Pontiac Vibe Sucked Into Toyota Recall

[Mark Wein]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...vibe_suit.html

Toyota’s breathtaking implosion has been a big boon to the long-struggling American car industry, which less than a year ago saw GM and Chrysler declare bankruptcy at the height of the economic downturn. GM has been especially aggressive, offering Toyota owners $1,000 toward a new car and zero percent financing for 60 months. The automaker must be doing something right: it saw sales climb 12% in February, the fifth consecutive month that the company posted a gain.
But as GM tries to move forward, it finds itself haunted by the once-promising Pontiac Vibe, the now-defunct crossover that shared its platform with the Toyota Matrix. The Vibe has been added to the Toyota recall, and now GM has been sucked into a Canadian class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Toyota owners. It’s the third Toyota-related suit filed by New Brunswick attorney Tony Merchant, an aggressive lawyer who calls himself “one of Canada’s most active litigators.”
All of Merchant’s suits allege that Toyota’s acceleration problem is caused by an electronic -- rather than a mechanical -- defect. Specifically, Merchant alleges that the Toyotas “are equipped with an electronic throttle control system that may suddenly accelerate without driver input and against the intentions of the driver.”
As a result, Merchant says that the company’s fix -- a steel reinforcement bar designed to reduce the excess friction that Toyota says is causing the problem -- “does not correct the design flaw” and “diminishes the value" of the affected vehicles.
Merchant says that the Vibe shares an electronic system with the Matrix, and therefore is susceptible to the same danger of unintended acceleration.
“Although branded differently, the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix are veritable twins,” according to a statement Merchant filed last week. “The Pontiac Vibe is manufactured at the Toyota plant in Fremont, California.”
Data supports Merchant’s theory

Recent reports tend to support Merchant’s theory that the root cause is electronic. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been contacting Toyota owners who had the steel bar installed on their vehicles. The results are disturbing: at least 10 consumers say the remedy hasn’t stopped the problem.
Toyota adamantly denies an electronic defect, but that hasn’t stopped NHTSA from launching its own investigation. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who declared that “safety is our top priority,” has vowed to see the probe through to the end.
GM halted sales of the Vibe in late January, around the same time that Toyota suspended the sale of potentially affected vehicles. As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, GM agreed to retire the Pontiac brand, with the last Pontiac rolling off the line last August.
Pontiac sold just under 100,000 second-generation Vibes in the United States before pulling the plug. Whatever the outcome of the suit, Merchant is insistent that Toyota’s solution doesn’t lessen the danger faced by Toyota owners.
“Low-tech solutions to high-tech problems simply don’t work,” says Merchant. “Toyota’s problems are extremely difficult to solve.”

Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...#ixzz0hp83jkyn

[Flamencology]

Tony Merchant is not a New Brunswick attorney, he's litigating on behalf on New Brunswick clients.

Fact checking FAIL.

[Mark Wein]

Tony Merchant is not a New Brunswick attorney, he's litigating on behalf on New Brunswick clients.

Fact checking FAIL.

Do you know of him? Is he the Canadian version of Gloria Alred?

[Flamencology]

Do you know of him? Is he the Canadian version of Gloria Alred?

This is the first I've read of him, but he was a past tenant of mine.

[Mark Wein]

This is the first I've read of him, but he was a past tenant of mine.

aha!

[El Borrachito]

GM and Ford may be benefiting, but according to this, Chrysler still sucks ass!

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/10/news...n_bin&hpt=Sbin

[Mark Wein]

GM and Ford may be benefiting, but according to this, Chrysler still sucks ass!

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/10/news...n_bin&hpt=Sbin

Yeah, Chrysler is really in trouble. I'm surprised they've lasted this long....

[DdBob]

The problem with all the car companies is too many new models. WTF do we need so many new models and restyling every year? Cars should not be trendy and outdated in a few years which seems to be what they want. Too much research and development inho.

[Jbird]

The problem with all the car companies is too many new models. WTF do we need so many new models and restyling every year? Cars should not be trendy and outdated in a few years which seems to be what they want. Too much research and development inho.

Agreed.

My 2001 Dodge Stratus looks better, gets better gas mileage, and probably is built better (135,000 miles on it and no problems so far *knock on wood*) than the newer Chrysler Sebrings which are basically the 'new' Stratus (Dodge no longer makes the Stratus).

Shouldn't a new car in 2010 be BETTER designed than one built in 2001, not worse?

[Mark Wein]

The problem with all the car companies is too many new models. WTF do we need so many new models and restyling every year? Cars should not be trendy and outdated in a few years which seems to be what they want. Too much research and development inho.

so that you'll feel like you need to buy a new car every 3-5 years when your loan or lease is paid.

My truck is essentially the same vehicle from 1964-1966. Maybe even as early Virtually nothing changed for those years. Minor changes from 1960 on...

[DdBob]

Agreed.

My 2001 Dodge Stratus looks better, gets better gas mileage, and probably is built better (135,000 miles on it and no problems so far *knock on wood*) than the newer Chrysler Sebrings which are basically the 'new' Stratus (Dodge no longer makes the Stratus).

Shouldn't a new car in 2010 be BETTER designed than one built in 2001, not worse?

It's 100 percent without a doubt built better. Every new car being built now is a P.O.S

[Psychotronic]

"Toyota's Breathtaking Implosion". Hilarious. U.S. cars get recalled ALL THE TIME and it doesn't make the news because it happens too often for people to really care anymore. Ford survived the Pinto, after all.

[Mark Wein]

"Toyota's Breathtaking Implosion". Hilarious. U.S. cars get recalled ALL THE TIME and it doesn't make the news because it happens too often for people to really care anymore. Ford survived the Pinto, after all.

I have a student who is a vendor for Toyota and he works in their nation headquarters. He's said that they really have no idea how to handle this because they've never had to before. So they are not handling it as slickly as one of the domestics would who has had more experience in this sort of this .

I also think that it's more the idea that Toyota has fallen from such a great height since their standards and quality were always so high that has people all in a lather.