Toyota vs. the world (maybe)
So there's these big news since the New Year about problems with Toyota gas pedal (a continuation of last year's story) and now braking system in Prius. These problems have prompted a recall of a gazillion Toyota cars - okay that's an exaggeration, maybe not a gazillion ... more like millions). So what prompted the recalls?
The first one was the gas pedal being stuck on the floor mat - so essentially even if you let go of the gas pedal, it'll still stuck at the current position and the car will continue to accelerate. My reaction 'huh'? OK I don't know if it's worth a recall. Maybe Toyota could have sent letters to all owners saying that you should replace the mats and send them the mats replacement (and don't you dare charge me!!!)
The second one was due to sticking gas pedal. WHAT? This is totally worth a recall because there's not an easy fix to it but I don't think that it warrants such a big and instantaneous panic, such as if now you're driving a Toyota and you're at the gym and you never experience any problems with your gas pedal you don't have to call Enterprise to pick you up so that you can drive home in a rental car. In the first place there's the brake, and there's the Neutral gear. There's a reason why Neutral gear was invented, so that if something like this happens you can shift back to Neutral and hit the brake and the car will eventually stop. Now the key word is 'eventually' and with the fact that numerous people seem to like to tailgate then 'eventually' is not quick enough because by then they would've rammed into the car in front. Granted it's ridiculous that a car with such a good brand name will experience this problem of sticking gas pedal.
At this point I bet every single Toyota owners (and non-Toyota owners who got to drive a Toyota from the car rental) will try to find faults at almost anything. You don't believe me? How about the new problem with the brake pedal? Drivers feel that the brakes fail when they are on a bumpy road, when they drive over a pothole, or on slick road. Hemm ... lets see, I drove a Honda and I occasionally had the same problem. I now drive a BMW, I sometimes have the same problem too, especially on slick road. Isn't this kinda normal? With the ABS braking system your car wouldn't just stop if you press on the brake, especially if your tires don't find traction. I feel like this problem has been blown out of proportions ... in an effort that oh maybe this problem might help save GM and Ford.
I may not be the most objective person to say anything about American cars since I'm a foreigner who didn't grow up riding in or driving an American car ... so I won't say it. But there's a reason why some people prefer non-American cars ... styling, performance, durability, mileage, etc etc etc. So if Toyota owners are scared by the recall and want to switch to another car brand, maybe they should. Lets see how long after you ride the new brand car before you start making comparisons ... between your new brand car to your old Toyota. And lets see how long before you have to replace the new brand car with your old Toyota. Because like what a car dealer told me before, once you drive a Toyota and liking it, it's pretty hard to switch to other cars in the same class.
Of course we can always rely on one trait that never fails us. Most human beings have short-term memory ... A lot can happen in the days ahead and provided that those new stories are blown out of proportion this Toyota recall will be history ... maybe ...
The first one was the gas pedal being stuck on the floor mat - so essentially even if you let go of the gas pedal, it'll still stuck at the current position and the car will continue to accelerate. My reaction 'huh'? OK I don't know if it's worth a recall. Maybe Toyota could have sent letters to all owners saying that you should replace the mats and send them the mats replacement (and don't you dare charge me!!!)
The second one was due to sticking gas pedal. WHAT? This is totally worth a recall because there's not an easy fix to it but I don't think that it warrants such a big and instantaneous panic, such as if now you're driving a Toyota and you're at the gym and you never experience any problems with your gas pedal you don't have to call Enterprise to pick you up so that you can drive home in a rental car. In the first place there's the brake, and there's the Neutral gear. There's a reason why Neutral gear was invented, so that if something like this happens you can shift back to Neutral and hit the brake and the car will eventually stop. Now the key word is 'eventually' and with the fact that numerous people seem to like to tailgate then 'eventually' is not quick enough because by then they would've rammed into the car in front. Granted it's ridiculous that a car with such a good brand name will experience this problem of sticking gas pedal.
At this point I bet every single Toyota owners (and non-Toyota owners who got to drive a Toyota from the car rental) will try to find faults at almost anything. You don't believe me? How about the new problem with the brake pedal? Drivers feel that the brakes fail when they are on a bumpy road, when they drive over a pothole, or on slick road. Hemm ... lets see, I drove a Honda and I occasionally had the same problem. I now drive a BMW, I sometimes have the same problem too, especially on slick road. Isn't this kinda normal? With the ABS braking system your car wouldn't just stop if you press on the brake, especially if your tires don't find traction. I feel like this problem has been blown out of proportions ... in an effort that oh maybe this problem might help save GM and Ford.
I may not be the most objective person to say anything about American cars since I'm a foreigner who didn't grow up riding in or driving an American car ... so I won't say it. But there's a reason why some people prefer non-American cars ... styling, performance, durability, mileage, etc etc etc. So if Toyota owners are scared by the recall and want to switch to another car brand, maybe they should. Lets see how long after you ride the new brand car before you start making comparisons ... between your new brand car to your old Toyota. And lets see how long before you have to replace the new brand car with your old Toyota. Because like what a car dealer told me before, once you drive a Toyota and liking it, it's pretty hard to switch to other cars in the same class.
Of course we can always rely on one trait that never fails us. Most human beings have short-term memory ... A lot can happen in the days ahead and provided that those new stories are blown out of proportion this Toyota recall will be history ... maybe ...