Just FYI

"Jacquelyn Donoghue of Holder, Neb., said in the lawsuit that her 2006
Toyota Prius suddenly sped up and went out of control in December,
slamming into another vehicle, killing her husband John and seriously
injuring her.

Nelson is also representing Teresa and William Myers of Laurel, Miss.,
the parents of Steffan Myers, a 20-year-old who was killed in an
accident on Jan. 10., just days before he started classes at the
University of Mississippi college.

The Myers said in a lawsuit also filed Friday in federal court in Los
Angeles that their son’s 2005 Toyota Camry suddenly accelerated and
smashed into another car, killing both drivers.

Full article at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Toyota-sued-in-Calif-over-apf-273552346…

"Toyota said on Friday that it might expand the number of models that
will receive a braking override system designed to prevent sudden
acceleration, a problem that led the company to recall millions of
cars.

The disclosure about the brake override system came in a letter from
Theodore M. Hester, a lawyer representing Toyota, to the House
Oversight and Government Affairs Committee, one of three Congressional
panels that plans to hold hearings on the recalls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/business/13toyota.html?partner=yaho…

Looks like even an insurance company could tell there’s something
wrong.

Insurance giant State Farm alerted U.S. safety regulators in late 2007
that it was seeing an uptick in reports of sudden-unintended
acceleration incidents in Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles, a company
spokesman said today.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials confirmed
that they had been notified by State Farm but were already
investigating reports of unintended acceleration from drivers of
Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100209/AUTO01/2090384/1148/auto0…

Like Toyota can’t put a brake on its quality problems.

Washington — Toyota Motor Corp. announced it would recall another
three models in the United States — covering 155,000 vehicles — as
it struggles to bolster it reputation.

The recalls announced shortly before 4 a.m. today in the United States
include 133,459 2010 Prius vehicles and 15,090 Lexus 2010 HS 250h
vehicles "to update software in the vehicle’s anti-lock brake system."

Worldwide, the company announced it was recalling about 437,000 Prius
and other hybrid vehicles because of brake problems that could
increase the distance required to stop.

From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100209/AUTO01/2090382/1148/auto0…

"No matter the cause of the problem — floor mats, sticky pedals or
electromagnetic interference — engineers and safety regulators told
the Free Press that brake override is the solution.

Said Joseph Kanianthra, a former National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration official: “If the brake override was available in those
vehicles, it could probably have prevented unintended accelebration.”

Full article at:
http://www.freep.com/article/20100209/BUSINESS01/100209048/1332/busin…

BiG Discount on Garmin nüvi 765 4.3-Inch Bluetooth Portable GPS
http://www.gpsnavigationportable.co.cc/2010/02/garmin-nuvi-765-43-inc…

what an idiot.

Yoshi Inaba sounds like a clairvoyant.  I wonder if there will be
charges and arrests in the Toyota case as the Japanese government did
in the Mitsubishi case.

"For years, warning signs have clashed with its touted high standards

Five years ago, Yoshi Inaba, then president of Toyota Motor Corp.’s
U.S. sales operations, disclosed his biggest fear. It was that
someday, some flaw in Toyota vehicles might go undetected and cause
injuries, or worse, to the company’s customers.

Inaba was perhaps thinking of a huge scandal that had just engulfed
Mitsubishi Motors Corp., a smaller Japanese carmaker accused of
covering up defects for years. Top Mitsubishi executives, including
its former president, had been arrested and charged."

From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100211/OPINION01/2110340/1148/au…

Maybe Toyota will just walk away with a very light slap on the wrist
after all this? Toyota already sent out its employees to do the
talking in D.C. and PR firms are working full-throttle and without
brakes.

"Four governors from states with Toyota Motor Corp. plants spoke out
Wednesday in defense of the Japanese automaker and questioned the U.S.
government’s conflict of interest as a stakeholder in some of Toyota’s
rivals.

In a rare show of support for the embattled Toyota, the governors
wrote to congressional representatives who will lead hearings about
Toyota’s recalls and how it handled customer complaints."

From The Detroit News:
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20100211/AUTO01/2110351/1148/auto0…