Off the Hook: NHTSA closes probe on Toyota Tacoma's sudden acceleration issue

[FYI]

How could Toyota/Lexus not include this simple safety override into their "drive-by-wire" system (when the Germans certainly did.....)?! And how could any such system be officially approved and certified without it by any manufacturer?!

October 7, 2000
Smart Gas Pedals May Solve Floor-Mat Problem
By Christopher Jensen
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/sm...
(excerpts):
Some automakers – primarily European — are using an unusual method to reduce the chances of unintended acceleration from something like a floor mat getting tangled up with the accelerator: smart gas pedals.

If the vehicle is moving and both the gas and brake pedal are being pushed at the same time the computer tells the engine to ignore the gas pedal.

“It is an additional safety feature,” said Thomas Plucinsky, a BMW spokesman.“The brake takes precedence.”

[eskymi]

It's real. Throttles stick and cause sudden acceleration. Happened to my 1985 Mercury Cougar. Which a quick web search shows that for that model (Cougar) they had 17.3 complaints for every 100,000 cars on the road.

Think of it...thousands of complaints, hundreds of accidents, several deaths, auto maker blaming it on floor mats and driver error. Investigation by NHTSA exonerating auto maker. Etc..sounds familiar, but I am referring to FORD circa 8-10 years ago.

It happens to the best of them. Now it's Toyota's turn. It isn't a matter of whether it will happen, it's how you handle it that will make or break your company. Denial now, if found out later will be your death as a company.