Toyota UA-LAC

[Steve Sears]

Perhaps Toyota did not follow the last MASSIVE drive-by-wire failure....or, 
more correctly, fly-by-wire......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kHa3WNerjU
A number of the early Airbusses encountered situations where the pilot had 
to fight with the computer, the airshow was the most memorable one, but 
there was also an amateur video taken of an Airbus over somewhere in europe, 
where the aircraft went through a number of cycles of extreme climb, 
followed by a stall.  In that case, the computer was programmed that, in the 
event of a missed approach, the plane would go to full power and a high rate 
of climb to rejoin the circuit.  The pilot would anticipate a stall and 
would push the yoke forward, which would result in the computer attempting 
an even higher rate of climb, which resulted in a stall.
IMHO, the push button start is nothing more than a gimmick which makes a car 
into a toy....and with somebody driving at 70 and thinking at 20 it's a 
deadly one.  The key is not only a tool to start the car, but also a symbol 
of the responsibility you must shoulder when you go out for a drive.
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ
1980 Audi 5k
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes