Friday, March 12, 2010

Government Motors vs Toyotas that discriminate against the elderly

You may have witnessed the Government Motors Board of Directors grilling the upper management of Toyota a few days ago.   
Here's Theodore Frank, writing in The Washington Examiner.  It seems that the Toyotas with the accelaration problems tend to discriminate against the elderly. 
In the 24 cases where driver age was reported or readily inferred, the drivers included those of the ages 60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 71, 72, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 89—and I’m leaving out the son whose age wasn’t identified, but whose 94-year-old father died as a passenger.

These “electronic defects” apparently discriminate against the elderly, just as the sudden acceleration of Audis and GM autos did before them. (If computers are going to discriminate against anyone, they should be picking on the young, who are more likely to take up arms against the rise of the machines and future Terminators).
But Toyota is being mau-maued by Democratic regulators and legislators in the pockets of trial lawyers—who, according to the Associated Press, stand to make a billion dollars from blaming Toyota for driver error.
And that is before hundreds of past run-of-the-mill Toyota accidents that killed or injured people are re-classified in future lawsuits as an electronics failure in an attempt to win settlements against the company.
So why are G.M.'s owners so enthusiastic about orchestrating a full-blown witch hunt against Toyota?  Well, after saving G.M. and Chrysler from bankruptcy, and taking a bazillion dollars in donations from the UAW, it probably seemed like the most logical step.   

2 comments:

  1. Are Toyotas popular with oldsters? I normally see them in domestic cars, I caould see accords and stuff, but the Prius? Maybe that is why the Scions don't seem effected, they are toyotas with a different name, but I don't think old people were really attracted to the box that launched that brand.

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  2. Flee,
    I'm not commenting on their appeal to retirees.
    I'm commenting on our elderly population being more prone to unh...have sudden acceleration issues.

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