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Chill Out About Toyota Already

Well, I haven't posted anything about the Toyota brouhaha yet. So this is it.

Car and Driver takes down the Prius drivers whining about their brakes. Their high-tech regenerative breaks that all of them were so proud of a few years ago.

Popular Mechanics explains in painstaking detail exactly why Professor Dave Gilbert, of Southern Illinois University, is dead, dead wrong when he claims that electromagnetic interference causes unintended acceleration in Toyota's cars. Henry Payne points out that Professor Gilbert is being paid by trial lawyers suing Toyota and that ABC has been airing fraudulent footage in support of these fraudulent claims.

Finally, Steve Chapman reminds us that Toyota's are still amazingly safe.

During the last decade, the sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles has been blamed for 34 fatalities. In that same period, more than 21,000 other people died in accidents while riding in Toyotas. Your own lapses, and those of other drivers, are far riskier than the flaws found in your automobile.

Chuck Hurley, CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, agrees on the pressing need for Toyota to repair its troubled cars. But he estimates that more than 80 percent of traffic deaths are the result of excessive speed, drunken driving, or unused seat belts. Last year alone, more than 11,000 Americans died in accidents involving drunk drivers. By contrast, only about 2 percent of wrecks stem from vehicle defects.

In summary, take a chill pill folks. Lay off of Toyota and remember that Congress outright owns two of Toyota's competitors. Do you think that might be influencing Congress's shameful behavior? I do.