Chronicling the Ever-Changing Automotive Industry
Ford dropped a bomb on the hybrid car market earlier this year with the introduction of the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid. Just to enlarge the size of the crater, they’ve announced that its base MSRP will be the same as the gasoline version of the MKZ, at $35,180. While not an insubstantial amount of money, it’s the first time a hybrid variant of a car hasn’t carried with it a multi-thousand dollar price hike.
Continue reading ‘Surprise! Hybrid Lincoln MKZ Price matches Gas version’
A report from The Wall Street Journal has reported about the results of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) investigation into the claims of unintended acceleration involving Toyota’s vehicles. The WSJ’s report says that the recalls, which have tarnished Toyota’s reputation for quality, not to mention missed sales opportunities and the outlay of cash to fix over 8 million cars, were not caused by faulty electronics: driver error, not stuck gas pedals, are to blame in almost every case.
Continue reading ‘PedalGate: Trumped Up Charges?’
If you’ve been reading Road Reality for any length of time, or delved into past articles, you’ll notice that a month or two ago, I stopped posting every little recall. If a recall involves a danger to the driver or passengers, I certainly will mention it, but otherwise I’ll leave it to the manufacturer to notify you. While this recall doesn’t necessarily pose a danger to drivers, it shows that the new GM is quicker to react to problems than it used to be, and at least in this case, has their consumers’ best interests in mind. Read on for why engines could be failing on 2010 Cadillac SRX crossovers.
Continue reading ‘GM Recalls 2010 SRX over Engine Failure concerns’
2010 Pontiac Vibe GT
GM took out two Pontiac Vibes this past weekend to test for braking when experiencing unintended acceleration, since the Vibe is a clone of the Toyota Matrix, which is involved in Toyota’s PedalGate. They found that the Vibe’s braking system stopped the car, and within their “internal requirement for brake performance.” They tested two Vibes, one for each recall (floot mats and sticky gas pedal). Read on for more details.
Continue reading ‘Good Vibes for GM: Tests prove the Vibe’s brakes work’
Toyota announced this morning that they had devised a solution to the second recall, where sticky gas pedals cause unintended acceleration. They say their solution has been rigorously tested, and from the picture above, it looks like it angles the gas pedal towards the driver just a bit, which pulls apart a connection at the top of the assembly. According to Toyota, this friction connection, which gives the pedal a “proper feel,” is the source of the problem.
Continue reading ‘Update: Toyota announces PedalGate solution!’
I found this over on AutoBlog and had to share it. What is it, you ask? It’s an in-depth video where Sam Abuelsamid, who worked in the automotive industry for 20 years, takes a close look at the accelerator pedal from a 2009 Toyota Camry. He spent his time working on anti-lock brakes, traction and stability control systems, so he knows a lot about the subject. Sam breaks down the issue into very easy-to-understand terms, so click past the jump to see it – it’s worth the few minutes to see exactly what is causing Toyota’s newest recall.
Continue reading ‘In-depth look at Toyota’s accelerator issue’
