for the better?
Updates 4/9/2014 -
> Yesterday, Dr. Antony Anderson's comments below the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article were apparently removed, and Dr. Anderson says no explanation was given. Dr. Anderson addressed some technical issues, stated his support for Dr. David Gilbert, and criticized Toyota's response to Dr. Gilbert's findings. Hopefully, Dr. Anderson's remarks will reappear.
> Another massive Toyota recall, and government stooge Yahoo is immediately removing comments I post referring to Michael Barr's findings, and Dr. Leidecker's concerns about the increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys. Censorship the American way.
Updates 4/10/2014 -
> Dr. Anderson's comments (see yesterday's update) on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article reappeared today. Right on!!! The public needs to know that Dr. Gilbert's findings have the support of other electrical engineers. Oops - mighta spoke too soon. Don't see the comments - I'm lookin' into the matter :-)
> The gist of my Yahoo comments (again, see yesterday's update) reappeared yesterday.
Updates 4/11/2014 -
> Dr. Anderson (see above updates) apparently encountered a log-in glitch. Hopefully, this will be cleared up today.
> Dr. Anderson's comments - with the sincere assistance of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch - are now posted. The problem turned out to be - wouldn't ya know it? - Facebook. Dr. Anderson was attempting to log in using his Facebook account, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch webmaster discovered that Facebook had designated Dr. Anderson as a "user who is suspiciously new," thereby blocking his efforts to post comments. I won't belabor the obvious absurdity.
Toyota and its government friends refuse to talk about it, but there's evidence galore of electronic issues associated with sudden, unintended acceleration. After all, the Recall King did fork over some payola to end the federal criminal "investigation," shamfully (sic) limited to floor mats and sticky gas pedals. It's obvious that Congress, NHTSA, and the DOJ put on one whopper of a performance, intended all along to let a filthy-rich corporate slob - with a cash stash of 60 billion bucks - off the hook, nobody jailed. More of the same is underway with GM.
Never mind that renowned embedded systems expert Michael Barr found bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control and gave the Recall King a whuppin' in an Oklahoma court. Never mind that Mr. Barr's findings put the Recall King in "settlement mode" for hundreds of remaining unintended acceleration cases. And never mind that tenured professor Dr. David Gilbert impressed NASA - yes, NASA, but don't tell NHTSA - with electronics-related findings now supported by NASA physicist Henning Leidecker who refers to Dr. Gilbert as a "hero" regarding the tin whiskers issue. Physicist Leidecker has concluded that the risk of unintended acceleration increases as tin whiskers grow, and points to Toyota's redesign of pedal sensors, expressly intended to address the tin whisker risk. "Why would (Toyota) do that if tin whiskers were never a problem?" he asks. Of course, the Recall King simply ignored repeated requests to comment about Dr. Leidecker's remarks.
Soon to be published in the prestigious online engineering journal IEEE Access is yet another electronics study - this time by Dr. Antony Anderson - offering a detailed look at the potential for false speed signals to be accepted as authentic, triggering unverifiable instances of unintended acceleration. Dr. Anderson butts heads with NHTSA, demonstrating that "absence of proof" isn't "proof of absence."
A decent government would have taken a serious look at the unintended acceleration issue instead of trying to snow the public by grandstanding with NASA and then broadcasting an outright lie, claiming NASA had ruled out electronic involvement. NASA did no such thing, never claimed it had, and physicist Leidecker's outspoken interest in tin whiskers confirms it.
Instances of sudden unintended acceleration continue. For thousands of customers, Toyota's oil sludge fiasco never got resolved. Engine failures in MR2 Spyders are ignored, and class action lawsuits lining barrister pockets make headlines as Toyota treats customers like dirt.
Does anyone believe Toyota, GM, or the auto industry has changed for the better?
Updates 4/9/2014 -
> Yesterday, Dr. Antony Anderson's comments below the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article were apparently removed, and Dr. Anderson says no explanation was given. Dr. Anderson addressed some technical issues, stated his support for Dr. David Gilbert, and criticized Toyota's response to Dr. Gilbert's findings. Hopefully, Dr. Anderson's remarks will reappear.
> Another massive Toyota recall, and government stooge Yahoo is immediately removing comments I post referring to Michael Barr's findings, and Dr. Leidecker's concerns about the increased risk of unintended acceleration in '02-'06 Camrys. Censorship the American way.
Updates 4/10/2014 -
> Dr. Anderson's comments (see yesterday's update) on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch article reappeared today. Right on!!! The public needs to know that Dr. Gilbert's findings have the support of other electrical engineers. Oops - mighta spoke too soon. Don't see the comments - I'm lookin' into the matter :-)
> The gist of my Yahoo comments (again, see yesterday's update) reappeared yesterday.
Updates 4/11/2014 -
> Dr. Anderson (see above updates) apparently encountered a log-in glitch. Hopefully, this will be cleared up today.
> Dr. Anderson's comments - with the sincere assistance of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch - are now posted. The problem turned out to be - wouldn't ya know it? - Facebook. Dr. Anderson was attempting to log in using his Facebook account, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch webmaster discovered that Facebook had designated Dr. Anderson as a "user who is suspiciously new," thereby blocking his efforts to post comments. I won't belabor the obvious absurdity.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
March sales DOWN for Toyota brand cars
"Toyota brand cars, which make up nearly half of all company sales, saw a 2.9 percent drop to 103,888 units." (Not that mainstream media would bury this whoppin' one line disclosure, but to find it, ya gotta scroll down to about the 14th paragraph.)
I figured all was not well for the Recall King's March sales when I didn't see a barrage of blaring headlines about the numbers. Kinda embarrassin' - 'specially that 16 percent drop in Prius sales - for those who claimed the public wasn't payin' any attention to Toyota's recent guilty plea to a federal criminal charge, its admissions of wrongdoing, and the $1.2 billion payola to the feds lest things get even worse. If any model has made headlines regarding sudden unintended acceleration, it's the much ballyhooed Prius.
Despite mainstream media efforts to whitewash the Recall King, focus on floor mats, sticky gas pedals, and driver error - while ignoring electronic issues - the public may be catchin' on to the scam. As I emphasized in my immediately preceding post, word has leaked out about electronic issues. The Oklahoma case, where 150 feet of skid marks from the plaintiff's tires corroborated the findings of a world-renowned embedded systems expert and put the Recall King in settlement mode, has not been ignored. Michael Barr's peers continue to do a superb job of publishing his findings in trade journals, amidst support from bloggers and consumer advocates. The Internet can be a powerful tool for exposing facts. Mainstream media's news blackout didn't go as planned.
Not that everyone is now aware of Michael Barr's findings, but people are hearing about them, and government's mainstream media stooges - wary of egged faces - are nervously dropping inane hints about the involvement of electronics. Consumers may be starting to realize that Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Department of Justice are little more than mouthpieces for crooked corporations. Stay tuned as the gang faces further public scrutiny, not only about Toyota, but also GM.
As things now stand, informed consumers are more justified than ever before in not trusting Toyota and wondering if there's a problem in the Recall King's electronic throttle control. Nobody should be surprised that Toyota brand cars has suffered a decline in sales, especially since complaints of sudden unintended acceleration are continuing.
Frankly, I won't believe regulation of the auto industry has changed for the better until folks are reimbursed for all those engines that disintegrated in MR2 Spyders.
I figured all was not well for the Recall King's March sales when I didn't see a barrage of blaring headlines about the numbers. Kinda embarrassin' - 'specially that 16 percent drop in Prius sales - for those who claimed the public wasn't payin' any attention to Toyota's recent guilty plea to a federal criminal charge, its admissions of wrongdoing, and the $1.2 billion payola to the feds lest things get even worse. If any model has made headlines regarding sudden unintended acceleration, it's the much ballyhooed Prius.
Despite mainstream media efforts to whitewash the Recall King, focus on floor mats, sticky gas pedals, and driver error - while ignoring electronic issues - the public may be catchin' on to the scam. As I emphasized in my immediately preceding post, word has leaked out about electronic issues. The Oklahoma case, where 150 feet of skid marks from the plaintiff's tires corroborated the findings of a world-renowned embedded systems expert and put the Recall King in settlement mode, has not been ignored. Michael Barr's peers continue to do a superb job of publishing his findings in trade journals, amidst support from bloggers and consumer advocates. The Internet can be a powerful tool for exposing facts. Mainstream media's news blackout didn't go as planned.
Not that everyone is now aware of Michael Barr's findings, but people are hearing about them, and government's mainstream media stooges - wary of egged faces - are nervously dropping inane hints about the involvement of electronics. Consumers may be starting to realize that Congress, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Department of Justice are little more than mouthpieces for crooked corporations. Stay tuned as the gang faces further public scrutiny, not only about Toyota, but also GM.
As things now stand, informed consumers are more justified than ever before in not trusting Toyota and wondering if there's a problem in the Recall King's electronic throttle control. Nobody should be surprised that Toyota brand cars has suffered a decline in sales, especially since complaints of sudden unintended acceleration are continuing.
Frankly, I won't believe regulation of the auto industry has changed for the better until folks are reimbursed for all those engines that disintegrated in MR2 Spyders.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Mainstream media hints at bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control
Did Toyota admit to electronic defects associated with unintended acceleration as part of the federal criminal settlement? Listen to the attorney for unjustly imprisoned Toyota driver Koua Fong Lee in this 3/20/2014 CBS podcast, segment 20:00 to 20:53.
***Updates 4/25/2014 -
> In this 4/24/2014 article, yet another attorney is saying Toyota's federal criminal case settlement of $1.2 billion was "for misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle control system."
> This 4/25/2014 article states that "Toyota was fined by the Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a 'faulty electronic-throttle system' in their cars after settling a lawsuit in July that claims the same make, model and year of the Toyota Solara involved in the day care crash lost resale value after sudden-acceleration complaints."
***Has the Justice Department been lying to the public?
There's been some strange language in mainstream media articles about Toyota's $1.2 billion payoff - er I mean settlement - to end the federal criminal investigation. Real hoot for anyone aware of world-renowned embedded systems expert Michael Barr finding bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control.
The Department of Justice gang made it clear from the get go that news is to be limited to concerns about Toyota's pesky floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. Their position was underscored when EE Times' freelance writer David Benjamin asked the DOJ point blank, in writing, if they were aware of Michael Barr's findings, and if so, why they hadn't investigated. And the DOJ curtly replied, "No comment." In like fashion, Toyota whistleblower Betsy Benjaminson telephoned the DoJ, brought up Mr. Barr's findings, and was asked to spell his name.
With Michael Barr's findings leaking out on the Internet, Associated Press kinda broke ranks with the DOJ, reporting that "until now" (7th paragraph) Toyota had blamed floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, and driver error. Strangely, neither AP nor NPR saw fit to mention what Toyota is blaming "now," and I musta missed Toyota's press release.
Then there's this article, extolling Dr. David Gilbert, a professor at Southern Illinois University. He's the guy who'd been sayin' all along that Toyota's sudden acceleration problem was in the electronics. Even had the audacity to testify before Congress. The article says the professor - who nearly lost his job for daring to speak out - has been vindicated by Toyota's federal criminal settlement, 'cause "before the settlement" Toyota blamed floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, and driver error. Here again, the article stops short of specifying what Toyota is now blaming, but it does bring up Professor Gilbert and his claims about electronics. That gives the Southern Illinoisan one up on NPR and the Associated Press. What we'll see next - and from which media source - is anybody's guess. Where, oh where, is that Toyota press release revealing what the Recall King is now blaming for its problems with sudden unintended acceleration?
Looks like a convoluted game of chicken is takin' place amongst America's presstitute mainstream media. Something along the lines of "Who will be first to dare to print the name Michael Barr, disclose his findings, highlight his testimony and the 150 feet of skid marks left by the plaintiff's tires in the Oklahoma case, and put it all in Toyota-settlement-mode perspective?"
Word is leaking out about Michael Barr, and it looks bad for mainstream media - not to mention NHTSA and the DOJ - to keep ignoring Mr. Barr's findings. Must be awful. Here the guvmint is, makin' it clear that electronic issues are not to be addressed, and here the Emperor is, out in public runnin' around stark naked. What is Police State Press to do? Reminds me of that movie where the lawyer was suddenly unable to stay quiet, and was also unable to lie. Watch mainstream media squirm as the heat gets hotter, turned up all the more by Columbia Journalism Review's scathing criticism of the Wall Street Journal's editorial blabber on behalf of Toyota. CJR exposed WSJ for "brazenly" ignoring the Recall King's own admissions of wrongdoing.
Ya can't have it both ways. At least ya couldn't "until now."
Let's face it. The time has come for government and its mainstream media stooges to address the compelling evidence of problems in Toyota's electronic throttle control, and determine if there are bugs yet to be exterminated. Put up or shut up. Meanwhile - as complaints of sudden unintended acceleration continue - Mr. Barr's peers over at EE Times are proudly naming him as the guest of honor at their upcoming conference March 31st - April 3rd.
Betcha mainstream media won't dare to mention EE Times' conference. After all, it's only the public's safety that's at stake.
***Updates 4/25/2014 -
> In this 4/24/2014 article, yet another attorney is saying Toyota's federal criminal case settlement of $1.2 billion was "for misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle control system."
> This 4/25/2014 article states that "Toyota was fined by the Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a 'faulty electronic-throttle system' in their cars after settling a lawsuit in July that claims the same make, model and year of the Toyota Solara involved in the day care crash lost resale value after sudden-acceleration complaints."
***Has the Justice Department been lying to the public?
Updates 4/1/2014 -
> Found another Southern Illinoisan article about Dr. Gilbert, cleverly stating "Changes are underway with car manufacturers thanks to a SIU professor. It comes four years after David Gilbert shared his concerns regarding (electronic) acceleration issues in Toyota vehicles. Now, Toyota has been fined more than $1 billion for the way it handled 'the' (emphasis mine) deadly safety flaws." The rest of the article includes "tin whiskers are not the only issues that can cause acceleration problems..." http://www.wsiltv.com/news/local/Local-Professors-Findings-Spark-Car-Safety-Changes-253069331.html
> Strong criticism of Toyota today at the EE Times conference. Speaking to an audience of his peers, embedded systems expert Michael Barr said "Despite assurances by companies like Toyota that their software undergoes rigorous testing, the rush to get cars on the road means that you, the users, have been testing the software." http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1321734
Update 4/6/2014 - Yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also chimed in with an article about Dr. Gilbert (so far, the closest mainstream media dares come to mentioning Michael Barr), revealing that Professor Gilbert has support at NASA (don't tell NHTSA). And a physicist at NASA believes there's increased liklihood of unintended acceleration events as "tin whiskers" continue to grow, notably in Toyotas manufactured from 2002-2006. Toyota redesigned pedal sensors in 2007 and 2008, with the express intent of eliminating the tin whisker risk, and NASA Physicist Henning Leidecker asks the obvious question: "Why would (Toyota) do that if tin whiskers were never a problem?" As one might guess, Recall King Toyota "did not respond to multiple requests for comment."
***Updates 4/25/2014 -
> In this 4/24/2014 article, yet another attorney is saying Toyota's federal criminal case settlement of $1.2 billion was "for misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle control system."
> This 4/25/2014 article states that "Toyota was fined by the Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a 'faulty electronic-throttle system' in their cars after settling a lawsuit in July that claims the same make, model and year of the Toyota Solara involved in the day care crash lost resale value after sudden-acceleration complaints."
***Has the Justice Department been lying to the public?
There's been some strange language in mainstream media articles about Toyota's $1.2 billion payoff - er I mean settlement - to end the federal criminal investigation. Real hoot for anyone aware of world-renowned embedded systems expert Michael Barr finding bugs in Toyota's electronic throttle control.
The Department of Justice gang made it clear from the get go that news is to be limited to concerns about Toyota's pesky floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. Their position was underscored when EE Times' freelance writer David Benjamin asked the DOJ point blank, in writing, if they were aware of Michael Barr's findings, and if so, why they hadn't investigated. And the DOJ curtly replied, "No comment." In like fashion, Toyota whistleblower Betsy Benjaminson telephoned the DoJ, brought up Mr. Barr's findings, and was asked to spell his name.
With Michael Barr's findings leaking out on the Internet, Associated Press kinda broke ranks with the DOJ, reporting that "until now" (7th paragraph) Toyota had blamed floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, and driver error. Strangely, neither AP nor NPR saw fit to mention what Toyota is blaming "now," and I musta missed Toyota's press release.
Then there's this article, extolling Dr. David Gilbert, a professor at Southern Illinois University. He's the guy who'd been sayin' all along that Toyota's sudden acceleration problem was in the electronics. Even had the audacity to testify before Congress. The article says the professor - who nearly lost his job for daring to speak out - has been vindicated by Toyota's federal criminal settlement, 'cause "before the settlement" Toyota blamed floor mats, sticky accelerator pedals, and driver error. Here again, the article stops short of specifying what Toyota is now blaming, but it does bring up Professor Gilbert and his claims about electronics. That gives the Southern Illinoisan one up on NPR and the Associated Press. What we'll see next - and from which media source - is anybody's guess. Where, oh where, is that Toyota press release revealing what the Recall King is now blaming for its problems with sudden unintended acceleration?
Looks like a convoluted game of chicken is takin' place amongst America's presstitute mainstream media. Something along the lines of "Who will be first to dare to print the name Michael Barr, disclose his findings, highlight his testimony and the 150 feet of skid marks left by the plaintiff's tires in the Oklahoma case, and put it all in Toyota-settlement-mode perspective?"
Word is leaking out about Michael Barr, and it looks bad for mainstream media - not to mention NHTSA and the DOJ - to keep ignoring Mr. Barr's findings. Must be awful. Here the guvmint is, makin' it clear that electronic issues are not to be addressed, and here the Emperor is, out in public runnin' around stark naked. What is Police State Press to do? Reminds me of that movie where the lawyer was suddenly unable to stay quiet, and was also unable to lie. Watch mainstream media squirm as the heat gets hotter, turned up all the more by Columbia Journalism Review's scathing criticism of the Wall Street Journal's editorial blabber on behalf of Toyota. CJR exposed WSJ for "brazenly" ignoring the Recall King's own admissions of wrongdoing.
Ya can't have it both ways. At least ya couldn't "until now."
Let's face it. The time has come for government and its mainstream media stooges to address the compelling evidence of problems in Toyota's electronic throttle control, and determine if there are bugs yet to be exterminated. Put up or shut up. Meanwhile - as complaints of sudden unintended acceleration continue - Mr. Barr's peers over at EE Times are proudly naming him as the guest of honor at their upcoming conference March 31st - April 3rd.
Betcha mainstream media won't dare to mention EE Times' conference. After all, it's only the public's safety that's at stake.
***Updates 4/25/2014 -
> In this 4/24/2014 article, yet another attorney is saying Toyota's federal criminal case settlement of $1.2 billion was "for misleading motorists about a faulty electronic-throttle control system."
> This 4/25/2014 article states that "Toyota was fined by the Department of Justice for misleading motorists about a 'faulty electronic-throttle system' in their cars after settling a lawsuit in July that claims the same make, model and year of the Toyota Solara involved in the day care crash lost resale value after sudden-acceleration complaints."
***Has the Justice Department been lying to the public?
Updates 4/1/2014 -
> Found another Southern Illinoisan article about Dr. Gilbert, cleverly stating "Changes are underway with car manufacturers thanks to a SIU professor. It comes four years after David Gilbert shared his concerns regarding (electronic) acceleration issues in Toyota vehicles. Now, Toyota has been fined more than $1 billion for the way it handled 'the' (emphasis mine) deadly safety flaws." The rest of the article includes "tin whiskers are not the only issues that can cause acceleration problems..." http://www.wsiltv.com/news/local/Local-Professors-Findings-Spark-Car-Safety-Changes-253069331.html
> Strong criticism of Toyota today at the EE Times conference. Speaking to an audience of his peers, embedded systems expert Michael Barr said "Despite assurances by companies like Toyota that their software undergoes rigorous testing, the rush to get cars on the road means that you, the users, have been testing the software." http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1321734
Update 4/6/2014 - Yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also chimed in with an article about Dr. Gilbert (so far, the closest mainstream media dares come to mentioning Michael Barr), revealing that Professor Gilbert has support at NASA (don't tell NHTSA). And a physicist at NASA believes there's increased liklihood of unintended acceleration events as "tin whiskers" continue to grow, notably in Toyotas manufactured from 2002-2006. Toyota redesigned pedal sensors in 2007 and 2008, with the express intent of eliminating the tin whisker risk, and NASA Physicist Henning Leidecker asks the obvious question: "Why would (Toyota) do that if tin whiskers were never a problem?" As one might guess, Recall King Toyota "did not respond to multiple requests for comment."
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