Intrepidation

Was surfing the web and came across spyshots of a Honda Crosstour mule/prototype. It's very sad that the prototype looks much, much better than the finished product. Seriously, what the hell happened? :Edit: Upon closer inspection it looks like the back of it may be photoshopped. Not sure. Nevertheless, the point remains that had it looked like that, it would actually be a pretty good looking wagon...not the monstrosity we got.

Plastic on plastic wears over time, and that's a problem.

TTAC brings up a very good question: why do they use two different assemblies, especially since the Denso unit, though older and less sturdy feeling, is an overall better design? All three articles are actually very good and bring to light just how different and flawed the pedal CTS builds is. Their simulated test also shows that their band-aid fix is not only just that, but the overly reduced friction will have unwanted consequences, and that won't stop the CTS pedal's flawed design from wearing out. When this pedal fiasco first started I wondered how pedals only 5 years old could wear out, but seeing how the friction mechanism is design...plastic on plastic is a big no no for relying on the friction levels remaining constant over the long haul. Imagine after these plastic pieces wear more, how they will be in 15 years?

The Truth About Cars » Editorials » Industry » Safety Why Toyota Must Replace Flawed CTS Gas Pedal With Superior Denso Pedal By Paul Niedermeyer on February 1, 2010 Toyota uses two different electronic gas pedal designs in its cars. The version built by CTS (lower) is the subject of a massive recall, and the 2.3 million units in affected Toyota cars are to be “fixed” by the insertion of a steel shim. This CTS design is also being modified for new Toyota production, currently suspended. To our knowledge, Toyotas built with the other design (by Denso, upper) are not subject to any recalls or NHTSA investigations,. We have spent the last two days tearing down both units, and familiarized ourselves with their designs, reviewed Toyota’s “shim fix”, and replicated the fix ourselves. Toyota’s planned fix will undoubtedly reduce the likelihood of sticky pedals in the short term, but after examining both units, we are convinced that the CTS unit is intrinsically a flawed design, and poses safety risks in the long term, even with the fix. The only right action for Toyota is to acknowledge the long history of problems with the CTS-type unit, and replace them all with the superior Denso or another pedal unit that lacks the intrinsic flaws of the CTS design. Before we briefly review the key design differences, we must acknowledge that Toyota is ultimately responsible for both designs. CTS has stated that its product was built to Toyota specifications. What we don’t know (or understand) is why Toyota has two such fundamentally different units in production. Is one unit cheaper to build? Or was CTS tooled up to produce its unit because of other similar units it builds for other manufacturers? What we do know is that the CTS unit has been used in Toyota products since 2005, whereas the Denso unit has been in use since well before that time. Toyotas sold in Europe are also subject to a similar recall, and based on the description of the issues and the unit, it appears that it is the same or similar design as the CTS unit, but we do not know if it was built by CTS or another supplier. The key component in question is the friction arm of the CTS. It is both essential and desirable to have a certain defined degree of friction in these electronic gas pedal assemblies. The amount of friction is designed to be some degree less than the return spring, so that when the pedal is released, it returns to the closed position. But the friction (hysteresis) makes it easier to maintain a steady throttle setting, and relieves strain from pushing against the spring continuously. It simulates the intrinsic friction that is present in the traditional throttle cable as it passes through the cable housing. The two units generate the desired degree of friction in very different ways. In the Denso unit (above), the return spring (steel coil) is squeezed on both sides of its housing. It rubs against the plastic housing as it compresses, which generates the desired amount of friction. Both sides of the full length of the Denso coil are in continuous contact with the rubbed are, spreading out the contact area size. And the metal to plastic interface seems to be relatively unproblematic. The CTS unit is a fundamentally different design. The friction is generated by two “teeth” (A) that extend from the friction arm, and ride in two grooved channels of the housing (B). The friction arm is an extension of the pedal itself, and moves as the pedal is moved. Both the friction arm, its teeth and the surface it rubs against are plastic. Notice the small area of contact (dulled gray spot on tooth). This is the fundamental source of the problem with this unit, and one that Toyota has not come clean about. The friction unit assembled, showing the teeth engaged in the two grooves, is shown below. In Toyota V.P. Jim Lentz’ appearance on the Today show, he claimed that issues with the friction arm go back to only October of 2009. Not so. According to a letter from Toyota to the NHTSA , in 2007 Toyota changed the plastic material used in the friction arm (from PA46 to PPS) in response to problems similar to those occurring now. Furthermore, Toyota has been facing similar issues in Europe going back to 2008: Toyota has been modifying the friction-arm (CTS) type assembly since 2007. Yet to our knowledge, the Denso design has never been implicated in any sticking-pedal issue, and has presumably been in production for some ten years. Why didn’t Toyota change over years ago? Toyota claims it now has the solution to the pedal problem. Later this week, Toyota will be sending shims that will be inserted under the friction arm of the CTS-built pedal to reduce its tendency to stick. We understand how this fix will work, and have replicated it. It does reduce the degree of friction; the exact amount will depend on the height of the spacer. Our one-eighth inch spacer made a fairly dramatic difference in subjective friction, but we could not test it installed in a car to see how different it would feel on the road. Regardless of the thickness Toyota chooses for the shim, real and perceived friction will by necessity decrease to the detriment of pedal feel. The original designed degree of friction was obviously chosen to maximize the balance between the two forces at play; any change can only deviate from that, and away from that original ideal balance. We believe the odds are high that drivers will feel the difference, and that some or many may not like it. Furthermore, the CTS-built unit is prone to continual wear and change in friction level over the long haul. I do not claim to be an expert, but having two small plastic surfaces rubbing against plastic does not strike me as an elegant, reliable or durable design, and one that is presumably subject to long term deterioration from natural and unnatural causes. There are a lot of twenty and thirty year-old Toyotas on the road. But it’s difficult to imagining this assembly still functioning as intended that far down the road, nevertheless even five or ten years from now. Toyota’s well-documented de-contenting is graphically on display here. Yet Toyota is apparently staying with this design, with some further modification, for ongoing new car production. Whereas the Denso unit (above) is not exactly inspiring in solidity of its all-plastic design and build, it seems to lack the most serious flaw of the CTS unit. The smooth metal coils rubbing against the plastic housing seems less prone to deterioration and change in friction level. There are no known issues or problems associated with it. We are calling on Toyota to replace all CTS-friction arm type gas pedal assemblies with either the Denso unit, or another proven design that lives up to Toyota’s legendary quality and the longevity expectations of its loyal owners. “Propping up” an intrinsically inferior and historically-proven inferior design with a piece of metal stamping is not going to restore Toyota’s tarnished reputation. The two units are interchangeable; Toyota should do the right thing and switch production over, and insist on replacing all the CTS-type units even after they have had their temporary fix. A Band-Aid will stop the hemorrhaging for the moment, but nothing less than a transplant will do for the long haul. Link to article Some of their other articles relating to the pedals. Exclusive: TTAC Takes Apart Both Toyota Gas Pedals Toyota Gas Pedal Fix Simulated: Friction Reduced, But By Too Much?

2 and 3

Toyota hit by over 100 Prius brake complaints TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. has been hit by over 100 complaints in the U.S. and Japan about brake problems with the popular Prius hybrid, the latest in a spate of quality troubles for the automaker as it grapples with massive global recalls. The Japanese company's sales are being battered in the U.S. — Toyota's biggest market — after recalls of top-selling models to fix a gas pedal that can stick in the depressed position. The new Prius gas-electric hybrid, which went on sale in Japan and the U.S. in May 2009, is not part of the recalls that extend to Europe and China, covering nearly 4.5 million vehicles. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes of the Prius new model. Two involved crashes resulting in injuries. Japan's transport ministry said Wednesday it has also received 14 complaints since July last year about brake problems with Toyota's new Prius hybrid. The 14 complaints included an accident in July 2009, in which a Prius crashed head on into another car at an intersection. Transport ministry official Masaya Ota said two people were slightly injured in the accident. "The Prius driver in the accident told police that a brake did not work," Ota said. "Other Prius drivers also complained brakes were not so sharp." The complaints in Japan involve the new Prius model, and the vehicles were all made in Japan, he said. The ministry ordered Toyota Motor Corp., the world's No. 1 automaker, to investigate the complaints. The other 13 cases happened from December to January 2010. Ota said the ministry has yet to receive a formal report on the complaints from Toyota. Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said the company has received reports about the Prius complaints in North America and in Japan and was now looking into the matter. Toyota shares dropped 3.7 percent to 3,470 yen in the morning session Wednesday. "Investors were worried the latest trouble involving the Prius could get bigger. The problem could pose a bigger question on Toyota's quality and safety," said Kazuhiro Takahashi, market analyst at Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. Ltd. The Japanese automaker is facing growing criticism that it has not done enough to ensure the safety of its vehicles. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told The Associated Press Tuesday that federal officials had to alert Toyota to the seriousness of the safety issues that eventually led to the recalls. "They should have taken it seriously from the very beginning when we first started discussing it with them," he said. "Maybe they were a little safety deaf." LaHood also said the U.S. government was considering civil penalties for Toyota for having dragged its feet on safety concerns. Toyota executive vice president Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged Tuesday in a Nagoya, Japan, news conference that it took prodding from NHTSA officials for the company to decide on the U.S. recall. Toyota has long prided itself on sterling vehicle quality and assembly line methods that empowered workers to ensure faultless production. The latest recall, announced Jan. 21, over sticky gas pedals affects 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. alone. Any serious problems emerging in the Prius, Toyota's flagship green car model, is certain to further tarnish its brand. The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling gas-electric hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.6 million units sold so far, according to Toyota. Hybrids, by going back and forth between a gasoline engine and electric motor, tend to offer better mileage in slow-speed and stop-and-go driving that's common in crowded cities. ___ AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100203/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_toyota_prius

Got a text from 68 today, thought I'd share. He says hi by the way.

Interesting, would have liked to see an ATS competition, but cool.

Creepy, sounds like the plot for a CSI or NCIS. Good thing I don't ever get drunk.

It's probably just her own senile fault, but it is a fun coincidence.

I'm surprised that no one has made the possible connection that the car is a Toyota MR2.

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- A 79-year old driver plowed into a store in Fitchburg on Monday afternoon. The elderly woman not only accelerated into the building, but she drove over two curbs before crashing right through the storefront window. Firefighters pulled the woman out of her car and away from a sheet of broken glass that was hanging just inches from her head. Fortunately, she was able to walk away. “My first reaction...how did she do that,” said Simone Shoruy, who filmed the accident scene. Shoruy immediately rushed to the scene. “It looked like she was parking. She opened her door and before she even got out or anything, the door shut and she just accelerated into the building,” said Shoruy. Shoruy ran to the woman’s side, told her to stay put, and asked her what happened. “She doesn’t remember. She just remembers hearing a loud noise and then being in the store,” said Shoruy. In the process, the woman’s car grazed a female employee who was sitting inside. “This could have been a lot worse for the people that work there and for herself. I mean, this could have been a traumatic event,” said Shoruy. The 79-year old driver declined medical attention. She has been cited with failure to use caution. (Copyright © 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO134603/

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told a crowd today of an unintentional acceleration problem with his 2010 Toyota Prius, which isn't under a recall. "This is software. It's not a bad accelerator pedal," he told the crowd. "It's very scary." When speaking to the Discovery Forum 2010 he spoke about the software issue with his new Prius: He's not the first one to bring up a potential software issue related to the acceleration problems, but his word carries extra weight because of his experience with software and computers. It's important to note cars like the Toyota Camry have a drive-by-wire throttle system and the gas pedal isn't actually connected mechanically to the engine but relies on software to read inputs and control acceleration. According to the Los Angeles Times, "two former NHTSA administrators, Ricardo Martinez and Joan Claybrook, have said they believe that some kind of electronic glitch may be causing the Toyota problems. Similar conclusions are being drawn by independent automotive safety experts, forensic mechanics and automotive electronics researchers, as well as many consumers." If this turns out to be the case it could widen the scope of NHTSA's investigation. Toyota did say it would upgrade it's software to allow for a brake override system, but this doesn't seem to be related to Wozniak's issue. We'd certainly like to take a spin with the Woz and see him duplicate this. http://jalopnik.com/5461945/

I don't think it's an if at all, many people think that the sudden acceleration claims are an electronic issues, especially since many of the claims involves cars not covered by the pedal warranty and I believe the floor mat warranty. (like the pre-2005 complaints).

Editor’s Note: Due to the severity of the Toyota crisis and the overwhelming and pervasive coverage of it, Peter has written his new column early this week. See last week’s column by clicking on “Next Entry” at the bottom of the page. - WG The Toyota implosion…what it really means. By Peter M. De Lorenzo (Posted 1/30/10, 6:30PM) Detroit. A corporate image for a company directly involved with consumers is a very fragile thing. A savvy company can carefully cultivate and nurture an image over a period of years. It can forge an identity by exploiting its nuances and crafting its effectiveness, and it can even create an aura for itself that may or may not be completely true, but if done expertly enough can convince legions of consumer/believers that you are who you say you are. Over the past 35-plus years Toyota has burnished one overriding message into consumers’ minds in this country, and that message revolves around the idea that Toyota-built cars and trucks are the highest quality vehicles on the road, and that if consumers adhere to by-the-book maintenance schedules they just do not break. Ever. And Toyota has enjoyed considerable success in this market by riding that reputation for all it was worth, as more and more consumers bought into the idea that - though bland transportation conveyances for the most part - Toyotas just wouldn’t let you down. Until the events of last week, that is. Actually, last week was the culmination of a series of negative events having to do with quality – or the lack of same – that has vexed Toyota for years now. There was the oiling-sludge problem in a brace of their engines. And there was the severe rust problem in Toyota pickup trucks, to the point that the spare tire carriers would simply fall out and on to the road it was so pronounced, just to name a few of the most noteworthy examples. But Toyota skated through these “hiccups” as they quickly and for the most part quietly addressed consumers’ problems and moved on, escaping the harsh light of a frenzied media too busy holding the domestic manufacturers accountable for myriad transgressions, both real and imagined. For years and years if there was ever a Toyota recall the news of it would quickly come and go, while in comparison, if there was ever a recall from a domestic manufacturer it was the top story on Internet news sites and leading the evening television news for days. As I wrote about it in The United States of Toyota, there was a blatant bias at work in the media that fueled the notion that Toyota=Good and Detroit=Bad – not that Detroit didn’t contribute to its atrocious quality reputation, because it emphatically did – and Toyota’s heretofore impenetrable and unimpeachable reputation for quality could never be sullied by a few rusted pickups here and there. After all, its cars and trucks – and its reputation – were bullet proof. That attitude came across in spades when the executives of the Detroit Three ended up in Washington, D.C., begging for financial help at the end of ’08 too. In those disastrous hearings it became crystal clear by the intensity of the bile spewed against the Detroit executives that the “notion” of Toyota=Good, Detroit=Bad wasn’t a notion at all, but a fact that had not only burrowed into the American consumer consciousness, but into the gaping maw of the Washington political establishment as well. Until the events of last week, that is. Last week the automotive world as we know it became unequivocally and irrevocably altered when Toyota was forced to admit that not only did they have a severe problem with sticking accelerator pedals – or sudden unintentional acceleration incidents in their vehicles – but that they didn’t really have a grasp of the scope of the issue or just how they were going to fix it, either. Toyota plants were idled and dealers were ordered to stop selling the vehicles in question immediately as the severity of the problem blew up into the American consumer consciousness. Rental car companies removed Toyotas from their fleets. Automotive auction houses ordered an immediate cessation of all activities involving the affected Toyota models. And the media of all stripes went absolutely crazy. After all, this just wasn’t another auto company recall - no, it was the end of everything great and wonderfully righteous about a brand that had basically enjoyed a free pass with consumers and the media for years. Don’t forget that as part of Toyota’s orchestrated image offensive its U.S. marketing and Public Relations arms had purposely gone after something that no import automaker had ever attempted to do – or even thought about doing for that matter – and that was to capture the hearts and minds of the American consumer public and convince them that Toyota was indeed an American company, by any measure. Toyota absolutely believed that they could become part of the American fabric, and they were hell-bent on doing so. Toyota sponsored everything from local ball teams to NCAA football, PGA Golf, Major League Baseball and NFL telecasts. As a matter of fact wherever there was a quintessentially American sporting event going on you could bet that Toyota was present and accounted for. But Toyota’s calculated largesse didn’t stop there. The company also promoted high-visibility educational scholarships and charitable initiatives, while its exceedingly slick lobbying efforts laid waste to any sense of objectivity left in the halls of Congress, and particularly in the states in which they built plants. And its jolly green, Prius-driven, holier-than-thou persona as the Greenest Entity on Earth was just the icing on its proverbially self-righteous cake, as legions of consumers and legislators bought into the fact that that not only was Toyota an American company, it was, in fact, America’s Car Company in every possible way. (Except, of course, when it pertained to where Toyota’s profits went at the end of the day. Ah, those niggling little details.) But now, with last week’s massive recall and the burgeoning fallout from it, Toyota has become something it had so desperately wanted to avoid over the last 35 years: just another car company. Don’t believe it? Up until last week Toyota had managed to stay above the fray by operating as if it was in another solar system, one not subject to the vagaries of the business or such sordid, untidy, image-killing episodes as the kinds of recalls that other auto manufacturers had to deal with. Toyota believed – and had managed to convince a great number of others too – that it was immune from such nonsense. That it really was above all the rest. But last week changed all of that. In this media-intensive frenzy that we all live in today - fueled by the Internet and exponentially multiplied by the new social media outlets – Toyota’s one-word alter ego – “quality” – was eradicated. I was going to say it became something else, but what has really happened is that there’s now a void, as if the one-word descriptor that used to define Toyota has blown away with the prevailing media-driven firestorm. This Toyota debacle isn’t just another car company recall, because the “Toyota Way” that used to perfectly encapsulate the mindset behind Toyota’s success has now become “Toyota Has Lost Its Way.” And other than the usual assortment of company apologies and platitudes, the company doesn’t have the first clue as to how it will get its mojo back. A few years ago, when Toyota management embarked on its now disastrous (and now quaintly ludicrous) quest to become the world’s largest automaker, finally dethroning GM from the top spot, little did anyone know that - consumed by its mission - it would walk away from everything it had stood for up until that point in time. The slow but ploddingly sure Toyota method of incremental sales increases year-over-year followed by a correspondingly gradual increase in capacity - while accounting for its usual high quality standards - gave way to a frenzy of plant building and a complete abdication of what it once stood for when it came to quality. The Toyota implosion marks a definitive shift in the American automotive landscape. After dominating the hearts and minds of the American consumer public for the better part of three decades, we are now witnessing the end of Toyota’s reign over this market. With Toyota unable to avoid the kind of national and now international scrutiny - and notoriety - that has humbled lesser companies, we will see Toyota eventually fall back from the top tier in this market, eclipsed by a host of savvy competitors led by a dramatically rejuvenated Ford and an increasingly aggressive Hyundai. It took 35 years of intense focus for Toyota to get to the top of the industry in this market and around the world, but in just one week Toyota’s masterfully calculated image and hallowed reputation is now in tatters, decimated by a swirling maelstrom of its own hubris and unbridled greed. It has been a devastatingly painful lesson for Toyota. And it will be a worthwhile case study for the rest of this industry too - as in how even the best can get caught up in their own delusions and lose focus - for decades to come. That’s all I got for this week. http://www.autoextremist.com/

The best smell is one of a car that's a few year old always kept clean. I especially love the smell of my car after using Meg's Quik Interior Detailer.

Dark blue LaCrosse behind me today on the way to a meeting, very nice.

LOL wow pretty screwy politics going on there.

Welcome back!

LOL velour...

"new car" smell is the the odors coming from the plastics and various materials.

Besides the front ed it actually does look very clean. Not my cup of tea, but I'm sure it would make a good project car for someone who is into them.

Subaru won't be any better if the tires can't find anything to grip. Best thing to do would be, unless you need to go out during a storm, don't.

Fox? Balance? That's a good one.

Usually when it snows I just stay home and put off errands for another day,a nd enjoy the snowfall. Ice I won't go out for anything.