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1. 

   Ken Warren said, 7 days ago

   SAD, SAD, SAD. It wouldn’t happen if we had a Republican government.

2. 

   ANandy said, 7 days ago

   It is interesting that a manufacturer is able to accept responsibility for the safety of their product and the correction of the defect without any oversight of a government agency.

3. 

   RussellNash said, 7 days ago

   ANandy, NTSB.

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTSB

   “The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. Government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine accidents, pipeline incidents and railroad accidents”

   They investigated the Toyota incidents.

4. 

   dtroutma said, 7 days ago

   Over ten years, a couple hundred “incidents” from millions of cars, and they’re coming up with a fix-

   How many people had accidents because they didn’t check their tire pressure, had blowouts, and crashed?

   Problem? yes Blown totally out of proportion? Yep.

   America, home of the panic stricken- thank George and dick.

5. 

   longtimecomicsfan said, 7 days ago

   I love it when morons call others “idiots.”

   
   

   1. Toyota is reporting tens of millions in lost sales because of the public perception of unsafe vehicles.

   
   

   2. They know that if they don’t fix the issue before the NTSB acts, their public image will never recover.

   
   

   3. In the absence of an oversight body, do you honestly believe they would have done anything other order a recall?

   
   

   And finally,

   
   
   1. The recall they are ordering is little more than NTSB appeasement theater. They are maintaining that a quarter-sized metal shim is the fix for the problem, in order to avoid having dive into the multitude of overlapping computer systems that control engine, fuel system, brakes, ignition, and every other critical system on the car and provide the illusion of a safe, controllable vehicle.
   
   

6. 

   d_legendary1 said, 7 days ago

   That’s why I call it AN_us. Talks tooo much sh*t.

7. 

   HOWGOZIT said, 7 days ago

   Ford a great year; wasn’t that long ago small Fords ahd fire scares, Explorers had rollover concerns and stuck in cruise control.

8. 

   oldlegodad said, 7 days ago

   Steve Jobs sez its SOFTWARE and he owns 2 Prius’

   edit: not jobs the “other” founder of Apple, what’s hisnamr?

9. 

   Ken Warren said, 6 days ago

   Toyota’s new slogan is: “Put some excitement in your life, drive a Toyota!”

10. 

    kreole said, 6 days ago

    Why do they keep changing the way accelerator linkage works? I drove Fords, Chevys, Plymouths from the Ford A model thru all the other cars of the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, etc…..up until now in 2010. You would think someone would know by now how the accelerator linkage is supposed to work.

11. 

    Jase99 said, 6 days ago

    Oldlegodad, you’re thinking of Steve Wazniak. Of the two, Waz was the one who did the actual work. Jobs was the one who made me despise Apple.

12. 

    kam27 said, 6 days ago

    “Wouldn’t happen if we had a Republican government”??? Are you kidding? It would happen WAY more often. Do your homework.

13. 

    M Henri Day said, 6 days ago

    Kam27, I strongly suspect that a certain dash of irony is to be found in Ken’s first post above….

    Henri

14. 

    johnduncanyoyo said, 6 days ago

    This is the result of eight years of no regulation or enforcement. The Bush Administration was so soft on white collar crime that economy collapsed.

15. 

    d_legendary1 said, 6 days ago

    <=======I gave neocon a slap on the wrist. He was punished enough.

16. 

    HOWGOZIT said, 5 days ago

    Gawd yoyo–give it a rest!!

17. 

    ray32648 said, 5 days ago

    It’s WOZNIAC, aka Woz. There is no “accelerator linkage” any more. The pedal moves a position sensor input to the ECM. Toyota’s primary problem at this point is they have never implemented a “brake override” function as all the other “drive by wire” auto makers have. This function will be part of the software loaded into the ECM when it is “re-flashed” as part of the fix.

18. 

    longtimecomicsfan said, 5 days ago

    And just what wheels are falling off?

    INAnity claims Toyota is doing this without Govt intervention, (i.e., laissez-faire capitalism is the only answer), and you claim the wheels are falling off.

    So which is it? Does Toyota need to be free from all govt intervention and regulation, or is it the government’s fault that Toyota has profited as a corporation by selling unsafe vehicles for use on public highways?

    Keep in mind, both the NTSB and Japan’s Ministry of Transportation are investigating why Prius brakes don’t always work, and several NGO’s (Non-Government Organizations) are looking at uncommanded acceleration in Toyota sedans and pickup trucks.

    What do these have in common? Brakes and throttles are no longer controlled by wires and pulleys. Both receive electronic input and are activated by computer-controlled systems.

    Want to know what’s even funnier? This is all based on modern fly-by-wire aircraft systems, which are likely subject to the same foibles, including potential interference from radio-transmitting cell phones, Kindles, pagers, laptop PCs, and other electronic devices. (I’m always amazed by the people who display absolute faith in the safety of computer-controlled systems - the way they clamor to send text messages while the plane is landing, you’d think they never had a computer freeze up with a “blue screen of death”)

19. 

    dtroutma said, 5 days ago

    “long”- fly by wire installations in autos scare the bejusus out of me, as do the absurd lengths of “computer controls” over driver functions, not just fuel control and anti-lock braking. They’re now putting software in to lock up the brakes if the CAR determines you’re too close to an object- no probability of errors there.

    Too bad not a single state now requires a person to actually prove they know how to actually DRIVE before getting a license.

20. 

    NorthCarolinian said, 5 days ago

    dtroutma, where do you live? Here in NC, there is a mandatory driver’s test. And why is everyone bashing Nandy’s post? For once, he’s not being idiotic and making himself look bad, offering a (fairly liberal, I believe) opinion – and you smash him for it?
    I’m starting to think it may not be so much his opinions (which are messed up don’t get me wrong) that you don’t like… it may just be him. If he so much as opens his mouth, it’s automatically trash, even if he agrees with you (once every ten years).

21. 

    d_legendary1 said, 4 days ago

    <======You mean all the problems that I started in my time as president rebel1? By the way thanks for your vote.

22. 

    longtimecomicsfan said, 4 days ago

    Rebel you crack me up!

    Unemployment - a direct function of the devastating recession that started in 2007, finally showed signs of slowing down and decreased a little in January (9.7%)

    Recession - worst recession since the Great Depression, started in 2007, finally showing signs of easing

    Fuel prices - are hovering below $3/gallon, right where they’ve been since around 2007

    Energy prices - crude oil is around 2007 prices, way down from 2008

    Inflation - has been less than 3% for 2009, with negative inflation in markets like housing and autos

    As far as the stimulus, when Lehman Bros was allowed to collapse in 2008, the entire network of banking institutions was threatened with insolvency - on a global basis. That situation has largely stabilized today, as a direct result of the TARP program.

    Obviously, your flag represents an alternate reality - what color is the sky in your universe?

23. 

    Corosive Frog said, 4 days ago

    As I woukld say top my friend and Xbox enthusiast; Japanese stuff is not above reproach anymore…but Nintendo is still better than xBox!!!

    That’s all I care about, I don’t drive.

24. 

    fennec said, 3 days ago

    ^good move, CF. I wouldn’t if I didn’t have to…drive, that is.

25. 

    olfart said, 3 days ago

    dtroutma;
    you hit the nail on the head. The U.S. should place more emphasis on mass transit and take incompetent drivers off the road.

26. 

    Corosive Frog said, 2 days ago

    BTW, next Sooky up tomorrow (Monday).