Problem Exist Between Seat and Wheel

John McElroy is one columnist that I really enjoy reading because the man is willing to say what others are afraid too. His opinion and mine often line up and see eye to eye, which is probably why I respect him so much. In McElroy's latest editorial he brings up a point that so many people have been dodging ever since Toyota's started to run amok all over the world: Could it be driver error?

No company in the world is going to say the customers are the root cause of the problem because that is just bad business practice. Working in IT we have a word for this though PEBCAK (Problem exist Between Chair and Keyboard), this means that the meaty, fleshy thing with it's backside on a chair and it's digits on the input device is typically the cause of most problems (read: human).

McElroy brings up some good points throughout his editorial, mainly that elderly people tend to buy Toyota's. I'd also like to throw out there that many foreigners purchase Toyota's as well, mainly from cultures not really known for their driving prowess. This is not to be racist or ageist, it's to actually think about other causes for the problem plaguing one of the biggest automakers in the world.

Audi went through a similar issue with unintended acceleration in the 1980's. It ended up being an issue of "pedal misapplication" according to the NHTSA, which in a nut shell meant the pedals were too close together. Now I haven't been driving for terribly long, just shy of 7 years, but I still know what pedal my foot is on. Even if the car does have pedals that are close together I can figure it out and you want to know why? I'm not an idiot, I actually pay attention when I drive a car.

And here is where we get to the root of the problem, people don't pay attention when they drive any more. We are a nation that feels the need to do every except pilot the three ton SUV you felt the need to purchase. I can't tell you how many people I see on a daily bases texting, shaving, reading, putting on make-up and whatever else you can think of while driving. It's little wonder why issues have been arising.

You might be thinking, but it's just Toyota's that have been having unintended acceleration issues. Well that's not entirely accurate, and thanks to circus inducing media it's what most people think. The Truth About Cars complied NHTSA unintended acceleration data from 2005-2010MY cars across all cars sold in America.

Now that is the list of the Top 20 cars with reported unintended acceleration problems and yes Toyota has 8 models on there, but so does Ford Motor Company. So should we be going after FoMoCo as well? I guess you'll have to just decide that for yourself.

Next time you here some news anchor, politician, or a man who wears Bill Cosby sweater and participates in naughty adult activity start off on some anti-Toyota tirade, just remember Occam's Razor where the simplest explanation tends to be the best. I mean what's more realistic? A hugely complex computer error that cannot be recreated by Toyota or other private investigation firm or that people do everything but drive. I know which one I think is more realistic and I think I'll dub it PEBSAW.

Prius Man, The New Balloon Boy

The internet is awash with stories that are coming in all over the place about Mr. James Sikes, of runaway Pruis fame, from Monday's unintended acceleration incident near San Diego, California. Our good friends over at the awesome automotive blogs Jalopnik and The Truth About Cars have been unfolding the story bit by bit as information comes in.

From what Jalopnik has uncovered Sikes was in some serious financial trouble, saddled with $700,000 in debt and had filed for bankruptcy in 2008. Sikes also has a history of things being stolen from him at rather opportune times, like his entire kitchen when his house was being foreclosed on. There are at least three reported incidents of theft against Sikes and probably more to come out of the woodwork as the day and weekend wears on.

To top all of this off though as sort of a Pièce de résistance Sikes and his wife are the proud owners of an adult website for swingers. I'm not talking about the Austin Powers Grrrrrrrr Baby, It's the Swinging 60's here either. This is seriously the stuff excellent sitcoms are based on, I mean really how could you not want to watch a show about a couple of bankrupt swingers who run a shady website, commit insurance fraud and attempt to fake a runaway Toyota? The man even rocks a Bill Cosby-esque sweater.

The evidence that is surfacing certainly pointing to Sikes doing this for the money, the fame, the whatever it is these people get out of creating an elaborated media circus around them. At least Richard Heene, Balloon Boy's attention whore father, was at least creative in his hoax and made it somewhat believable (well until the kid spilled the beans). Sikes wasn't even creative with his hoax, he rode the brakes worse then an old lady on her way to bingo and just kept the accelerator pinned until he felt as if he'd sufficient done grandstanding and just stopped. I guess Sikes didn't realise what a bunch of bored office employees that scour the internet could dig up on him.

I got slightly bored and figured I throw some more fuel into the fire as well. After looking up some Prius geeks, I uncovered the top speed of the generation of Prius Sikes owned was 106mph. So if the accelerator was stuck why would the car only hit 94mph? Cars don't magically stop accelerating 12mph short of their top speed...unless someone is holding the car are a given speed.

I know Sikes has come out and said he's not going to sue Toyota over this, but really he isn't fooling anyone, he's fully expecting some kind of "Shut-up" money from Toyota. I somehow don't think this is going to come, especially based on Toyota's latest investigation of the Prius in question which has left them "mystified". Cue the X-files theme.

So is Sikes full of it? Probably. Was this all a hoaxes? More than likely. Is this the last of the run away Toyota incidents that will populate the media? Not a chance, this is only the beginning.

Mr. Aiko Toyoda's Wild Ride

So it's not secret that Toyota's all over the global are running amok and killing people. Many more people are being taking on thrilling, death defying rides down highways in their Toyota or Lexus. All one has to do is turn on the nightly news and BAM! there's another Toyota story.

The most recent story to hit the news was from this past Monday when James Sikes, 61, reported to have been driving his 2008 Toyota Prius down a Interstate 8 near San Diego, California when he went to pass a car. He claims his vehicle magically accelerated up to 90mph and he could not stop it. He managed to call out the California Highway Patrol, you know those handsome looking chaps that ride motorcycles and concentrate on hitting on chicks instead of busting drug dealers?

There is some credibility to his story because it's backed up by the officers that arrived to see his speeding green machine cruising down the highway. However, I'm not so certain that Toyota's sticky accelerator is to be blamed on this one, especially after hearing the sound-bytes from his interview. The officer, Todd Neibert, that arrived on the scene shouted instructions to Sikes on how to stop the car and said Sikes was jumping on the brakes.

Here is something to consider though: Say Sikes was cruising down the freeway at 65mph, an average highway speed, but while he was busy doing everything but driving (talking on his mobile, fixing his hair, whatever) he didn't notice he was riding the brakes on his car. It's easy enough to do, especially if you have large feet and aren't paying attention. One might not even notice they are doing it. So the brake began to heat up, and I know Prius have some wonky regenerative braking system that make the brake do something strange. Combine that with presumably improperly maintained brakes and the awful OEM pads and of course your cars isn't going to stop very well...if at all.

Now say Sikes was driving with the cruise control on, which most of us do (OK I don't because I ordered a car without it for whatever reason). He went to pass someone and thought he was Michael Schumacher or something and got slightly rev happy. I mean I know it's a Prius and everything but occasionally everyone has a lead foot. Obviously when you hit the accelerator with cruise the car accelerates and then holds that speed until the brakes are applied. This could easily be seen as unintended acceleration.

Let's combine that with Sikes oversized feet and shot brakes. Trying to stop a car from this acceleration would be mighty difficult if not impossible. A run away Toyota isn't as far fetched as it might have seemed.

Now one might wonder why I assume the Sikes would be oblivious to this sort of stuff. Well one quote sort of did me in: "Neibert told Sikes after the CHP caught up with him to shift to neutral but the driver shook his head no. Sikes told reporters he didn't go into neutral because he worried the car would flip."

Seriously? What sort of person thinks that a car will suddenly flip over if you shift into neutral. This is clearly a person that shouldn't be out driving a car because he doesn't know how to handle it during an emergency. I can't even comprehend the physics behind how a car might flip over if shifted into neutral, mainly because I shift my car into neutral all the time while in motion.

Don't get me wrong, this could have been an instance of unintended acceleration caused by a sticky accelerator. But the way the media latched on to it, it's the only explanation. And considering this was a guy who thought his vehicle would flip over I don't really can't see him as the sort of bloke who's really on the ball with driving. Also who thinks 90mph is "terrifyingly fast"? Maybe it's because I live in Michigan and people do 70 in a snow storm while bumper to bumper on I-696, I don't know. But 90mph on a motorway just doesn't seem like it would scare the bejesus out me.

I'm not here to defend Toyota. I'm not a hardcore fan of their products and I think they are all fairly dull, but I'm also not one of these anti-Toyota people who think they are some how the devil that's killed the American auto industry. What I am against is the fact the media takes whatever story, grandstands it, and then ruins major companies which employ thousands of Americans.

Green Cars According to Limbaugh

Seems Rush Limbaugh is back on his soap box again and this time it is about green cars, mainly hybrids. Edmunds.com recently published an article that spawned from one of Mr. Limbaugh's commentaries (link). Apparently Mr. Limbaugh thinks that no one buys hybrids and they are only built to keep Congress and California off the auto industry's back. He also claims that Washington and California killed the automotive industry. While I think there might be some truth in what he is saying I still think he missed the mark as usual. 

Over a ten year period there have been about 1.3 million hybrids sold in the United States. I agree that isn't many vehicles sold when you think that between 10 and 12 million vehicles are sold annually. However people who tend to through out numbers like this fail to look at the big picture. At the end of 1999 the average price of a gallon of petrol was $1.30, hardly expensive. We didn't even really get into the over $2.00 range until around 2004 and even then that wasn't expensive enough to keep people from buying Tahoe's. 

The Honda Insight, which was released to the US market in December of 1999, was only followed by the Toyota Prius a few months later and that was it. You had a choice between two hybrid models, both expensive in a time when fuel economy wasn't on everyone's mind. I'm guessing that probably has something to do with the fact that such a low number has sold over the years. The Honda Civic Hybrid came along in 2003, the Honda Accord in 2004, and the Ford Escape in 2005. So as you can see in proportion to how many models there were to choose from these cars actually sold decently well all things considered. 

These manufactures also saw a niche to be filled, there are clientele out there that want green vehicles, so why not build something for them? All it's going to do is increase your brand awareness and help you sell vehicles. Let's think about it this way, a pro-green person is in the market for a new car and like most consumers they don't know much about cars. They would like a Prius because it's economical and green however they are unable to afford it. They are still going to think of Toyota as a green company though and be more likely to look at their vehicles, which would probably result in the sale of a Yaris or a Corolla. So it's not all about getting the government off your back, it's about marketing your brand...which correct me if I'm wrong, is something they should be doing.   

Now to address what he said about politics killing the auto industry. I can agree with this to a point, especially when concerning the speed a vehicle can travel, but for the most part the government has to put regulations in because people are idiots and need someone to keep them safe. Also companies need protection against these idiots so they can't sue them even though whatever happened was a result of their stupidity. Look at stability control, it's mandated that it's put into every vehicle now because some half-wit was on the road and not paying attention. They had to swerve at the last second to avoid it (whatever it is, a dog, little kid, alien, pothole) and the vehicle flipped over because of their stupidity. Now they go an sue the car maker for millions because they now have a life altering injuries and the worst part is they win. This is why the government mandates things, to protect idiots from themselves. 

And if Rush can't find a vehicle he likes then he's not trying hard enough, there are thousands of vehicles to choose from and there is at least one that makes you go "ya I want that". 

So really Mr. Limbaugh, I still state that you, along with every other commentator need to shut up. 

Rush Limbaugh Needs to Shut Up

Honestly do I even have to explain why? Just listening to the man is torture in and of itself. Why the Republican party lets this man be their cheerleader is baffling. I mean nothing say progressive and modern like a middle aged, fat, white bloke who enjoys smoking cigars, playing golf, and abusing prescription drugs.

If the Republicans want to change their image and get back into power they need to appeal to a wider range of people including the moderates and *gasp* some left wingers. Having people like Mr. Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Ann Coulter and Bill O'Rielly leading the charge isn't going to win any favours with those who aren't already staunch conservatives. All these "commentators" are doing is driving people like me, who used to consider themselves conservative, away with all their idiotic remarks. Mr. Limbaugh's recent comments where he has stated he hopes President Obama fails pretty much did it in for me. I don't care who the president is, I don't want to see them fail because that ultimately means the country is going to fail as well. I'm sure Mr. Limbaugh is sitting comfortably with his $33 million a year salary, but most of us don't have that luxury and I'm pretty sure most of us do not want to see the USA fall flat on it's face because it's going to take all of us with it. 

And to show I'm not biased against conservatives I think plenty of liberal commentators need to stuff it as well, mainly Michael Moore who is another middle aged, fat, white bloke with to much free time and a camera. There is also Keith Olbermann who's just as whacked out. The only difference is not nearly as much attention is paid on this guys. The last time I heard from Mr. Moore I was laying in a hotel bed in Barcelona watching an episode of Leno with Catalan subtitles. That was back in 2007 and I haven't heard much from him since. 

So why are the conservatives so outspoken to the point where they just need to shut up? Well I think they still think it's the 1980's and Ronald Regan is still in charge. I also think they are upset that the United States wants to become more progressive and, I don't know, advancing. I agree that Bush did get a bad wrap from everyone under the sun and he didn't deserve some of what was thrown at him but still that does not excuse Mr. Limbaugh from looking like an idiot when he says he hopes our president fails. 

Now as I've said, I'm not a huge Obama supporter but I want to see him succeed because that means America will (hopefully) succeed. So really these commentators need to just shut up about things, because while they are making millions of dollars of their media outlets the rest of us average people are struggling to ride out the recession. 

For Once Listen to Hollywood

So scientist at the University of Melbourne and the University of Texas have discovered a way to get genes from extinct animals (Link). Now forgive me if I sound a bit cold hearted here but why on Earth do we need to bring back animals that went extinct? What good could possibly come from it? 

Let me put it this way. When I was first taking my anthropology classes I was taught that in the course of evolution a species either has to move, adapt or die when a new challenge is given. This is why we do not have legitimate Neanderthals promoting Gieco, only modern humans in costume. Obviously the animals they are trying to bring back failed somewhere along the way which is why they are extinct now. 

Yes, I understand many animals went extinct because of something humans did. The dodo bird is a prime example, if humans hadn't introduced new species that killed the dodos they would still probably be here today. However, that still does not dismiss the fact the dodo died off because it was unable to move or adapt. Left with the only option the dodo slipped off into the sands of time.

Then there is the issue of what will happen if we reintroduce some species into a ecosystem not designed for them. I can help but to use the example of Jurassic Park (the film, the book is long and wordy). I sure most people have seen it in the 15 or so years it's been out so they will know what I am talking about when I say I don't want a T-Rex running through downtown San Diego. Granted they probably won't be able to bring back dinosaurs and it's questionable whether they can bring anything at all, but I'm still concerned they are even trying. 

Let's just hope this idea goes the way of the dodo because honestly extinct animals are probably best left that way. I mean would you want your species to be brought back from the dead only to be either over hunted again or turned into a cute and cuddly pet? Probably not. 

Is the Apocalypse Nigh?

A recent study found that more American than ever have turned away from religion altogether according to CNN yesterday (Link). I know the Atheist will jump up and down and say they are winning and I know the religious will shout from the roof tops that America is suffering moral decay. The article uses a quote from William Donohue, who is the president of the Catholic League, which basically states that people are not turning into Atheist but are rather becoming fed up with religion telling them what to do. 

I think Mr. Donohue has a very good point since more and more America is becoming a nation of individuals (unless of course you are a teenager) and we want to do our own thing. But I also think now that science is beginning to answer more questions more people are starting to question things they have been taught to believe from religious scriptures. Creation stories being the main one that I can think of. Science is constantly collecting more data on evolution and showing how it probably worked, so that right there goes against just about every religion worldwide. There is always going to be a group of people who will say science is wrong, which is fine since this is America and you can believe whatever you want, but I think the majority of people will just accept things because it has been shown to be correct. With that accepting they might begin to question some of their other beliefs...it's all part of being human. 

As I've said in previous posts, I don't consider myself religious so I suppose I fit into that group that is growing in America. I do not consider myself an Atheist because I can't say for sure there is no supernatural being out there. I guess the best thing I can classify myself as is an Agnostic, or in layman's terms "I don't know" and as I've stated I really think more and more Americans feel the same way. Religion is confusing since there is little or no evidence to go on and people are scared of things they do not understand for the most part. 

So on to my point in all of this, is this the sign the apocalypse is nigh? Depends on who you ask. Some of the more bible-thumping people I know would say this shows what happens to a country when a liberal takes over (Link), when you legalise gay marriage or allow stem cell research. They would also tell me that this un-Christianising of America shows our moral decay and will lead to the end of the world. What I think this people don't understand is that you have morals even if you don't have religion. Yes religion can enforce certain morals but morals are not the result of religion no matter what your bible-thumping friends tell you. 

So no the apocalypse is not nigh and no just because people are turning away from organised religion doesn't spell doom and gloom (unless of course you consider Wall St. a religion). There are plenty of other countries where religion isn't very strong and they have not imploded yet so I don't really think we have much to worry about here in America.