Shreveport Camry Driver Plows Into Auto Parts Store; Claims Unintended Acceleration

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Sigh.

Have you read the current Memo From Michael?  It'll be a while before NHTSA gets back to us on this one.

I wonder if Vegas takes bets on this sort of thing.

Post Title → Shreveport Camry Driver Plows Into Auto Parts Store; Claims Unintended Acceleration

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Wisconsin Camry Crash Driver Error (UPDATED 5:25 PM PDT With Surveillance Video Link)

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76 year old Myrna Marseille swore she was standing on the brake pedal of her 2009 Toyota Camry when it crashed into the Sheboygan Falls YMCA on March 29.

Nope.

The Sheboygan Falls Police Department and the Wisconsin State Patrol held a news conference this morning in which they announced the results of their investigation: Driver error. Myrna was on the gas, not the brake, and the brakes were found to be in perfect working order.

Witnesses who Myrna said told her they saw brake lights? Well, they did...but surveillance video (click here to watch it from WISN-TV) from two cameras (the Y and the Sheboygan Falls PD share a common parking lot) shows they came on after the car hit the building. And the police say those witnesses told them that's when they saw them.

The video indicates the car moved at the same constant speed (estimated by police at 10-15 miles per hour) across the parking lot, into the parking space, over the berm and into the building.

Police Chief Steven Riffel says NHTSA (whose report won't be ready for four months) has told him there was nothing in the vehicle diagnostics to contradict the conclusion of driver error.

No decision yet on whether Myrna will be cited.

So the streak continues. The one where unintended acceleration events are investigated and found to be a case of the driver standing on the wrong pedal.

Full story including a link to the complete video replay of the news conference from The Sheboygan Press.

Post Title → Wisconsin Camry Crash Driver Error (UPDATED 5:25 PM PDT With Surveillance Video Link)

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Older, Younger: Who's Worse At The Wheel?

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While we wait for word on the cause of a 76-year old Wisconsin woman's alleged runaway Toyota Camry incident,  here are some interesting statistics on age and accidents.

TheAutoInsurance.com finds that more teens per capita are involved in fatal crashes, but more elderly drivers are at fault.  Graphic and facts here.

Post Title → Older, Younger: Who's Worse At The Wheel?

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NHTSA, Wisconsin State Patrol To Do Joint Inspection Of Alleged Runaway Toyota Camry

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It's been almost two weeks since 76-year old Myrna Marsellie said her 2009 Toyota Camry accelerated on its own, crashing into the Sheboygan Falls YMCA.

So what happened? We don't know yet.

Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Steven Riffel tells me the car is still in his department's custody and there will be a joint NHTSA/Wisconsin State Patrol inspection of the vehicle and search of the car's databases sometime this week.

The department is also in the process of enhancing surveillance video (the police station is across the parking lot from the YMCA and its cameras are thought to have captured the crash).

What about Toyota, which usually gets inspectors on these things quickly (given that most cases of unintended acceleration upon investigation are proven to be driver error...standing on the gas instead of the brake)?

Well, the chief says Toyota's asking, but he's got a search warrant...and he doesn't want too many folks inside the vehicle. NHTSA and the state patrol get first dibs. And he tells me he'll be looking for NHTSA's input as to whether to release the vehicle to Toyota for its inspection, or back to Myrna.

NHTSA, of course, is the agency alleging that Toyota hid dangerous defects and should pay record fines.

This is not Toyota's week for catching a break, it seems.

Post Title → NHTSA, Wisconsin State Patrol To Do Joint Inspection Of Alleged Runaway Toyota Camry

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Toyota, Police Investigating New Unintended Acceleration Claim

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76 year old Myrna Marseille of Wisconsin was parking her 2009 Toyota Camry at the local YMCA when she says it accelerated suddenly...into the Y's wall.

She insists her foot was on the brake, not on the gas.

Toyota tells WISN-TV it's investigating. Potentially helpful...the Sheboygan Falls Police Department is right across the parking lot from the Y....and has security cameras that may have caught the entire event.

Watch the story from WISN-TV here.

Post Title → Toyota, Police Investigating New Unintended Acceleration Claim

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Lexus LS600h Hybrid Review

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The truth, although a lot of people don't know it, is that hybrids aren't really about saving money. Yes, gas mileage is usually better than a conventionally-powered version of the same vehicle, but on gas price alone, you'd have to drive that hybrid for about nine years in most cases to make up the price difference in gas savings.

No, hybrids are about saving the environment and making statements.

The Lexus LS600h Hybrid certainly aces that last part.

                     

Making statements is about getting noticed....and the big Lexus does that for you. The re-design of a couple of seasons ago turned the LS from the anonymous luxury car into a head-turner. It's not the shape...there's still a lot of "large Toyota Camry" in there...rather, it's in details that just scream "money". And the LS600h turns them up several notches.

Really, it has to. You see, you can buy the "base" LS,  the LS460, for $65,380.

The LS600h starts at $108,800.

Nope. Not a typo. $108,800...$42,620 more than the LS460.

Find the right dealer on a good day and you might be able to take two LS460s home for the price of one LS600h.

Now, you get the long-wheelbase, which would cost you five grand extra on a gas-powered LS....and the hybrid engine here packs 438 horsepower, compared to a mere 380 in the LS460.

That means 0-60 in 5.5 seconds....but wait! The lighter LS460 gets there in 5.4.

And here's the kicker: Buy the gas-powered model...and you'll get better gas mileage. At least on the highway. An LS460 is EPA rated at 16 city/24 highway. The LS600h is 20 city/22 highway. 

With that small a mileage difference and that big a cost difference, you won't live long enough to recover the extra money spent on gas savings.

                     

So why buy one? Because it's the ultimate Lexus LS. If that's what you're after....this is where you get it all, the finest materials, most-cutting edge options, extra engine power  (quiet about that 1/10th of a second slower to 60 part, okay?) and green status to boot (as long as no one thinks about it too carefully).

And that means you'll probably pop for the few available options as well. What's an extra $5280 for the rear power seat package and $2850 for the Lexus Pre-Collison System and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control?

Put that together with $875 for a delivery fee and you have, equipped like our tester, a grand total of:

$117,805. 

Plus tax and license, of course.

Greenpeace members with a Platinum card, your ride is ready.

Post Title → Lexus LS600h Hybrid Review

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Toyota Camry Hybrid Review

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There are some cars that make so much sense it's difficult to discuss them. You can really get by with just mentioning their name. It becomes its own concept. Like:

Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Well, there ya go, right? A family sedan with a reputation for bulletproof reliability with a hybrid engine...making it an even bigger gas-saver. End of story.

Popping the hybrid powerplant under the hood of the Camry does wonders for the gas mileage, launching it into the upper regions of the TireKicker Top 10 Fuel Savers list (EPA says 33 city/34 highway).

What's remarkable about the Camry Hybrid is that you can buy one for Prius money (give or take $500), even though the Camry is a much bigger car...seating 5 comfortably to the Prius' 4.

The base price on the Camry Hybrid I drove for a week was $25,650, which is about $1900 higher than the base price of the Prius TireKicker tested most recently. But...loaded, that Prius bottom-lined at $30,554. and the Camry with similar options (Convenience Package, Leather Package, Navigation and upgraded JBL audio system) maxed out at $30,988...a $434 difference....though the Nissan Altima Hybrid has them both beat on price.

The decision on space versus mileage is yours to make...but the fact that $30,000 ($25,000 if you can live without leather & nav and are okay with the stock audio system) can buy you a reliable, roomy family sedan with mileage in the 30s from both Toyota and Nissan is something to applaud.

UPDATE: Just had a second week in a different Camry Hybrid sedan...and if anything, I liked it more. As time and events progress, this car makes more and more sense.

Post Title → Toyota Camry Hybrid Review

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