Unintended Acceleration

Last year, Edmunds asked its readership to recreate a mechanical or electrical cause of sudden unintended acceleration of the kind that allegedly plagued Toyota in 2009 and 2010. The prize for coming up with verifiable proof of mechanical failure causing SUA was a cool

Remember the reports released by NASA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which concluded that Toyota's electronic systems were not to blame for cases of unintended acceleration? Watchdog group Safety Research & Strategies has a 51-page bone to pick with those papers.

When Toyota recalled millions of vehicles for floor mat entrapment and sticky accelerator pedals, many thought the event would serve as a wake-up call for the world's largest automaker. While Toyota has no doubt taken considerable steps to rectify any quality lapses, a panel being paid for by the automaker apparently feels Toyota hasn't gone far enough.

If Toyota was hoping to end its ongoing unintended acceleration-related legal issues, the latest bit of courtroom news will make the automaker quite unhappy. U.S. District Judge James Selna has ruled that vehicle ow

Thanks to Toyota's recent throttle and floor mat recalls, the term "unintended acceleration" has forever been etched into our minds. Automotive News reports that an investigation of the Ford Freestyle by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could introduce us to "unintended lunging."

Five years ago, if you owned a vehicle with push button start, you probably owned a luxury vehicle or high-end sports car. For 2011, there are 189 vehicles with push start technology, including many vehicles that retail for less than $20,000. But while the technology has proliferated to nearly every vehicle segment, each automaker has its own keyless ignition mechanism.

Toyota faces hundreds of lawsuits for accidents involving unintended acceleration, but the automaker needs only to win them one at a time. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Toyota has done exactly that, as a New York jury ruled that the automaker was not responsible for an accident involving Dr. Amir Sitafalwalla.

According to a new Bloomberg report, jury selection has commenced in a lawsuit against Toyota stemming from the unintended acceleration debacle. Amir Sitafalwalla sued Toyota in 2008, claiming that his 2005 Scion accelerated uncontrollably and only stopped when he hit a tree.

Plaintiffs in the unintended acceleration class action case against Toyota are striking back against the findings laid out by NASA. It was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration that produced Jeff Glucker

Toyota has been granted the ability to gather financial data on 81 plaintiffs filing lawsuits against the automaker over losses associated with claims of unintended acceleration. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, two private judges ruled that the automaker could, in fact, secure information from banks, lending

It took ten months. It involved the best brains in the nation. They conducted exhaustive tests. And Lord knows what it all cost. But when it was over, the results were totally predictable. The U.S. Department of Transportation could find nothing wrong with Toyota vehicles that would cause them to suddenly accelerate out of control.

What price a reputation? That's what Toyota will be learning in the months and years ahead as it struggles to recover from the safety scandal that has enveloped the company since it announced the first recall for unintended acceleration in October 2009.

Toyota has seen more than its fair share of negative press over the past year and a half, but is the Japanese automaker willing to pay "mommy bloggers" to spread positive news? Mom site Dear Crissy reports that it received an email offering a $10 Amazon gift card in exchange for a post that highlights the fact that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Chris Shunk

It doesn't take much to change the opinion of the masses, apparently. Automotive News is reporting that it only took a mere two days for Toyota to see a rebound in its reputation after NASA engineers cleared the company of any electronic flaws in its vehicle software. As you may recall, the Department of Transportation called in some of the brightest minds from the country's space program

The ongoing saga of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles has taken another turn today as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released a statement indicating that no evidence of electronic problems in runaway Toyotas has been found.

Can't say we didn't see this one coming... According to the Associated Press, seven insurance companies* are suing Toyota in California court for damages in excess of $230,000. We suspect that figure could rise, as it's derived from just 14 of the alleged 725 total accidents the insurers claim Toyota is at least partially at fault for.

2005 Honda Accord Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery

Paul Vanalfen's crashed Toyota Camry – Click above for high-res image gallery

We weren't at all surprised when hundreds of lawsuits popped up in the wake of Toyota's recall of millions of vehicles due to unintended acceleration issues. We're just as unfazed by the fact that earlier this week, Toyota filed a motion asking that the lawsuits be thrown out. The Detroit Free Press reports that Toyota claims many of the lawsuits are unwarranted due to the fact that s