Autoblog

Toyota asks ABC News for apology, retraction of Brian Ross report

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

"Toyota deserves a public retraction and formal apology from ABC News." At least according to the automaker itself. For what, you ask? For ABC's "irresponsible broadcast entitled "Expert: Electronic Design Flaw Linked to Runaway Toyotas." You surely remember the piece, which originally aired the night before a Congressional Panel began investigating the issue of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles.

That dubious timing has also drawn ire from Toyota, which says ABC News "Rushed out the report" and "denied Toyota the opportunity to review specific manipulation" ABC and its expert, Dr. David Gilbert, "performed in the broadcast." If it had been given an opportunity to respond, Toyota claims it would have shown that Gilbert's technique required conditions that are "virtually impossible to occur in real-world conditions."

It's also pointed out in Toyota's four-page letter, which you can see in its entirety below, that ABC News faked at least one shot of a tachometer shooting from 1,000 to 6,200 RPM, insinuating that the vehicle was speeding out of control with Brian Ross behind the wheel when it was actually sitting in a parking lot with the transmission firmly in Park.

Toyota concludes that Brian Ross "failed in his basic duty as a journalist" by not disclosing that Dr. Gilbert's work was being paid for by a group of "trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota." Finally, the Japanese automaker "reserves the right to take any and every opportunity to protect and defend" its reputation.

The ball is officially in your court, ABC News.

Gallery: Toyota letter to ABC News

[Source: Gawker]

Toyota asks ABC News for apology, retraction of Brian Ross report originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former NHTSA head Claybrook reportedly blasts relationship between safety agency and automakers

Chris Shunk — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

One of the most interesting sidebars that came out of Toyota's recent recall woes and the subsequent Congressional hearings on the subject was the Japanese automaker's relationship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Actually, the interesting part of the relationship with the regulatory body had more to do with the fact that Toyota hired former NHTSA employees who subsequently negotiated terms of safety investigations with former co-workers.

While current federal law prohibits an employee of the Executive branch from leaving a government post to represent a matter in the private sector in said employee's previous official area of responsibility, at least one former NHTSA executive feels tougher standards are in order. ABC News reports that Joan Claybrook (in pink, above), who ran NHTSA during the Carter administration, feels that the Obama administration needs to crack down on her former department because it's become too cozy with the auto industry it is tasked with overseeing.

In a prepared statement before her testimony in front of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Claybrook said automakers including Toyota treat NHTSA "with contempt." But while some of her testimony will center on Toyota's dealings with the government agency, the former safety boss says she has found a total of 40 former NHTSA or Department of Transportation employees who currently work in the auto industry. Claybrook says all three domestic automakers as well as BMW, Honda, Suzuki and various trade associations all have ex-NHTSA or DOT employees on staff.

[Source: ABC News | Image: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty]

Former NHTSA head Claybrook reportedly blasts relationship between safety agency and automakers originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota hits back at David Gilbert's "no fault code" demonstration

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Toyota

Mechanism used to "force unintended acceleration - Click above for high-res image gallery

In a video webcast for the media that concluded a just a few moments ago, Toyota hit back at the "simulated unintended acceleration" demonstration that was shown by ABC News late last month. When we saw the original report, we postulated that the condition Gilbert produced may not be representative of a scenario that can actually happen in the real world, and judging by Toyota's findings, we were right.

As reported on Friday, Toyota went to an independent testing firm called Exponent to attempt to replicate the results from the Gilbert study. Dr. Shukri J. Souri of Exponent acknowledged that Gilbert did indeed create a scenario that produced what looked like a valid accelerator pedal signal to the electronic engine management system. But before demonstrating how the test was performed, Souri explained how the pedal sensor wiring works and showed how the connector is constructed. As we expected, Gilbert's testing methods and ABC News' report are very much in question. Make the jump for our full breakdown.

Gallery: Toyota-Exponent pedal rewiring

[Source: Toyota]

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Continue reading Toyota hits back at David Gilbert's "no fault code" demonstration

Toyota hits back at David Gilbert's "no fault code" demonstration originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: ABC News faked at least one part of runaway Toyota report

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Toyota

Late last month we wrote a lengthy post about problems with an ABC News report that purported to show a Toyota Avalon racing out of control without setting a diagnostic fault code. While we primarily focused on the technical side and analyzed whether the problem was realistic, the crew at Gawker took a hard look at the video in question and noticed something fishy.

It appears that an editor or producer at ABC felt they could pull a fast one on the audience and used some B-roll in the report showing the tachometer needle sweeping rapidly from near idle to over 6,000 rpm. That clip was injected at the precise moment when David Gilbert triggered his simulated sudden acceleration. As you can see from the screen cap above, the shot of the tachometer clearly shows the warning lights for the parking brake on, the doors open and the transmission indicator in park. The camera operator shot this segment separately so it could be used to illustrate a point in the report, and ABC claims that getting a steady shot during the test would've been both difficult and dangerous.

The B-roll shot doesn't indicate anything conclusive one way or the other about the validity of the test and certainly doesn't stand as proof of anything being rigged. However, the lack of transparency by ABC and Mr. Gilbert regarding the specific procedure doesn't add to the credibility of either the claims or the report, and the lack of clarity by Toyota in its response to Gilbert's assertions doesn't do the automaker any favors, either.

[Source: Gawker]

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Report: ABC News faked at least one part of runaway Toyota report originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Toyota's unintended acceleration woes help free imprisoned Camry driver? [w/videos]

Chris Shunk — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Videos, Toyota

Click above to watch the videos after the jump

In June 2006, Koua Fong Lee was driving his pregnant wife and other family members home from church when he says his 1996 Toyota Camry accelerated on its own and the brakes stopped working. Lee struck another vehicle, killing three people in that car. A Minnesota jury convicted Lee of vehicular homicide and the native of Laos was sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence even though there was no evidence of alcohol or drugs involved in the incident.

Fast-forward to over three years later, and Toyota's recall woes for unintended acceleration are casting doubt on the jury's decision to convict Lee. But while the 1996 Camry isn't involved in the current recall, some 1996 models were recalled for unintended acceleration. Further, ABC News says that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received at least 17 other complaints of unintended acceleration in 1996 Camrys with comments like "couldn't stop" and "had to crash into a tree and another car to stop."

Brent Schafer, the lawyer for Lee, has asked for a new trial, and for his client to be set free until the time of a new hearing. The prosecution in the case told ABC News that it supports examining the 1996 Camry involved in the crash to determine if the car is at fault instead of Lee. For its part, Toyota has chosen not to comment to ABC News due to the fact that there could be a future lawsuit brought against the company. Click past the jump to watch the network's video coverage of this story (*Warning: videos may be slow to play - if they fail to load, please click here).

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

[Source: ABC News]

Continue reading Will Toyota's unintended acceleration woes help free imprisoned Camry driver? [w/videos]

Will Toyota's unintended acceleration woes help free imprisoned Camry driver? [w/videos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Unintended Accleration? Beware of TV Network Fraud - Autoline with John McElroy

John McElroy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:58:00 EST

Filed under: Toyota, Autoline on Autoblog

You've already seen the ABC News piece about a college professor rigging up a Toyota Avalon so he could induce a short circuit that would cause unintended acceleration. It's a frightening demonstration. And as detailed yesterday, it's also bad journalism.

We've seen this sort of thing happen before. Sometimes the major TV networks, despite all their gravitas and prestige, seem to toss their ethics out the window if they get the chance to show a gory story that involves automotive accidents.

There have been several instances in the past when investigative reports from network television showed horrific safety crashes that made the vehicles involved look dangerous. But it later turned out that those tests were fraudulent. Is ABC engaging in the same tactics?

John McElroy is host of the TV program "Autoline Detroit" and daily web video "Autoline Daily". Every week he brings his unique insights as an auto industry insider to Autoblog readers.

Continue reading Unintended Accleration? Beware of TV Network Fraud - Autoline with John McElroy

Unintended Accleration? Beware of TV Network Fraud - Autoline with John McElroy originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Smoking Gun? ABC News expert recreates sudden acceleration without CPU error code *UPDATED w/Toyota response

Damon Lavrinc — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:56:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Videos, Toyota

Click above to view the video after the jump

Earlier today, ABC News released a report asserting that the cause of Toyota's unintended accelerations issues might not be a faulty accelerator mechanism, but an electronic flaw in the automaker's engine control unit - something that's been suspected, although never confirmed, for some time.

David Gilbert, an automotive technology professor at Southern Illinois University and ABC's primary source for the report, claims to be able to duplicate the effect by short-circuiting one of the controls, which could be caused by moisture, wear or a combination of factors in Toyota vehicles.

Although the report goes into specifics, seeing is believing, and ABC News has done just that, putting Brian Ross behind the wheel as Gilbert trips the switch. The results are rather shocking - particularly since the ECU doesn't record a fault. You can see it for yourself after the jump.

UPDATE: In response to the allegation that an electronic fault is the cause of the unintended acceleration issue, Toyota has released a statement saying that Gilbert talked with the automaker on the Feb. 16 after wiring a Toyota Tundra in a similar manner and causing the acceleration. Make the jump for the release and draw your own conclusions.

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Continue reading Video: Smoking Gun? ABC News expert recreates sudden acceleration without CPU error code *UPDATED w/Toyota response

Video: Smoking Gun? ABC News expert recreates sudden acceleration without CPU error code *UPDATED w/Toyota response originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Southeast Toyota dealers pull ads from local ABC stations citing "excessive stories" on recall

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:15:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Toyota

Southeast Toyota, which is the largest franchised distributor of Toyota vehicles in the world with 173 dealers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina & South Carolina, has reportedly pulled all of its advertising from local ABC stations. Why? Apparently, the group decided that the television stations were airing "excessive stories on the Toyota issues" by ABC News and its chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross.

So, where is all that latent advertising money going now? According to one unnamed ABC station manager, Southeast Toyota's commercials were shifted to non-ABC stations "as punishment for the reporting." We have to wonder if those non-ABC stations aren't covering the Toyota recall issue with as much fervor?

Marcia Owens-Reder, senior vice president at Atlanta-based 22Squared, the advertising agency that handles the account for the dealers, said in an email to the ABC stations, "We have counseled the client on the pros and cons of this, and ultimately it was their decision to make." Thanks for the tip, Rene!

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

[Source: AFP via Yahoo | Image: David McNew/Getty]

Report: Southeast Toyota dealers pull ads from local ABC stations citing "excessive stories" on recall originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: ABC features Brenda Priddy, International Spy Photog of Mystery

Dan Roth — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Spy Photos, Etc., Videos, Celebrities

Click above to watch the video after the jump

The news media has turned its empty head to the deeper world of automotive coverage, beyond the front lines of dismal sales numbers and Cash For Clunkers.

None other than spy photographer extraodinaire Brenda Priddy has now been on the receiving end of the gentle, semi-informative coverage mainstream news is so deft at cranking out. A quick package on ABC's flagship World News Tonight broadcast was but a precursor to a more in-depth piece on Nightline that blows Brenda's cover and profiles her hard work in the searing desert heat. Hit the jump to view both videos. Thanks for all your tips!

[Source: ABC News]

Continue reading VIDEO: ABC features Brenda Priddy, International Spy Photog of Mystery

VIDEO: ABC features Brenda Priddy, International Spy Photog of Mystery originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BREAKING: Bush greenlights $17.4 billion Auto Rescue/Bailout package

Chris Paukert — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:32:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Chrysler, GM, Earnings/Financials

President George W. Bush will doubtlessly be remembered for many things things, but his parting legacy may yet be his eleventh-hour pledge of $17.4 billion in low-interest loans to General Motors and Chrysler (Ford Motor Company has said it does not require relief at this time).

The funding will reportedly come from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the financial industry bailout package signed off on this fall. Up front, the White House will earmark $17.4 billion in short-term financing for December and January, and in February, another $4 billion will be disbursed, provided it can draw the funds from the second half of TARP's $700 billion.

More details are doubtlessly coming, but the bridge loans appear to hinge largely on whether General Motors and Chrysler are deemed "viable" enterprises by the government. In the terms of the agreement, that means that the automakers must prove whether they have a "positive net present value, taking into account all current and future costs, and can fully repay the government loan." There's no word yet on how they will prove said viability, but we expect to learn more soon. In the meantime, expect for both General Motors and Chrysler to stick to their previous production suspension announcements.

Politico has more specifics on the bailout here.

UPDATE: Press releases from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have been added after the jump.

[Sources: ABC NEWS, Politico, Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty]

Continue reading BREAKING: Bush greenlights $17.4 billion Auto Rescue/Bailout package

BREAKING: Bush greenlights $17.4 billion Auto Rescue/Bailout package originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sneak Peek! Wagoner lifts cover on Pontiac G8

John Neff — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:34:00 EST

Filed under: Chicago Auto Show, Spy Photos, Sedan, Pontiac

As we reported earlier today, Charles Gibson is in Detroit this week doing World News Tonight from Motown. Avid Autoblog reader Arthur just tipped us off to this sneak peak of the show in which Rick Wagoner escorts Gibson into the Pontiac design studio and lifts the cover off the front end of the Pontiac G8 that will debut early next month at the Chicago Auto Show. Our inside sources tell us the G8 is officially listed as a concept, but we're obviously pretty certain that Pontiac's going to get a rear-wheel drive sedan based on Holden's Zeta platform and that what you see here isn't far from production at all. Click here to watch the video clip.

Thanks for the tip, Arthur!

[Source: ABC News]

Sneak Peek! Wagoner lifts cover on Pontiac G8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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