Ray LaHood Is An Idiot
Jason Lancaster | Feb 03, 2010 | Comments 39
This morning, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood told a member of congress that owners of Toyotas under recall should “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.
Filed Under: Auto News
What about that idiot Steve Wozniak as if he did not look dumb enough on dancing with the stars … he says his Prius will accelerate to 100 MPH with the cruise control on, because of this he claims the sudden acceleration problem is in the software. Hey Steve your fifteen minutes is done you looked like an ass dancing now you just look stupid. A Prius accelerating to 100 MPH really? Really? Thank you Jason for keeping us all updated on this very important subject.
Did anyone else hear LaHood on NPR on February 2nd? The man could barely keep up his end of the conversation. A caller challenged his proposal to ban texting-while-driving (which I support) by saying “why not ban talking to your passengers, as this could be just as distracting?” LaHood completely missed the analogy and said “no, we’re not banning talking to passengers. We’re banning texting.”. Ugh.
The title of this article is exactly what I said when I read the comments on earlier news feeds. Honestly, I’d like to know what people are supposed to drive to/fro instead of their usual vehicle. Most people don’t have funds to just run out and get a rental. And the pedal issue is serious yet it’s not to the extent that vehicles should be considered so unsafe not to be driven. Yes, Toyota has a problem they need to rectify, and quickly. No, people don’t need to get paranoid but should be informed with reasonable information.
Oh look now! Just saw an update that LaHood said it was obvious he “misspoke.”
Now Big Brother has spoken…. Take it to a Toyota dealership. As others have said, no parts to replace them with yet. What does LaHood think they are going to do? I will not stop driving my Tundra. I have had it over two years now, and it has never given me a minutes trouble.
Go ahead LaHood, keep spreading hysteria and paranoia. That is the way the government likes it…. chaotic.
“U.S. Secretary of…” Enough Said. Lol
Sheesh guys/gals. He’s making these recommendations with the public safety in mind. You may not feel it’s a big issue, which doesn’t come as a surprise. But to me and many Toyota owners out there, which I’m not one, this is a big concern. So you haven’t experienced the problem great! But the next time you get behind the wheel you could. Hell, I don’t own a Toyota and could be injured by one of these Toyota’s running out of control. So then maybe I could get sue happy and take both the other driver and Toyota to court? So call LaHood an idiot, dumb or a moron. But the guy is trying to protect the safety of everyone.
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What to do? Maybe the owner could get a rental car and bill Toyota for it? Maybe the dealerships can offer loaners which aren’t in the recall? Maybe people could take public transportation? Car-pool? Many ideas, but everyone would rather risk theirs and others safety than go those routes I guess.
Well Justin is absolutely correct, but stay on your side of the fence. Just don’t hold your breath for your turn at the court house to sue. Just in as intelligent as the US Sec of Trans.
Frankly, I’m really getting fed up with all the media hype and propaganda about this. OK, it’s a safety problem, it needs to be fixed, but geez…get a grip; it’s not the end of the world…only a very small number of vehicles have experienced this problem. I guess this was inevitable, seeing as how the NHTSA and GM are now “subsidiaries” of the same “company”. And when this is fixed they will find something else to try to undermine, discredit, and villify Toyota. I’m afraid this is only the beginning.
BobG: Fed up with the media hype and propaganda? What do you expect being the worlds #1 manufacturer? Maybe now Toyota owners and the company itself is understanding the media backlash that the domestics and domestic owners have gotten for their recalls over the years. Those too were/are safety problems needing fixed and got/get just as much hype. The only reason you see it more is because Toyota products are supposedly superior to the domestics. But when you take into account the recalls issued by Toyota since the mid-90s, they truly aren’t superior in this aspect. Look at the engine sludge, Tundra tie-rods, Tundra and Tacoma rust, Tundra passenger airbags, Sienna door recalls, and so on to name a few. So to people who actually watch the auto market and recalls, Toyota is simply on a even playing field with the domestics now. Most people either don’t follow the market and live by hearsay or rely on what a friend told a friend who told a friend. They’ve been undeservingly propped up for way too long (roughly the last 15yrs). It’s all just coming to a head now.
Just announced, the govt. and toyota is investigating a flaw in the brakes of the newly redesigned prius cars. Oh no, what next? I know for a fact the past few years toyota quality overall has been NOT up to what it should be, and now everyone knows it as well.
So let me get this straight you were watching “Dancing with the Stars” and a guy named Steve was talking about a Prius. Is that ironic or what?
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So good propaganda and media is ok and bad is not. Can’t have the cake and eat it too! What is this going to do for insurance rates is the better question, has anyone thought of that? Now all those vehicles have a know issue that may cause accidents. Some at the insurance agencies are looking at this as a risk.
Austin: I’m not a sue happy type. But imagine the lawsuit storm that could potentially come about if one of these vehicles were to cause an accident, whether the pedal was found to be the problem or not. I’m justsaying LaHood is taking the approach of trying to get as many of these vehicles off the road to decrease the chances of accidents as well as lawsuits against Toyota and possibly the NHTSA.
Any one see where LaHood is from also doesn’t ford have a problem with air bags going off in your face? Not to take anything away from this toyota deal but I would say not all is equal when dealing with the different manufactures
Justin that’s twice now. First time Jason and yourself stated you were joking about it. Now to write it again isn’t a joke like I stated before. Did anyone here ever mention anything of that around any other manufacturer? You know as well as I that Lahood had his own agenda. Second you know also this voluntary recall doesn’t warrant taking all Toyota vehicles off the road. If you feel that way then Justin you do have another option. Don’t drive if that’s such a deal to be around Toyota’s. With that statement there Justin, I’m sure the Toyota legal team will have the US Govenment on their toes trying to get out what he said. The other angle can be played here too that the US Government basically owns GM and Dodge so make a statement like that to get the competition out of the picture. The guy overstep his boundaries and you mention safety? How many other recalls out there deal with safety period? Dang near every one. Don’t pass that crap here about safety.
I have a 2008 Tundra 5.7L std cab long bed. I traded in a 2003 Tundra for my new 2008. I’m no mechanic so my knowledge is limited, no pun attended, but I think my trucks are superior and will continue to own a Tundra for a long time. I’ve owned a Tundra for about 7 years and all I’ve ever had done to them is service. Never have I had a mechanical issue.
I did have a TRD exhaust and cold air intake installed on the 2008. Wow, I am so happy with the Ultimate power. My buddy bought a Ford 150 right after I got the Tundra. Well he test drove my Tundra and after that drive he said he was cheated. He was angry with the crap he bought.
I will be adding a level kit and some 20″ wheels and tires soon.
Way to go, Tom. Glad you’re enjoying the switch from 1st gen to 2nd. Overall, I still see this whole pedal issue as totally being blown out of proportion. Yes, Exploders had Firestone tires (I believe) that blew up on them….yes it got major hype. But tires exploding are way more dramatic than pedals which may or may not stick and the driver can actually do something to control the outcome. I still think LaHood is foolish and he does himself or he wouldn’t have retracted his statement saying he misspoke.
Ray Lahood (a great name for a Illinois politician, don’t you think), is an idiot. His boss (Obama) needed a boost for Government Motors and Chrysler. Both of these companies are run by morons. These stupid comments are perfect fare for Raybob. You can’t unsay something, even he knows that. The Toyota problem is not widespread and the company has it under control. Spreading fear (actually selling fear) is a great disservice to America. The parts that are the problem do not come from the orient but are mad in America. The Toyota models are for the most part made in America as well. GM and Chrysler now have a new sales pitch. People aren’t buying that junk and Toyota will do just fine.
Where was all this media frenzy last year when GM recalled 1.5 million vehicles and Ford recalled 4.5 million? Both recalls involved problems that could cause a fire which could occur without any warning.
At least the pedal issue, the way I understand it, is not a sudden sticking, but an increase in friction over time to the point it may not return correctly. In other words, if your pedal is working perfectly fine today, it most likely will tomorrow, and the next day, etc.
As I said in my previous post, I believe this is a deliberate and concerted effort by our government, and their willing accomplices in the media, to undermine Toyota and boost sales of the “big three”.
At least that is my humble opinion.
bobg, could possibly be right on that one since the govt. is backing gm and chrysler, not ford. Also, the media for years has hyped up toyota reliability over the big 3. So, now that toyota has a massive recall with this pedal issue, the media has to have something to stir the pot and make their ratings soar. This will hurt toyota sales for the next 1 year or so, but like everything else, people will forget about it and toyota should once again remain #1 overall in reliability. It will take time, but I would not trade my tundra in for anything right now with the big 3 trucks in comparison. Depends if GM gets with the times and offers a decent engine and tranny and improve the interior trim pieces with quality ones. Wait and see but for now, the tundra rules 1/2 ton trucks.
I agree with all the comments above except Justin and Anonymous.
Justin – Anyone who tells consumers to stop driving their Toyotas and return them to the dealership – without any sort of qualification – is a moron. LaHood didn’t think before he spoke, and he admitted as much a little later in the day. FYI – Toyota is providing rentals and loaners to customers who have vehicles that the pedals are sticking in. However, as others have said above, the sticking pedal is only an issue on a VERY small number of cars, so the media machine isn’t publicizing the fact that some people are driving loaner cars until their accelerators are fixed.
Anonymous – You make a fair point that “we” can’t like all the free propaganda and not take the negative BS in stride. However, when a U.S. government official makes an admittedly wrong statement that undermines consumer confidence, he deserves to be called an idiot, don’t you think?
Loren: Yes, currently Ford is investigating 04-07 model F150s for their airbags spontaneously deploying. If I remember correctly, there have been roughly 30 some incidents, but all while the vehicle was parked and these deployed upon turning their vehicle on. It is a major issue no doubt. The difference between these is the Toyota cross multiple models, while the vehicle is in motion, creating a much greater possibility of an accident. And Toyota is being treated the same with as all other makes/models. As I bring the Ford CC and Explorer/Firestone recalls up again. Remember how much hype and propaganda was made about those issues? Those impacted a much great population of vehicles, with less incidents reported and roughly the same number of injuries/deaths.
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Mickey: Never said to take ALL Toyotas off the road, and neither did LaHood. Now he did correct himself, but he has a responsibility in his position to look out for the greater good and safety of the public. But he is not to cause any hysteria in the public either, which it seems that he has. Yes other recalls deal with safety. But look at the # of vehicles being recalled, the # of incidents reported and the number of deaths in such a short time frame. Also, you have to figure that the government practically had to force Toyotas hand to issue this recall to begin with. It was only voluntary after the NHTSA told them they were liable. So you must factor in all the scenarios to come out with his conclusion.
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I am just as concerned for my family
Jason: Without qualification? It has been determined that these vehicles have an accelerator problem, right? Toyota has admitted as much, right? The NHTSA has admitted as much, right? Owners have experienced and some died because of this issue, right? Sure, it hasn’t impacted every vehicle that has been recalled, I understand this. But how much more qualification do you need?
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I know he sort of retracted what he stated and apologized for the confusion. But maybe he wasn’t playing the PR game (retraction) at the time and was speaking his opinion from the heart when he first spoke. Who knows. We just have way to much of being politically correct so we don’t offend people today. Being honest in todays society seems to be a negative.
MGB: Keep the excuses coming. It’s all about the government wanting to tear Toyota down and to prop up GM/Chrysler. So I bet the recalls of Ford, GM and Chrysler in the past, and all the media frenzy and mass hysteria, was because the government wanted to prop up Toyota and other imports, right? Why can’t people simply admit, there is a problem, the NHTSA (a government dept involved in all recalls) got involved. Toyota is getting as much media coverage as the domestics have received in the past. But because Toyota has never experienced such a huge issue, now it
So really Justin. How about this. You know that the media is all over the Prius Hybrid brake issue now. Now they want a recall. How come Ford isn’t out front about their issue of brake problems on their Hybrids? Almost a similar problem as the Prius but yet who is publicize the most here? Here you go.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35.....ess-autos/
Justin I do agree with some points and personally I think all SUV’s have the same issue whether they had firestones or not. Lahood did retract what he said because he knew he spoke out of line. Yes it probably was from his heart also.
So now its a conspiracy, the U.S. Government has orchestrated it to boost the sales of other brands. Is that what your saying Justin? If so, WOW!
Justin – First of all, why defend LaHood’s statement when he’s retracted it? LaHood said “What I said in there was obviously a misstatement. What I meant to say or what I thought to say was if you own one of these cars or if you’re in doubt, take it to the dealer and they’re going to fix it.” There’s a HUGE difference between a government safety official saying “get your car fixed” and “stop driving.” HUGE difference. Night and day difference. Can’t emphasize this enough.
Also, I object to the notion that Toyota’s safety issue has caused deaths. While I’m not some die-hard Toyota loyalist, there’s no proof that anyone has died as a direct result of this problem. In fact, there’s no proof that anyone has EVER been hurt as a result of unintended acceleration. By it’s very nature, it’s almost impossible to replicate or confirm.
Most Firestone tire explosions didn’t cause roll-overs (drivers did, just as you say), and I’m guessing a few of the unintended acceleration incidents that Toyota is being blamed for were driver error.
Besides, even IF the vehicle starts to accelerate on it’s own, drivers have brakes, a gear selector, and an ignition key they can use to prevent an accident. I think this is a complete over-reaction, and the fact that the head of the government’s vehicle safety administration said “stop driving” is inexcusable…and indefensible.
I’m not making some lame excuse here – I’m telling it like it is. Toyota’s management team are a bunch of idiots for letting this go on without saying a peep, and Ray LaHood is an idiot for telling people to stop driving a vehicle that is perfectly safe.
Finally, to anyone who believes this could or could not be a conspiracy, two things: 1) I highly doubt this is a conspiracy. Conspiracies require intelligent, coordinated action…which means it’s damn difficult for our government to pull off. 2) As long as the government owns part of GM, they should be *extra* careful as to what they say about other manufacturers. See this person’s blog for a well-stated opinion on the matter: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org.....a-remarks/
Have two 2010 Toyotas in my garage, RAV4 and Tacoma. They run like a wet dream, comfortable for my old bones and reasonably good on gas and—– the suckers have the reputation up here in Northern Maine that they run forever.
The Gas pedal thing was noted on 11/09 and announced by Toyota recall 1/21/10. Parts are now in at many dealers 2/5/2010. Pretty damn fast, eh?
Compare this to Ford and Firestone that had a ludicrous blame game going from 1990 until 2001 over the tires put on the Explorer vs the rollover tendency of the Ford Explorer that Ford Motor Company REFUSED to redesign to save costs at that cost 250 lives. 11 years of B.S. vs. Toyota’s lightning response.
The only RAV4s with the potential for a 1 in 100 gas pedal problem are American and Canadian made, use pedal made by CTS, an AMERICAN company out of Elkhart, Indiana.. My RAV4 was made in Japan and uses the Denso made gas pedal. I have NO problem and received that in writing from Toyota, a document that would get them fried in court IF they “mispoke” like Lahood. Of course you can’t sue a politician for mispeaking or the government would just crumble.
Lahood is part of an American problem where its cheaper to badmouth distinguished competition than build a better vehicle. GM and Chrysler are Federally owned (get a load of the screwing the investors got during the 363 sale), natch- Lahoood wants to promte “his own” brands. What transparent crap.
I will never buy another American automobile again – except maybe a Ford, at least they had the gumption to clean up their act without Taxzpayer dough. (my dough). The other two are just scum. Lahood might better remove the beam from his own eye before removing the mote in mine.
I tolh him to bite me.
Here’s good reading….
http://www.investors.com/NewsA.....?id=520336
Anonymous: Never said it was a conspiracy. I was countering the points others were making that were saying it was a conspiracy because GM & Chrysler are partly owned by the US government. So no, I don’t think it’s a conspiracy, but it seems others think so.
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Mickey: Did you read the article? Ford has determined the problem, and has already decided to fix the problem. The article also states the driver is never without brakes. The Toyota problem is, they have not issued a recall or a fix to the problem (that I’ve seen), basically still investigating, and the drivers do lose their brakes (or so it’s been reported). The Toyota problem also impacts a much larger population of vehicles, which in turn will bring more media hype. So they are the same issue, but it seems Ford is being much more proactive in resolving the issue, as they’ve been through the media ringer and don’t need any more bad publicity either.
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Fred: I agree, Ford drug their feet on the Firestone recall. They should have reacted sooner when reports started rising, but their feud with Bridgestone and whether it was the Explorer or Tire causing the problem delayed the recall. Eventually Ford decided to start replacing tires without Bridgestone assistance, which basically forced Bridgestone to issue their recall own recall of every 15″ Wilderness ATX tire from the Decatur plant.
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Now I disagree with you on how quick Toyota reacted and their “lightning response.” Yes Toyota officially reported the problem in 11/09 and issued a recall in 1/10, which is quick. But like the Explorer/Firestone fiasco, the NHTSA and consumer complaint advocates had been complaining about the Toyota unintended acceleration issues and their spike in occurrences since 1999, most notably from 2003 forward. It’s just now that Toyota is truly doing something about it, whether it is the floor mat or the pedal itself. So Ford drug their feet for roughly 11yrs on the issue. If we start with the ’99 spike, Toyota has drug their feet for 11-12yrs, or if we start with the ’03 year, they stalled for roughly 7yrs. So we can say both Toyota and Ford drug their feet in their recalls.
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Now your 250 people, is a “potential” figure. The NHTSA investigation could only confirm 174 rollover deaths due to the Firestone blowing out. But even then, the figures are misleading, since the rollovers included other makes/models that had the Firestone tires installed in the aftermarket. Yes, the majority came from Explorer’s but even then, the Explorer was safer than most SUV’s of the ’90s.
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The Explorer had a lower rate of fatal accidents from 1991 to 1999 than 9 of 11 other SUVs. Of the most popular models, the Explorer came in two spots ahead of the Chevy Blazer but behind the Jeep Cherokee and the top-ranked Grand Cherokee. Honda’s Passport was last.
http://www.time.com/time/busin.....98,00.html
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Here’s some good reading on the Explorer/Firestone recall.
http://www.forbes.com/2001/06/20/tireindex.html
Toyota will formally make a recall announcement for the Prius brakes this week, most likely tomorrow.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02.....oyota.html
Way too much reading involved in a recall issue that’s taken up way too much discussion. If anyone feels that unsafe and/or paranoid, then just don’t drive the thing but stop complaining. =)
Justin yes Ford is fixing the issue with a software change. It was mentioned by your own Ford spokesman on the msnbc post I put out on the 4th of this month. Ford spokesman Said Deep says braking power seems to “drop away” as the car makes a transition from regenerative brakes to the conventional system. Now Toyota’s version with the Prius, antilock brakes can “fail momentarily” while the car transitions between its gasoline and electric motors. Now what is drop away? Are we playing with words here? Why yes we are. Drop away is losing the brakes Justin. Ford did do the right thing and called it in, but it just so happened on the day that NHTSA was investigating the Prius. Coincedence again….
TXTee: Stop complaining? I only see those Toyota owners who continue to provide excuses for these recalls complaining because of the air time they are receiving. Very similar to the Ford owners that tried to defend their numerous recalls and deflect all the media hype. It simply comes with the territory of being successful.
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Mickey: The drop away means as stated in the article I posted, you must push the brake pedal in an extra 1 inch or so to engage the manual brakes. Which of course is still dangerous, this I’ve never denied. But a total loss of braking, whatever momentarily is (is it 1 second, 5 seconds, 30 seconds, etc), versus having to apply a little more brake, is still different. Revolves around the same or similar problems, but the impact of such an issue can be drastically different.
Yes – stop complaining. If you feel that unsafe, find another way of driving like LaHood misspokenly stated. I love my Toyota but if it feels like a death trap then I’d have to find another way. My life is more important and so is other peoples’ on the roadways.
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Lahood’s comments on the kids was as idiotic as everything he has done. Obama no doubt picked him because of his idiocy. Could have done worse, like Hastert. But basically, any Illinois politician fits in the idiot category. I know because I live there.
And 1 year later (today is Feb. 8, 2011), the Government comes out to say there is NO EVIDENCE of electronic malfunction in Toyotas, but Ray Lahood is STILL AN IDIOT.