That's quite an interesting idea. I'd patent it...NOW!
The variable assist in the Toyotas senses engine revs and cranks up the juice for low speed use, and then scales back at higher speeds. When I first heard of it (Power steering? UGH! My first two cars were so light is wasn't necessary!) but the sytme works well, from the Corolla to the Supra and even the Tercel.
We went to buy a 'stripper' Corolla in 1987, $7,500. No power steering AT ALL. After trying to just take a corner at low speed I brought it back and said, "Show me that loaded one!"
Over here, The order of the day in reliability used to be, Lexus Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda. Now Nissan is way down with just average for it's reliability, about 25 down the list. The only thing I can think is that different counties or even factories have different standards.
Ashton Crusher wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
As the AP article clearly states--numerous times--these are ALLEGED to have involved mechanical malfunction.
Since 2000, not ONE of those 34 deaths has been PROVEN by the NHTSA to have been the result of ANY kind of mechanical malfunction.
People die in road accidents in the US approximately 40,000 times per year, the vast bulk of those being caused by simple human error. Those 34 deaths are unlikely to be any different from the other 40,000.
ChrisCoaster wrote in news:becccf5f-05dc-4baa-953b- snipped-for-privacy@g28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com:
The very first time I had guacamole, it was at a fast food restaurant and it was awful. I decided guacamole HAD to taste better than that, so I dared to try it again, but at a different establishment, and it was excellent. Now I love guacamole and can tell the difference between bad guacamole and good guacamole.
I'm glad I kept an open mind about the subject.
I think you're being overly dramatic about this.
EPS is identical to hydraulic PS in that the steering linkage is identical between the two. Either way, you have a solid mechanical connection between steering wheel and road wheels.
It is NOT possible for EPS to just "veer off" without movement of the steering wheel.
Thirty four is the (unsubstantiated) number being reported by the media, most notablt NBC, which seems to have a hair across it's ass for Toyotas. At least Brian Williams does.
Yup. I have had 12 Toyotas. No more than the usual problems any car has, and most actually better than average, and a couple much better than average. The oldest car I have is almost completely original except for brakes and exhaust. The one before that was even better. I have had very few problems, and the few I have had were often taken care of by Toyota, in one case even after the warranty had expired. And I don't baby them either. I drive the wheels off of them, often near the envelope of specified performance. But I also don't expect a lot of them more than the solid, dependable transportation they're known for. GM and Ford have had far, far more transgressions then Toyota, and often as a result of design flaws and not faulty parts. So far nothing Toyota has issued the recalls for are an issue of design, but more the onus lies with the parts suppliers.
And the other side of the coin is that Toyota is NOT GM or Ford. The family takes pride in the product they offer, and have now lost 'face' due to the recalls. I fully expect it not to happen again for a long long time. Rather than move on to the next mistake like GM would do, I'd bet my last dollar the family, which has again become involved with the day to day operation of Toyota, will go out of their way to make sure more errors like this do not occur. I'm betting the temporary shutdown of the US plants is in part to have the employees go over ALL the parts in inventory and make sure they are up to spec so nothing like this happens again. And you can bet CTS's and Dana's parts are going to be inspected and tested
100% or damn near close to make sure Toyota doesn't end up with egg on it's face again.
Toyota is going to take a hit on the marketplace for all this negative publicity, and I think that's great, because I'm going to get my next excellent car from them at the pricing I expect from Toyota. One of the reasons I bought them all these years is because of the excellent value they have provided me.
And if none of the things I've said above happen, I'm going to turn my back on them just the same as I have GM.
" That vague screeching noise you hear in D.C., the slight odor of burning rubber? That's the government trying to brake its anti-Toyota campaign. It may be a little late."
In article , snipped-for-privacy@invalid.inv says...
Right. Probably GM and Obama operatives are employing NSA black ops, wiring up Toyotas to remotely crash them. But it's hard to get at them when they set up a 3 agency cover through CIA and the Navy Intelligence "gray group" teams. That's called a "triple-hide." Or maybe the WSJ is an anti-Obama, anti-union rag. Strassel is a yakker on one of those Saturday Fox Wall Street shows every week being one the usual suspects, kissing the asses of the Bernie Maddows with the rest of them. Hardly a respected journalist, she is a right-wing mouthpiece who has been caught lying before. What I've been hearing all day on TV, various channels, including Fox, is that Toyota documents have come to light showing that they saved hundreds of million by avoiding initial recalls. Big deal, but it will be spun anti-Toyota. You should get yourself on TV so the real truth is revealed to a larger audience than wacky Strassel has. See what Republican Congressman Issa has to say about your ideas. He said he would supoena old man Toyota. They're all idiot grandstanders. And you're no less an idiot for your wacky bullshit. Personally, I think it's all overblown, but I'm not a Jap fanboy like you, so I don't get my panties in a wad and get all paranoid. BTW, guess who is complaining the most about Toyota? Toyota owners! I do think the news media leads them by the nose though. So what's new? Toyota buyers being led by the nose is hardly news. Most car buyers are led by the nose.
Just becasue she is a right wing conservative doesn't mean she is wrong. I'd like to read her entire column before I decide.
My personal opinion is that NHTSA went from under-reaction to over-reaction on the Toyota vehicle speed control complaints. I think they paid to little attenting in 2007 and now they are going off the deep end trying to cover their rears. I suppose the change in administration is also a factor.
And then their is the congressional investigation - grand standing. They don't want to solve any real problems, so they drag a few buisness guys in front of the cameras and torture them. The hope is that the people will forget what a lousy job congress is doing and blame buisness.
oh, i know a little. and i've even driven cars with it. unlike the blowhards that apparently haven't but still [amazingly] feel qualified to have an opinion.
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