The G Man

GM had a few recalls too since Obama took over.

Here is a video clip making its way around the interent: :) :)

It is not so much the firmware, but the level of redundant systems. Redundant systems cost money and they are not going to go crazy on redundant system in a $18000 Camry.

I agree with most of the article, but the author again blames the owners and the media. Personally, I think Toyota should share the blame as well. The last paragraph in the article really hit it home for me : "Toyota hasn't produced many interesting or exciting products. In Car and Driver comparison tests, Toyotas have generally placed mid-pack for years because they handle poorly and have increasingly chintzy interiors. Over the years, people haven't bought Toyotas because they offered driving thrills or prestige; they bought them because, in the words of one CR loyalist and former serial Camry buyer—this author’s mother—"The ultimate luxury is a car that doesn't ever break." So what happens when quality is called into question and the cars don't offer anything special? Well, Mrs. Dushane now drives a Subaru. Even the pragmatic tire of the banal." If a car company's bread and butter is reliability and the perception of reliability is gone, they have nothing left. Its almost like BMW making a car that doesnt perform well or Subaru making a car that is terrible in the snow. The president of Toyota have apologized 3 years ago for poor quality and recalls and promise to make improvements, so far, I haven't seen it yet.

Lol, my example was if you are driving down a NY highway doing the typical speed and your car accelarates by itself and get up to 100 MPH in about 2 seconds with a big truck in front of you and cars on either side of you. How good will your reaction be in that situation?

The same thing happen to a thread about sudden accelaration in a RAV4 forum. Two owners claim their 3rd gen RAV4 accelarated by itself and other members call them names and tells them to learn how to drive. The thread got closed because it got too personnal. My point is: why is that everytime a drive claim sudden accelaration, it is always driver's error, why are they guilty until they prove themself innocent?

I agree, knowledge of the problem and preparation is the key to being able to deal with the problem when it happens. The problem is, who is going to make sure all the drivers are knowledgable of all the problem that can exist in a modern vehicle and whose job is it to train them as to how to react. We all know that most of the drivers themself will not do it and the government will not require this. Also, putting a car into neutral doing 25 MPH in a quiet neigborhood is one thing and trying to putting a car into neutral doing over a 100 MPH on a busy NY highway with a 18 wheeler inches in front of you is a whole different senerio.

Here is the lastest news: Federal safety officials said they will review complaints from Toyota Corolla drivers about steering difficulties on their vehicles. NHTSA said it has received about 80 complaints from drivers of 2009 and 2010 Corollas. Many said their cars could wander when they drive on the highway, making it hard to stay in lanes. I guess when it rains, it pours.

I agree, but its not all the consumer's fault either. If your car speed up from 65 mph to a 100 mph within 2 seconds on the highway, I think most people would have a brain over load at that point. Natural reaction would be to hit the brakes and steer with both hands, by the time they realize the brakes are not slowing the car down, 2 or 3 seconds would have already gone by and the car would have traveled 150 feet.

The oil change interval is set by Lexus, not your dealer. A good rule of thumb is, if you drive a lot of city, change your oil at 4000 miles and if mostly highway, change it 6000 miles.

Personally, I dont know why all Toyota and Lexus come from the factory with the headlights adjusted to the low end of the spec. On top of what twylie said, let me also add that the screw driver's shaft have to be at least 12" or so, thats not incuding the handle. Shine a flashlight into the adjustment opening in the fender and you will see a adjustment cog, be careful when adjusting because the cog is made from soft metal and can be stripe very easily. Look in the manual to find theh location of the bubble leveler right on top of the light, I adjust mine to the top notch on the bubbler. Make sure you are park on a level ground. Good Luck

I agree, that midget dictator is out of control, but I think you used the key words there, " the world ". We need to fight Iran as a coalition, not us alone.

The blizzard of 78 in New England was the worst I have ever seen, After the strom, I open the front door which is about ground level, the snow drift is all the way to the top of the door.

The IS-F pass with flying color, it regularly averaging an indicated 30mpg from a tank on longer journeys and for the most part, it has been relaible: http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search...rm-test-review/

What is the difference between a voluntary recall and a corrective action ? :)

The news media has been doing the same thing ;) I post on the Prius forums too. There are 4 accident reports worldwide. There's really no interruption in braking (I've felt it on our Prius) its just the way the transition feels in certain situations it feels like a momentary decrease in braking...but it really isn't. It will ultimately be all the Hybrids... Yes, it is best discribe as a momentary lag in braking, I read that the Ford Fusion have the same problem. We have 4 new Prius where I work and I drive one once a week or so on the average. I felt the brake lag once, but wasnt sure what it was until I read these articles about the problem. It almost felt like there I let go of the brake pedal partially when I didnt. After that, I started to brake longer when ever I drive the Prius, but that problem never re occur.

In a ideal world yes, every driver should be able to perform in emergency situation, but we all know, we do not live in ideal world.

That is correct, the gas pedal was the a different recall and the Prius was not on that list. I guess my comment was a bit misleading since I meant to reference Toyota as a company and just the Prius. There are a few Prius owners who claim the momentary lack of braking when transition cause them to get into accidents. It is not as serious as the sudden accelaration since no one have die from this lack of braking, but none the less, its a pretty serious problem. Also, Lexus plan to recall the new HS250h which use the same braking system in the near future.

First the gas pedal and now the brakes: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/20...300000_priuses/

He is not talking about the speed limiter, he is talking about the new safety software that Toyota have develop to idle the engine if the driver hits the brakes and the sensor detects that the car is not slowing down. The future plan is for Lexus to install this software into most of their cars and SUVs from the factory. Rumor has it that Lexus is planning to retrofit the software into existing cars and SUVs. I am not sure rather this will be done thru a recall or TSB.

You cannot alway feel when an alignment is off, you should check it anyways, but your problem sounds more tire related. How old are your tire?

____________________ Thanks guys for the feedback. This helps me feel better. I went by the dealer last night and put a hold on the GS - mercury over black with spider wheels. Will pick it up right after Christmas The GS is a great highway car, its very stable at high speed, even on windy day. It will not handle like your Infiniti M with the sport package, but it will ride smoother, try to find a GS without the run flats. The runflat will make the GS ride much rougher.

In an interview with Fox news last week, Sarah Palin said the only way for Obama to get re-elected is for him to toughen up and declear war on Iran. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertain...re-elected.html

I have to ask, but you dont have to answer :) Why do you have a court date?

I remember the blizzard of 1978 here in New England, we got 50" from just 1 storm :(