"Elizabeth was driving to Denver in 2006 on Interstate 70, which winds through the Rockies, when her Prius accelerated. ... She slammed on the brakes, she said, but the car did not slow. Dodging vehicles on the increasingly congested freeway, she barreled down an offramp and blew through a small town, then veered off the road to avoid pedestrians, tearing through a forest before crashing into a creek." "'I assumed . . . they'd want to take the car, study it and protect other people,' James said. ... But Toyota, after inspecting the car, wrote that it did not see major problems other than brakes that were completely worn away." The Los Angeles Times is chipping away at the acceleration issue on the Prius. With Wozniak's claim and his software diagnosis, they will continue until Toyota provides a meaningful response. Toyota needs to hire a crack crisis PR Team immediately and listen to what they say -- not only in communications but in changing the company approach.
The other point not mentioned is that she was talking on her cell phone and didn't see how fast she was going Nor that she had left the road....that is until her feet got wet. You do realize that this 'Prius in a creek' is one of the oldies. But since you seem to work for the LA Times you're just getting around to it now. Ahemmmm..... R E P O S T
Old news. This is some of the slowest herd journalism I've seen. As DeadPhish noted, this is the 'Prius in a creek' discussed earlier -- an ABC News item in November. What most shocked me in that report was the Consumer Report's video stating that most drivers today have never shifted to Neutral. This has become one of the critical elements I now look for in every runaway car allegation. Did it work, did it fail, or does the driver have any clue about it?
Thanks for that added detail -- that's one of the troubling aspects of this story: no corroboration from anyone since it is basically the driver's word against the inspectors. Do you have a source for the cell phone angle? This story concerned me (despite knowing the L.A. Times' sworn vendetta against Toyota and noting the distinct lack of investigation in this particular piece), and I've searched a bit on the web, but can only find other similar stories that really only push the dramatic elements of the story (there also seems to be a wide variance in some of the reported details). If you could point me toward some less melodramatic accounts, it would be appreciated.
Except it's old news here, but it's splashed on the LA Times home page. I bet its a headliner on the front page of the print edition, too. If you think it's an isolated incident try reading the article from Seattle news, entitled "The Flip Side of the Perfect Prius". There are many reports there. If the LA Times cracks this issue open, Toyota is in for a world of hurt.
This IS an old story. Of course that doesn't mean it's not valid. But I suspect if dug back up, it's just the recent and usual attempt at another fear inducing anti-Toyota headline. Out of curiousity, one of these two perceptions has to be incorrect. You cannot slam on the brakes, dodge vehicles on a highway, barrel down an offramp, blow through a small town, vear of the road to miss pedesterians, tear through a forrest, before crashing into a creek, without "noticing" it and being on your cellphone. Even though when reading the description it sounded almost cartoonish. What other thing could of happened? I was waiting for "The Car was levitated by a U.F.O." or "It glanced off a bus full of orphans" to be thrown in. There's enough immediate reality to deal with in regards to Toyota. Digging up "questionable" descriptions of isolated incident from years ago seems like simple fear mongering.
I'd forgotten about that one. There is no 'Seattle News'. That is on the Seattle Weekly site, but really is just a copy of a hit piece from Paul Knight at the Houston Press, discussed here on PC. Without re-reading the thread, I seem to remember the author failed to disclose a significant conflict of interest. So even ABC was engaging in 'herd journalism', 7 months late.
