Class action suit filed over Toyota recall

Not like we couldn't see that coming, given recent events.

I still don't see how this is Toyota's fault. Of all the cars I've driven, their clipped-in floormats are the most difficult to remove. I remember when cars didn't even have seat belts.

 

Agreed. My earliest memories of riding in cars involve my mom putting her arm out cross my body while stopping hard as I stood in the front seat of a Corvair.

The Toyota mat clips are quite restrictive and make mat swaps more difficult.

I've yet to see a single documented case where shifting to neutral would fail to solve any supposed "unintended acceleration" problem in recent Toyotas. Keep in mind that I've experienced stuck WOT in an old truck that could not be shifted to neutral...and had to be shut down.

A lawyer has to hope for a really stupid juror pool to convince them that this is systematic Toyota problem. Unfortunately for the class action, such jurors are likely to already have removed themselves from the gene pool through gross idiocy.

 

I don't believe the selection process occurs fast enough.

Survival of the Fittest is a multi-generation thing, and cars haven't existed for enough human generations.

 

The suit was placed in California. The juror pool there is definitely in the "really stupid" class. Look who they have acquitted in the past!

"And the beat goes on..and on..and on..!"

 

if that's the truth about the floor mats, yeah, stupid lawsuit.

i really hope that's all it is.

 

This is just fishing for a settlement.

But let's assume it isn't.. what compensation do they believe is due to someone who experienced 'unintended acceleration' but did not experience an adverse event?

 

Psychological trauma.

"I haven't been able to get into a car since."

"I lost my job because I couldn't ride in a car to go to work."

"I have nightmares every night about dying in a horrific crash."

The possibilities are endless.

 

They let OJ go, Michael Jackson walked, yeah there are plenty of STUPID jurists out there!!!!

Money talks, etc

 

Having been on a couple juries that went all the way to a verdict, I must remind folks that, for reasons completely out of their control, the jurists are the least informed people in the courtroom.

We the jury miss all the pre-trial proceedings. We don't read or hear what the news media tells the public. We hear only what the judge allows. Whenever the really interesting stuff starts to come up, the judge stops the lawyers in mid-sentence and has us ushered out for fifteen minutes to an hour. When we return, everyone else has moved on to other topics, leaving us completely uninformed about what happened.

You the public hear only what the press wants to report, leaving out much of what we heard. We the jury hear only what the judge wants us to hear, leaving out much of what the press told you.

Under these circumstances, it should surprise no one that the jury's verdict does not always match the public's verdict.

 

I think there is a real possibility that this sudden unintended acceleration problem is real, unrelated to floor mats. I don't believe these people who yell conspiracy and refuse to accept any possibility that this could happen to Toyota. The evidence needs to be openly investigated and not covered up. I love my Toyota Prius and I have not experienced any of these problems, but I am not so naive as to believe this means there is no problem or that others have not had a problem. Why is this any different then the headlight problem that existed for some and not others. If there is a problem it should be identified and repaired which would in turn benefit all of us.

 

Obviously a potential problem with this much risk needs to be investigated. How this differs from the headlight issue is that we had actual demonstrable evidence of the problem. So far all we have with the acceleration problem is floor mats and screaming newspaper headlines. That and lawyers.

Tom

 

This begs the question: are you so naive as to believe the problem is real without a shred of proof or even a coherent theory for the cause?

As it is, the most celebrated accident being blamed on "unintended acceleration" has been attributed by NHTSA and Toyota to a floormat interference with the accelerator. This is entirely plausible based on the current information available, including a 49 second 911 call. There is as yet no other explanation provided for the acceleration. And this explanation is consistent with someone holding their foot down hard on the brakes with the mat pinned in between.

Conspiracy? When does idiocy require conspiracy? Idiocy is spontaneous and difficult to account for or suppress. I don't see so much a conspiracy as a collection of poorly considered arguments for this "unintended acceleration" fiasco.

It appears to be nothing like the headlight issue. Headlight problems could be demonstrated for one thing. They were repeatable. Driver incompetence was never a reasonable explanation for the headlight issue.

As to whether or not there is a real and systematic unintended acceleration problem that is not caused by people on the wrong pedal or with a floormat involved, it is possible, but as yet completely undemonstrated. If I hear some plausible theory that begins threading these together then I will likely change my opinion.

Even if there does prove to be some as yet completely undiagnosed problem, the lawsuit has weak legs because normal actions like shifting to neutral or shutting off the car still appear to be reasonable remedies in most if not all cases. At worst the automaker could only be found partially responsible because basic driver competency is a relevant factor in attributing cause.