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1586 messages, Last post on Oct 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
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Replying to: larsb (Oct 21, 2009 1:01 pm)  Toyota was not even close to having even the 2nd model Prius offered here "right". There were hundreds of them stranded with the death triangle. They would stall cruising down the highway at freeway speeds. Even a few caused accidents. The first couple years the buyers were guinea pigs that bought the Prius. I would think they are a bit gun shy now with all the runaway acceleration cases coming to light.
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Replying to: gagrice (Oct 21, 2009 8:30 pm) Are you ignoring the tens of thousands of owners who had no problems? They got it right. A lot of cars have a glitch now and then causing a recall. The point is, no automaker wants the bad publicity that a failed electric car would give them. No one will put one out there until it's RIGHT. Nissan, GM, Toyota, Mitsubishi, none of them. But remember: No car in pre-release testing can be 100% fault-free. The real-world test of thousands of actual owners cannot be replicated in pre-release testing. A glitch here and there is inevitable.
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Replying to: larsb (Oct 22, 2009 6:08 am)
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Replying to: gagrice (Oct 22, 2009 6:49 am) Chief Engineer: "We know we have an issue that will STRAND DRIVERS AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. I say "release the hounds !!!" That's total and complete ridiculosity to think that anyone would willingly do that.
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Replying to: larsb (Oct 22, 2009 7:56 am) Here are the highlights of the memo on the altar worshipping the Almighty Buck: 1. With expected unit sales of 11 million Pintos, and a total cost per unit to modify the fuel tank of $11, a recall would have cost Ford $121 million. 2. But, using mathematical formulations of a probable 2,100 accidents that might result in 180 burn deaths, 180 seriously burned victims, and 2,100 burned-out vehicles, the "unit cost" per accident, assuming an out-of-court settlement, came to a probable $200,000 per death, $67,000 per serious injury, and $700 per burned-out vehicle, leaving a grand total of $49.53 million. 3. Allowing the accidents to occur represented a net savings of nearly $70 million. 4. Therefore, a human life was mathematically proven to be worth less than an $11 part. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/true-conspiracy-the-ford-pinto-memorandum.- html Chrysler did it with the Mini Van doors popping open. My guess is Toyota is doing it right now with the runaway acceleration in 3.8 million vehicles they have sold. Including all the Prius from 2004 -09. I agree that nothing is perfect. Where I get upset is when the manufacturer knows they have a problem and try to cover it up. And Toyota did just that until there were too many cases of the Prius Stalling at high speed. And they did it until this high profile case of the Lexus runaway that killed 4 people including a cop. Cop killers are usually targeted heavily by other cops.
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Replying to: gagrice (Oct 23, 2009 5:51 am) Or that preventing 180 deaths (and osme other stuff) was not worth spending $121 million, which is $672,222 per death, or 61,111 of the $11 parts. Or they decided that a judge and jury would value the average life at $200,000. Not saying that Ford was right or wrong to do this, but the statement that "a human life was mathematically proven to be worth less than an $11 part" is simply incorrect hyperbole.
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Replying to: jeffyscott (Oct 23, 2009 2:21 pm) |
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