Wednesday, June 12, 2013
NHTSA Wisconsin State Patrol To Do Joint Inspection Of Alleged Runaway Toyota Camry
Its been almost two weeks since 76-year old Myrna Marsellie said her 2009 Toyota Camry accelerated on its own, crashing into the Sheboygan Falls YMCA.
So what happened? We dont know yet.
Sheboygan Falls Police Chief Steven Riffel tells me the car is still in his departments custody and there will be a joint NHTSA/Wisconsin State Patrol inspection of the vehicle and search of the cars databases sometime this week.
The department is also in the process of enhancing surveillance video (the police station is across the parking lot from the YMCA and its cameras are thought to have captured the crash).
What about Toyota, which usually gets inspectors on these things quickly (given that most cases of unintended acceleration upon investigation are proven to be driver error...standing on the gas instead of the brake)?
Well, the chief says Toyotas asking, but hes got a search warrant...and he doesnt want too many folks inside the vehicle. NHTSA and the state patrol get first dibs. And he tells me hell be looking for NHTSAs input as to whether to release the vehicle to Toyota for its inspection, or back to Myrna.
NHTSA, of course, is the agency alleging that Toyota hid dangerous defects and should pay record fines.
This is not Toyotas week for catching a break, it seems.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
New Car Review 2013 Nissan Altima 2 5 SL
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| The 2013 Nissan Altima. |
This is, by all accounts, a watershed year for the family sedan. Theres a new Ford Fusion, a new Chevy Malibu, a new Honda Accord, and a new Mazda 6.
Havent driven any of them yet (Malibu and Accord are due at TireKicker World Headquarters soon).
Sure hope they brought their A game, though. Because theres also a new Nissan Altima. And.......damn (let Will Smith sue).
Now, regular TireKicker readers will recall that weve always thought the Altima was a better car than its sales figures (which arent bad) indicated.
But this.....
Lets get to the important stuff. The price has gone up. A 2.5 SL now has a base price of $28,050. The one we drove a shade over a year ago was $5,590 less. But the gas mileage has positively pole-vaulted. The old ones EPA estimate for city driving was 22. The 13 shows 27. The highway estimate jumps from 32 to 38...and although people are suing other carmakers for inflated mileage figures, our week in the Altima says those numbers are absolutely achievable.
The money didnt all go to fuel economy. The 2.5 SL is now an extremely well-equipped machine. Standard equipment includes 17-inch alloy wheels, active understeer control, anti-lock brakes, traction control, vehicle dynamic control, tire pressure monitoring, electronic brake force distribution, a vehicle security system, fog lights, LED taillights, heated outside mirrors and exhaust finishers.
True story: We had people look at us and say "Nice car". That usually happens tens of thousands of dollars up the ladder. But the new styling resonates with people (whichever car mag said it looked like a Camry stung by bees needs to have its eyes checked)...and it looks especially rich in dark colors, like the Metallic Slate ours was wearing.
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| The 2013 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL interior. |
The bigger base price buys you a nicer environment in which to do your driving, too. The interior is a huge leap from last years, with Advance Drive-Assist display, 8-way power drivers seat, heated front seats, leather appointed seats, premium interior trim, a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel, cruise control, a 9-speaker BOSE premium audio system, a 5-inch color display, USB, Bluetooth, SiriusXM, dual-zone climate control, rear seat A/C vents and a moonroof.
Again, all standard. Which makes that $28,050 seem like the bargain it is.
Options? our car had two...floor and trunk mats for $165 and the Technology Package (replacing the 5-inch color display with a 7-inch featuring navigation, blind spot warning, lane departure warning and moving object detection for $1,090. With $790 destination charges, the Altima rang in at $30,105.
It drives well, looks good, has all the creature comforts, just hits $30K and gets 27 in town and 38 on the highway. Until and unless the other new family sedans can top it, theres a new favorite family sedan down TireKicker way.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Toyota Stops Sales Of Lexus GX 460
Lexus GX 460s will stay on dealer lots while Toyota figures out if theres merit to Consumer Reports assessment of the SUV as a safety risk and what to do about it. In a news release, Toyota said:
"For more than 20 years, Lexus has made customer safety and satisfaction our highest priorities. We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified. At this time we have asked our dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the 2010 GX 460.
Lexus’ extensive vehicle testing provides a good indication of how our vehicles perform and we are confident that the GX meets our high safety standards. Our engineering teams are vigorously testing the GX using Consumer Reports’ specific parameters to identify how we can make the GX’s performance even better.
For any customer who has purchased a 2010 GX 460 and is concerned about driving their vehicle, we will provide a loaner car until a remedy is available.
As always, Lexus is committed to providing our customers with outstanding products and service.
Customers who have any questions or concerns should contact Lexus Customer Satisfaction at 1-800-25 LEXUS or 1-800-255-3987."
Consumer Reports says the recently redesigned SUV gets sideways in emergency handling maneuvers, with the electronic stability control kicking in too late, creating a rollover risk. Heres video of their test:
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