Congressional Hearings...good lord.

[Chunkee]

It appears that an insulting roast is at hand. The communication obstacle makes it quite interesting. Another aspect that these types of things reveal is how aweful SOME of our representatives truly are.

I cannot help but wonder, if this was GM, if the same types of efforts would be occurring?

Perhaps more facts should be in place before this occurs? Better prepared? Should congress "scold" these executives?

Again, customer complaints are rampant in several companies...as well all know.. pharmaceuticals esp. However, you do not see them hemhackled in hearings publicized like this..at least I do not remember them? Poisonous food, drugs, tires, peanut butter...etc. They appear to get coverage, but not to this degree where the CEO is chastised and insulted.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

I hear that it is a circus.

However, those emails/memos showing Toyota bragging about saving $100 million by delaying/ignoring the defects are pretty condemning. "Toyota Safety Group - Wins" or something similar to that is what it was called.

 

[MotF Bane]

I hear that it is a circus.

Nothing more should be expected from Congress.

 

[woodie1]

It's not like Congress has any important work to do. Then, again, when one looks at past legislation maybe it's better they don't do any legislating.

 

[alphatarget1]

What is this "black box" thing she talked about?

 

[Budmantom]

The GM board of directors is trying to make Toyota look bad, perhaps they will make a commercial out of this.

 

[StageLeft]

I hear that it is a circus.

However, those emails/memos showing Toyota bragging about saving $100 million by delaying/ignoring the defects are pretty condemning. "Toyota Safety Group - Wins" or something similar to that is what it was called.

NPR this morning, recall tab currently at about $1B. $100M savings not found = Toyota oops

 

[alphatarget1]

The GM board of directors is trying to make Toyota look bad, perhaps they will make a commercial out of this.

Kucinich obviously doesn't understand engineering. Like, at all. Meh...

 

[Chunkee]

some pretty loaded questions...I mean seriously, what is going to say...Yes, Unions have influence, Yes, there is special treatment for US Manufacturing companies.

They do not want to be polite....

I am all about find out truth etc. but I also believe in just behaviors. I am just ashamed at the representatives of my country. hard to say what is more disgusting, a cover up, or the precedings currently investigating them.. LOBBY LOBBY, LOBBY. somebody somewhere hurt someone elses feelings or competition was seen as unfair..etc.

how do these idiots get elected...sorry, i remember now, even dumber people vote for them... Govt. Failure...? der.

 

[werepossum]

With the government running GM, Toyota is in the position of being grilled (and regulated) by their competition.

This is also the future of insurance companies . . .

 

[alphatarget1]

With the government running GM, Toyota is in the position of being grilled (and regulated) by their competition.

This is also the future of insurance companies . . .

I don't know... Honda have some recalls, but they're not getting grilled like Toyota is (mostly because Toyota screwed up big time).

 

[boomerang]

I don't know... Honda have some recalls, but they're not getting grilled like Toyota is (mostly because Toyota screwed up big time).

All manufacturers have recalls. Toyota products have made for some pretty sensational headlines lately. I don't discount the fact that the administration is extremely pro union, that many members of Congress have accepted money from the UAW and that the government is a high stakes holder of several domestic automakers right now. Oh, and it's an election year too.

It all factors in, but I don't think the investigation is unfounded.

 

[BoberFett]

The GM board of directors is trying to make Toyota look bad, perhaps they will make a commercial out of this.

GM will have to do a lot more than make Toyota look bad before they'll look good. There are still many other car companies I'd buy from before I bought a GM.

 

[Narmer]

Somebody has to do this. Look at Japan, their government hasn't done shit.

 

[cubby1223]

I thought the weirdest part when one of our representatives was explaining to the Toyota CEO how being insulted by congress is some sort of badge of honor...

What a joke...

 

[Lemon law]

Excuse me, but its time to say Toyota has some serious issues with its gas petal and braking problems.

And while the grandson of the original founder of the company tries to say he feels the pain and is more humble than the average human, cat, dog, or bear, it still feeds no bulldogs, and fixes nothing. While he busily pretends the problem is solely due to floor mats pressing down on the gas petal, when numerous victims of the problem have demonstrated that floor mats are NOT the culprit.

But I ask anyone, would you like to be riding in ANY car that suddenly accelerates to 100 MPH or better while the hapless driver is unable to prevent it? That and braking problems have occurred too many times to be denied. And these problems have been well documented since 2006 for Toyota vehicles. While Toyota and US regulators have been in complete denial. And now suddenly the jig is up in 2010 and now the shit has finally hit the fan.

But in partial sympathy to Toyota, they have been unable to replicate the soft ware/hardware problem that happens only rarely, even though its clear to everyone with a brain that they engineered a bad product that renders the overall vehicle worthless. Once the real problem is identified, then the real fix will follow, if its just software, the fix will be cheap, but if large parts of the software and hardware has to be replaced, its gonna cost Toyota a huge amount of money to fix.

All else is worthless emotion that does not address the real problems.

 

[Hacp]

Don't these congressmen have something better to do with their time? Less than 100 people died out of tens of millions and suddenly we have a crisis. This is what's wrong with America.

 

[werepossum]

Excuse me, but its time to say Toyota has some serious issues with its gas petal and braking problems.

And while the grandson of the original founder of the company tries to say he feels the pain and is more humble than the average human, cat, dog, or bear, it still feeds no bulldogs, and fixes nothing. While he busily pretends the problem is solely due to floor mats pressing down on the gas petal, when numerous victims of the problem have demonstrated that floor mats are NOT the culprit.

But I ask anyone, would you like to be riding in ANY car that suddenly accelerates to 100 MPH or better while the hapless driver is unable to prevent it? That and braking problems have occurred too many times to be denied. And these problems have been well documented since 2006 for Toyota vehicles. While Toyota and US regulators have been in complete denial. And now suddenly the jig is up in 2010 and now the shit has finally hit the fan.

But in partial sympathy to Toyota, they have been unable to replicate the soft ware/hardware problem that happens only rarely, even though its clear to everyone with a brain that they engineered a bad product that renders the overall vehicle worthless. Once the real problem is identified, then the real fix will follow, if its just software, the fix will be cheap, but if large parts of the software and hardware has to be replaced, its gonna cost Toyota a huge amount of money to fix.

All else is worthless emotion that does not address the real problems.

My uncle owned three or four Audis (ad agency) when they did the same. They thought it was bull until it happened to his son, and my uncle still pretty much thought it was bull until it happened to him. Luckily none of them (happened several times) resulted in accidents, they were all on the road with clear space ahead. I don't know about the Toyotas, but the Audi's gas peddle was decoupled from the fuel injectors and regulated for pollution and best fuel economy. Consequently when the car malfunctioned it had much more horsepower than normal (not to mention the eerie feeling of having the gas pedal drop out from under your foot) and would burn rubber, quickly accelerating to over a hundred miles per hour. You don't have much time to react, and stomping the pedal did nothing because it wasn't stuck., it was being pulled down by the actuator. But if you quickly turned off the ignition, stopped, and then restarted it would be fine. The problem there was a vacuum line that sometimes stopped up, leading the computer to believe that the engine was running at very low RPMs and having the throttle continuously and rapidly advanced to avoid stalling (or so Audi told my uncle.)

 

[cubeless]

they need to put a sticker on the windshield of all cars that says "put the fucking thing in neutral, dumbfuck..."... i taught this to all my kids and my wife... i used to have throttles stick every now and then on my built chevys... chevy has always been able to just slap the auto stick into neutral...

 

[PJABBER]

These "hearings" are loathsome displays of Congressional arrogance and pillorying.

Nominally, they are meant to explore topics of interest but they are mostly insulting posturing meant to demean and diminish.

To do so to a Japanese executive who came voluntarily to speak and offer apologies, as is their wont, is doubly offensive and uncouth.

Watching them posture is mostly a waste of time, but only in doing so will you gain true insight as to why the majority of the current crop of Representatives should lose their jobs in November.

 

[ElFenix]

Kucinich obviously doesn't understand engineering. Like, at all. Meh...

transcript for lulz?

 

[PokerGuy]

they need to put a sticker on the windshield of all cars that says "put the fucking thing in neutral, dumbfuck..."... i taught this to all my kids and my wife... i used to have throttles stick every now and then on my built chevys... chevy has always been able to just slap the auto stick into neutral...

Helllooooooo... have you not followed any of the testimony and discussions? Several people said they did put it in neutral and nothing happened -- it didn't work. Neither did trying to turn the car off, pushing down on the brakes or putting on the emergency brakes. Funny how everyone who isn't in such a situation is so quick to say "idiot drivers, they should have done xyz".

 

[cubeless]

Helllooooooo... have you not followed any of the testimony and discussions? Several people said they did put it in neutral and nothing happened -- it didn't work. Neither did trying to turn the car off, pushing down on the brakes or putting on the emergency brakes. Funny how everyone who isn't in such a situation is so quick to say "idiot drivers, they should have done xyz".

i believe my own experience, but maybe toyota's shit just sucks compared to chevy's...

and if you believe what some schmoe says after he's shit his pants because he panicked when something went wrong and now wants a big settlement then i have some nice, dry florida real estate to sell you...

 

[Patranus]

Helllooooooo... have you not followed any of the testimony and discussions? Several people said they did put it in neutral and nothing happened -- it didn't work. Neither did trying to turn the car off, pushing down on the brakes or putting on the emergency brakes. Funny how everyone who isn't in such a situation is so quick to say "idiot drivers, they should have done xyz".

I am also sure that "several people" claim they are not drunk when they are pulled over by the police but are drunk. People will say ANYTHING to get out of trouble.

I am not saying that these problems don't exist but once a possible problem is out there, people will use it as an excuse as the problem is essentially unprovable.

 

[marincounty]

I like the lady who's Lexus accelerated to 100 mph, and finally slowed down "After six miles later, God intervened". I think I see the problem here, and I don't think it was her Lexus. Most of these people shouldn't be driving anything.