94 mph in a Prius?!! Did this guy have a pit crew? ;)
Posted on 03/09/2010 8:43:14 AM PST by wrrock
Sikes’ wife, Patty, said Tuesday the family’s Prius appeared to have a brief accelerator malfunction a few weeks ago.
“It took off for a second, and then it just stopped. It was like a little hiccup or something,” she said.
James Sikes, 61, was identified in a 2006 newspaper story as a real estate executive and longtime lottery player who won $55,000 and was selected to appear on a California Lottery TV game show.
He appeared at a news conference quickly after the freeway incident Monday and also spoke to reporters Tuesday at his Toyota dealership, where his car was towed.
He said he called 911 about 1:30 p.m. Monday after accelerating to pass another car on Interstate 8 near La Posta.
“I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny. ... It jumped and it just stuck there,” he said.
A patrol car pulled alongside the Prius and the officer told Sikes over a loudspeaker to push the brake pedal to the floor and apply the emergency brake.
The braking, coupled with a steep incline on the freeway, slowed the car to about 50 mph. Sikes said he then shut off the engine and the car coasted to a stop. CHP Officer Todd Neibert then moved his car in front of the Prius to block it.
The CHP held the car overnight, and it was towed to the dealership Tuesday, CHP Officer Brian Pennings said.
“There’s no collision, so our investigation’s done,” Pennings said. “There’s no crime. ... We’re just glad it ended safely.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100309/ap_on_bi_ge/us_runaway_prius
I forgot about that one. Thanks.
Call me a cynic, but where you see legitimate concern by congress, I see government grandstanding.
Millions of cars are recalled each year voluntarily. When Congress produces safe products (laws) that work as stated and are backed by proper constitutional authority, I will believe that their concern for us is genuine. Until then, I see hype and an effort to make themselves look like they are doing something worthwhile.
Oh.. Of course they’re grandstanding. To Congress runaway Toyotas are like steroids in MLB or whether the NCAA should have a playoff. Something to distract the masses.
94 mph in a Prius?!! Did this guy have a pit crew? ;)
Agreed.
My cynicism should not be construed to mean that I don’t feel sympathy for the families involved. I just don’t think that Congress or the government cares about anything more than having a hammer to beat a capitalist company with.
Even President Obama would say “the driver acted stupidly” in this incident.
Re: “How long has the Prius been on the market?” MANY YEARS NOW.
“How come these “problems” are surfacing now?” OPPORTUNITY TO GET $$$ OUT OF A HUGE AUTOMAKER.
*****
Were there some legitimate ‘runaway’ cars? Probably, but considering the number of Toyota vehicles out there of every description, this runaway problem has been a drop in the bucket. And I don’t even believe half of these stories.
I’ve had three vehicles with similar problems over the years — two were Fords and one was a Volvo. I got them stopped by either shoving gearshift into Neutral or Park. Nothing happened to the cars, either, and they were towed and repaired at VERY little expense. It never occurred to me to go on the news or sue the automakers. Driving a Lexus now — 2003, not on the recall list. Best car I’ve ever owned. I’d buy another Toyota product tomorrow.
Have you seen this?
[quote]
Sikes said his brakes had just been checked out a few weeks earlier, but during the incident he “was laying on the brakes. It was not slowing down.”
Others have made similar claims, so Car & Driver magazine recently put them to the test. They found a V-6 Camry at full throttle could be stopped at 435 feet. But to really test the claim, they used a powerful 540-horsepower supercharged Roush Stage 3 Mustang. It took 903 feet, but stop it did. By comparison the Prius can only muster 110 anemic ponies. Further, as Newton’s Second Law reminds us, weight is inherently a factor in slowing a moving object. The Prius weighs about two-thirds of what the Roush does.
But while these other cars were brought to full stop, Sikes says he couldn’t even reduce his speed. A video on the Web also demonstrates a 2008 Prius easily slowed to a stop with the accelerator fully depressed.
[unquote]
Here’s the video mentioned in the article:
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/9773c358173490d9e5bda837e1c08184/video/11407344
In the video, what allows the car to stop is a failsafe mode where the throttle is lifted when the brakes are applied. But this means that in order for Sikes’s Prius to have done what he claims, there would have had to have a been two failures — both of the throttle and of the failsafe mode. Even if by some chance this did occur, Car & Driver mag demonstrated that the brakes should be capable of overriding the engine as in the Camry and the Mustang they tested:
[quote]
And despite dramatic horsepower increases since C/D’s 1987 unintended-acceleration test of an Audi 5000, brakes by and large can still overpower and rein in an engine roaring under full throttle. With the Camry’s throttle pinned while going 70 mph, the brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower straining against them and stopped the car in 190 feet...
[unquote]
Here’s the C&D article:
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/09q4/how_to_deal_with_unintended_acceleration-tech_dept
I am pretty well convinced this Sikes character is yankin’ our chain.
I own a Prius, so I get to try this stuff out.
I can tell you that, at 45 mph, if I floor the accelerator, and also hit the brakes, the car pretty much stops almost normally.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
