Re: unintended acceleration sources

[VINCELYONS@aol.com]

I was employed by the dealership that sued Audi of America
for having failed to defend the franchise.

Brock Yates I recall put a little tid-bit in his column about
my previous employer who offered large sums of cash to 
anyone who could come to the dealership and make 
" Un-intended acceleration" really happen on our lot 
( I recall no takers ) .

I don't recall the exact words but,
the subject dealer principle put it something like this:

"... Imagine you've lent your car to a relative or 
close friend, they return the car damaged and 
relate a story to you of how the car accelerated 
uncontorllably, and the harder they pushed the
brake pedal the faster the car went. After the accident the 
car was perfectly functional, not only was there no evidence
to support their claim, and no sign of mechanical failure 
but all systems of the car functioned within designed 
parameters. The throttle closed as it should and the brakes
continued to hold even against full throttle in drive ( aka:
stall speed test ).  To sum it up just ask yourself... Would
you hesitate, thinking twice before lending this person your 
car in the future ?"

Vince Lyons
 
My personnal belief is that Americans as a group cannot
consider such a concept as "Corporate Responsibilty" as 
anything other than an oxymoron. 

As I understand it other manufacturers were approached 
about this concept of "Un-intended acceleration" but they 
had the gonads to say "...Don't be an idiot, go away and
stop bothering us..." . Similar to the way SUV manufacturers
respond to claims of "Rollover hazard" etc.

Audi on the other hand with their " We're investigating it" 
kind of responses simply let the tabloid TV crews 
smell blood. After all, they were acting responsibly, they
must be hiding something, coporations NEVER act 
responsibly. Yellow journalism prevailed. In the media
you are always "Presumed Guilty", and never fully 
exhonerated. 

My opinion:
To sum it all up, unintended acceleration was caused 
by a loose nut, found behind the steering wheel.