sudden Archives | AutoDepot

All of a sudden, Nissan doesn’t have enough Leafs to go around

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Manufacturing/Plants, Nissan

2013 nissan leaf

March: 2,236. April: 1,937. May: 2,138. June: 2,225.

Those are the US sales totals for the Nissan Leaf over the last four months. According to Erik Gottfried, Nissan’s director of electric vehicle sales and marketing, the numbers are a bit too high. Or production is too low. Or something. Point is, demand is apparently outstripping supply.

Nissan says it’s “going to be short on inventory all through the summer.”

Despite having a stated annual capacity of 150,000 Leaf EVs at its Smyrna, TN plant – over 10,000 a month – Leaf production in the Volunteer State has not yet ramped up to a level that can satisfy demand for 2,200 Leafs a month. According to Automotive News, Gottfried recently told dealers in Texas that, “we’re doing everything we can to get them more inventory. But it’s taking some time. … We’re going to be short on inventory all through the summer. It will be late fall before we can produce enough to satisfy everybody.”

Everybody in this case means the expanding markets outside the West Coast, where all the cool EVs have long been allowed to play. AN says that the third-largest market for the Leaf is now Atlanta, where there is only a nine-day supply of the EV. The world’s most popular highway-speed EV (over 60,000 have been sold worldwide, and around 30,000 in the US) got a big price drop earlier this year when the company started making the car in the US. Previously, all Leafs were exported from Japan.

All of a sudden, Nissan doesn’t have enough Leafs to go around originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “All of a sudden, Nissan doesn’t have enough Leafs to go around”

Report: No $1M prize winners in contest to crack Toyota sudden acceleration syndrome

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Toyota

Last year, Edmunds asked its readership to recreate a mechanical or electrical cause of sudden unintended acceleration of the kind that allegedly plagued Toyota in 2009 and 2010. The prize for coming up with verifiable proof of mechanical failure causing SUA was a cool $1 million dollars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that contest just concluded without a winner.

Over the course of the year, Edmunds readers were unable to come up with proof that a mechanical or electrical fault caused the accidents that led to Toyota’s drastic recall. That backs up NASA’s finding that absolved Toyota of any wrongdoing. With mechanical failure ruled out as a viable cause of SUA, we’re left with an uncomfortable thought: Short of those dealing with binding floor mats or those sticky recalled pedals, driver error was almost certainly the culprit for the flurry of unintended acceleration claims.

No $1M prize winners in contest to crack Toyota sudden acceleration syndrome originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: No $1M prize winners in contest to crack Toyota sudden acceleration syndrome”

Jury rules Toyota didn’t cause sudden acceleration accident

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

toyota unintended acceleration

Toyota faces hundreds of lawsuits for accidents involving unintended acceleration, but the automaker needs only to win them one at a time. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Toyota has done exactly that, as a New York jury ruled that the automaker was not responsible for an accident involving Dr. Amir Sitafalwalla.

Sitafalwalla claimed that his 2005 Scion tC accelerated on its own either through a throttle problem or a faulty floor mat, causing him to run into a tree. The jury didn’t see it that way. Penny Overbeck, one of the jurors on the case, says that Toyota’s extensive testing played a role in her decision, adding, “They had it all on video. It pretty much explained it.”

This is just one case in what will doubtless be a protracted legal process for Toyota, but it’s an important victory nonetheless. It’ll be tough for Toyota to win them all, though, since the automaker did recall millions of vehicles for stuck brake pedals and defective floor mats. Sitafalwalla and his legal team are currently considering an appeal of the decision.

[Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek]

Jury rules Toyota didn’t cause sudden acceleration accident originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Jury rules Toyota didn’t cause sudden acceleration accident”

Report: NHTSA reviewing Honda Accord Hybrid sudden acceleration claim

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Safety, Honda

2005 Honda Accord Hybrid

2005 Honda Accord Hybrid – Click above for high-res image gallery

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched a preliminary investigation in to mid-2000s Honda Accord and Civic hybrid models after receiving a complaint that originated from a fatal crash in July of 2005. In this instance, the driver of a 2005 Accord Hybrid said that she was driving over rumble strips on the side of a highway, and when she tried to apply the brakes, the car sped up and caused her to cross into oncoming traffic. NHTSA reports that the resulting accident caused the Accord’s passenger to die, while the driver sustained disabling injuries.

It’s no surprise that NHTSA is being particularly careful these days when receiving complaints citing unintended or sudden acceleration, especially after the series of Toyota recall fiascoes earlier this year. Using NHTSA’s crash database, the Accord driver found 22 other incidents similar to hers, all of which involved Honda Accord and Civic hybrids. NHTSA plans to further research this individual complaint before starting an official investigation into these Honda vehicles. Hat tip to Frank W!

Gallery: 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid

2005 Honda Accord Hybrid

[Sources: Bloomberg, AutoWeek]

Report: NHTSA reviewing Honda Accord Hybrid sudden acceleration claim originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: NHTSA reviewing Honda Accord Hybrid sudden acceleration claim”

Toyota sued by Allstate over sudden-acceleration insurance claims

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

Toyota emblem and dealer sign

Like every other automaker, Toyota is always looking to increase the safety of its vehicles, be it through investing millions of dollars towards R&D or incorporating new safety measures as standard equipment. It’s also working hard to fully restore its recently tarnished public image. Hurdles do keep popping up now and again, however, with the latest one has been placed by Allstate. According to the Los Angeles Times, the insurance company is seeking $3 million in compensation as a result of 270 claims of sudden acceleration.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on October 1, 2010. Allstate claims that the suit was a last resort as a result of failed out-of-court negotiations. However, a spokesperson for the automakers says “the unfounded allegations in this suit have no basis.”

Toyota recently announced that it has resolved issues with over five million vehicles, as a result of three main recalls. Nearly two million of the vehicles had stuck accelerator issues while the other three million had their floormats replaced or repaired.

Complaints of sudden acceleration have fallen by 80 percent since April of 2010. At its peak, the claims averaged 800 per week but have since fallen to around 150 per week. Toyota has dispatched safety review teams to examine over 4,000 vehicles and has yet to find an instance of sudden acceleration being caused by anything electrical. Regardless, the automaker is increasing the standard safety features fitted to its vehicles, the latest of which is Smart-Stop, a brake override system that engages when the throttle is open greater than 33 percent, the vehicle speed is over 5 miles per hour and the brakes are pressed firmly. Allstate believes that Toyota vehicles should already have featured this technology.

[Source: Los Angeles Times | Image: Ramin Talaie/Getty]

Toyota sued by Allstate over sudden-acceleration insurance claims originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Toyota sued by Allstate over sudden-acceleration insurance claims”