Report: ABC News faked at least one part of runaway Toyota report
Late last month we wrote a lengthy post about problems with an ABC News report that purported to show a Toyota Avalon racing out of control without setting a diagnostic fault code. While we primarily focused on the technical side and analyzed whether the problem was realistic, the crew at Gawker took a hard look at the video in question and noticed something fishy.
It appears that an editor or producer at ABC felt they could pull a fast one on the audience and used some B-roll in the report showing the tachometer needle sweeping rapidly from near idle to over 6,000 rpm. That clip was injected at the precise moment when David Gilbert triggered his simulated sudden acceleration. As you can see from the screen cap above, the shot of the tachometer clearly shows the warning lights for the parking brake on, the doors open and the transmission indicator in park. The camera operator shot this segment separately so it could be used to illustrate a point in the report, and ABC claims that getting a steady shot during the test would've been both difficult and dangerous.
The B-roll shot doesn't indicate anything conclusive one way or the other about the validity of the test and certainly doesn't stand as proof of anything being rigged. However, the lack of transparency by ABC and Mr. Gilbert regarding the specific procedure doesn't add to the credibility of either the claims or the report, and the lack of clarity by Toyota in its response to Gilbert's assertions doesn't do the automaker any favors, either.
[Source: Gawker]
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Reader Comments (Page 2 of 8)
MachinaDC5 10:12AM (3/08/2010)
lol
mapoftazifosho 10:08AM (3/08/2010)
Lack of clarity? What do you want them to do? Make a video explaining in detail how this test is total BS?
"The analysis of Professor's Gilbert's demonstration establishes that he has re-engineered and rewired the signals from the accelerator pedal. This rewired circuit is highly unlikely to occur naturally and can only... See More be contrived in a laboratory. There is no evidence to suggest that this highly unlikely scenario has ever occurred in the real world. As shown in the Exponent and Toyota evaluations, with such artificial modifications, similar results can be obtained in other vehicles."
I bet I can make ANY car with drive-by-wire perform SUA if I introduce my own supplemental throttle controller. lol
What Gilbert has done is the equivalent of cutting a brake line and claiming that Toyota has a design flaw because the brakes failed...
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nardvark 10:48AM (3/08/2010)
No. To follow your analogy, it's equivalent to cutting the brake lines and then demonstrating that the ECU didn't realize that it has no brakes, and fails to take action to prevent loss of human life.
They merely demonstrated that if you hardwire the accelerator to uncontrolled full throttle, the ECU does not use that information to go into a fail-safe mode. Like most other manufacturers do, because they responsibly engineered their systems.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:49AM (3/08/2010)
Yes, I do want them to make a video explaining what is up, including a schematic/wiring diagram. Otherwise, we just have a company paid to defend Toyota saying it isn't true versus a guy paid to attack Toyota saying it is. Equally good would be some truly independent group picked up the baton and tried it themselves to report on what they had to do to make ti happen. This is unlikely because it would by definition mean a group not paid by Toyota and so we have to wait for a good samaritan to do it on their own dime.
sean 12:09PM (3/08/2010)
why not the LS2LS7?
you are getting extremely offensive in this Toyota crisis.
I normally enjoy reading your post as it carries a lot of information, but all of your negative post (regarding the Toyota's crisis) are baseless. it is not likely that you would know anything more than anyone else in the cause for the un-intended acceleration (or it actually exist at all), but you speak with certainty that Toyota is at fault for hiding and not providing ALL information.
i would like to challenge you:
name one case, that is verified, to show Toyota vehicle really had a ECU related un-intended acceleration.
name one manufacture sale Toyota numbers that doesn't have some sort of un-intended acceleration complains in the past 10 years?
Name one evidence, that you know for sure, lead you to believe Toyota really had a ECU related problem?
i can assure you that a lot of groups has tried their best to mimic this problem (it would be news worthy and sue worthy) but has not been able to re-produce it. the only group that has remotely re-produced the issue (ABC news), refuses to leak the detail and did a extensive modification to the wiring of the vehicle.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:27PM (3/08/2010)
sean, you apparently don't read enough of my posts. Cick my username and search for Toyota and read up. You only have to go back to Mar 7 right now to see where I explain that I don't feel Toyota is lying to us. On Mar 4 you find I think Toyota should be one of the most respect car companies. On Feb 25th you'll see me saying the raiding of Denso by the FBI is no big deal, this price-fixing stuff happens all the time. And you'll see me saying that I think the chances of having an accident due to an accelerator flaw in a Toyota are very low.
Most importantly, you can look at ALL my AB posts and you'll see I never, EVER said that there was a flaw in the ECU in Toyota's leading to unintended acceleration. Not a single time. I did say they could have better fail safe systems for helping the driver bring a car under control when in these situations. Note that Toyota is adding these systems right now to their cars, and I feel that indicate my position on that matter is not unrealistic.
Once you have a better understanding of my actual position, maybe we can have an intelligent conversation.
tekdemon 9:54PM (3/08/2010)
@nardvark "They merely demonstrated that if you hardwire the accelerator to uncontrolled full throttle, the ECU does not use that information to go into a fail-safe mode. Like most other manufacturers do, because they responsibly engineered their systems."
Except Exponent showed that you could produce the same result in most other cars, including a Ford Fusion (and really, pretty much all cars that use an ECT).
Frankly your claim holds no water when it's already been shown that most cars can be rigged one way or another to accelerate. It's a meaningless test anyway since the only thing that matters is whether such a condition could occur in the real world without someone screwing with your pedal and ECU.
Cam 10:17AM (3/08/2010)
This is hardly this first, or last time, something like this will be done. In fact, to the trained eye editing tricks get used constantly in this manor, it's just most people don't notice it. Interviews especially are always edited in a certain way, often cutting off dialogue or skipping sections. A lot of things can be done with clever editing.
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Polly Prissy Pants 12:42PM (3/08/2010)
Exactly, the ABC report wasn't news, it was a dramatization of what "might" happen, with editing and spin and all that other stuff that exists to paint one persons picture of something. It's kinda like when you go to one of those movies that are "based on actual events" and see something totally fabricated, then see people walking out of the theater saying "wow, I can't believe that was a true story".
This is what you get when news agencies are committed to generating viewers first and reporting actual news comes second.
WeeDiddy 10:28AM (3/08/2010)
typical
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twesam 10:30AM (3/08/2010)
Yeah, we get it already, Toyota and every other foreign car is bad for your soul, stay away, buy American! Okay, okay!
I log on to AB for scoop on new cars not old women gossiping about how Toyota is the sole reason why D3 were producing crappy cars, smh!
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Tourian 2:17PM (3/08/2010)
Because Toyota and the D3 are the only options available to US car buyers.
slotownbrian 10:32AM (3/08/2010)
I remember the parking brake light being on the first time I saw this and thinking that it was odd...It was such a fast cut I never was able to see that the car was in Park. Yikes
Audi 5000 anyone?
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bssplayr 10:30AM (3/08/2010)
Having attended college for broadcasting, you start to learn to look for certain things on video, to ascertain whether they're 'real' or not. Like, for example, many 'reality' shows featuring 'surprise' home renovations...where the camera shows the homeowners being shocked to find that they were chosen for the show - except that the shot showing them answering the door is from INSIDE the house. Pretty tough to be shocked when there's already a camera crew there...
Or take the limits of a one-camera interview, as highlighted by the movie 'body heat.' If there's only one camera, WHEN did they get the shot of the interviewer reacting to the person's answers?
Consider that video is rarely shot 'in-sequence.' Footage is shot when it's convenient, and then edited together to make the (appearance of a) story.
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Soccer Mom 10:31AM (3/08/2010)
At this rate of Toyota trashing, I wouldn't be surprised to see a mob with torches and pitchforks looting NUMMI.
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jcar302 10:35AM (3/08/2010)
Bottom line, the whole ABC article is BS, there is no credibility to the news article.
I could pretty much rewire any piece of equipment that has wires and power to create a dangerous situation.
And for the record, that's my opinion, and i don't even like toyota.
I do believe there is unintended acceleration that is toyota's fault, i just think this news story is stupid and misleading.
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The Weegeean 10:45AM (3/08/2010)
The constant Toyota-bashing in the press has gone from funny to intensely stupid. Cobalts have faulty steering and you barely hear a peep from the press. Jeep Patriots are leaking horribly in everything from overhead lamps to door panels while Chrysler does nothing (seriously, on the Patriot forums just about every other post is from a disgruntled buyer trying to lemon the vehicle because nobody can fix the Jeep Patriot's leak problems, take a look on this thread: http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22477 and the other leak threads to see how bad the leak issues are).
Every maker has issues like this. Even unintended acceleration happens to vehicles from every brand.
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nardvark 10:51AM (3/08/2010)
I saw a ton of coverage on the Cobalt recall. The leader was something like "more trouble in the auto industry...a massive recall on Chevies and Pontiacs..."
Not sure how you missed it.
And unintended acceleration happens to vehicles from every brand, but Toyota's incident rate for unintended acceleration is substantially higher than the rest.
dave1w41 11:02AM (3/08/2010)
That's because...
1. Loss of steering assist at low speed isn't the same as the car taking off and trying to kill you.
2. The GM steering column was made by a company that is owned by Toyota and GM is involved in a lawsuit with them because the whole system fails to meet every criteria that they were contracted to meet.
3. This is about Toyota's mistakes not Chrysler/Jeep.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:46AM (3/08/2010)
The Cobalt story made the news where I am.
But listen, it's simple. Two families were killed within a span of two months in Toyota acceleration-related incidents. One of them had a juicy 911 call for the reporters to play on air.
Remember, if it bleeds, it leads. There's no bleeding/death component to the Cobalt recall, so it's not nearly as big a story.