http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-03-10-toyota10_ST_N.htm

Toyota faced with 2 more cases of runaway Priuses

As Toyota sought to contain the fallout from a California sudden-acceleration case involving a Prius, another driver's out-of-control Prius slammed into a stone wall in New York on Tuesday.

A 56-year-old woman was pulling out of a driveway when her 2005 Prius "shot":rolleyes: across the road, Harrison, N.Y., police said. The driver, who was not immediately named, suffered minor injuries, but the impact sent "some pretty big boulders" fairly far, said Anthony Marraccini, acting police chief.

Those of us who are old (i.e., over 40) and have good memories can spot a familiar scene developing here.

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi"] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi [/ame]

Audi's U.S. sales fell after a series of recalls from 1982-1987 of Audi 5000 models associated with reported incidents of sudden unintended acceleration linked to six deaths and 700 accidents. At the time, NHTSA was investigating 50 car models from 20 manufacturers for sudden surges of power.

A 60 Minutes report aired 23 November 1986, featuring interviews with six people who had sued Audi after reporting unintended acceleration, showing an Audi 5000 ostensibly suffering a problem when the brake pedal was pushed. Subsequent investigation revealed that 60 Minutes had engineered the failure — fitting a canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor, linked via a hose to a hole drilled into the transmission.

Audi contended, prior to findings by outside investigators, that the problems were caused by driver error, specifically pedal misapplication. Subsequently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the majority of unintended acceleration cases, including all the ones that prompted the 60 Minutes report, were caused by driver error such as confusion of pedals. CBS did not acknowledge the test results of involved government agencies, but did acknowledge the similar results of another study.

Crazy idiots thought they were hitting the brake when in fact they were accelerating.

With the series of recall campaigns, Audi made several modifications; the first adjusted the distance between the brake and accelerator pedal on automatic-transmission models. Later repairs, of 250,000 cars dating back to 1978, added a device requiring the driver to press the brake pedal before shifting out of park.

In other words, the "repairs" involved trying to idiot-proof an otherwise acceptable design.

And how about a round of applause for the California Highway Patrol?

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car. ... It jumped, and it just stuck there" hitting speeds up to 94 mph, Sikes said. A California Highway Patrol officer responded, pulled alongside and told Sikes by loudspeaker to stand on the brakes and also apply the parking brake. Sikes was able to slow the car while the cruiser drove in front, and eventually he could shut it off.

"N"? What the hell does that mean?

Highly trained, extremely knowledgable, extraordinarily brave...the CHP.

This driver, Sikes, is a mysterious man of special abilities. He can retrieve a cell phone, dial 911, and converse while driving over 90 miles per hour...in a machine which he does not really understand. Fascinating.

I don't have any great love for car manufacturers, but it's disgusting seeing the level of stupidity (and gullibility) of American drivers. The Audi incidents, as far as I can tell, happened in the US only. I don't know of anything similar happening to Toyota vehicles in other, more intelligent parts of the world.

People are already calling bullshit on this. How could that be, in the land of class-action lawsuits, and voracious jew lawyers?

A 2010 Business Week article — outlining possible parallels between Audi's experience and 2009–10 Toyota vehicle recalls — noted a class-action lawsuit filed in 1987 by about 7,500 Audi Audi 5000-model owners remains unsettled and is currently being contested in county court in Chicago after appeals at the Illinois state and U.S. federal levels.