It appears the 2007 Dodge Caliber could be the next victim of UAS. Unintended Acceleration Syndrome, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, may be responsible for dozens of deaths and injuries in Toyota vehicles, and is the reason for their quick response to five official complaints in regard to the Dodge Caliber. We can’t help but wonder how three separate mechanical devices and dozens of electric circuits are having more trouble than a single lever or cable. Is it just us?
We never cease to be amazed by the number of “advancements” in automotive technology that seem to be there for no reason but trickery. Have tens of thousands of people been killed by sticking throttle levers on ’69 Camaros? Have tens of thousands been killed by sticking throttle cables on old Mopars? If so, why haven’t we ever heard about it before? And does the cruise control on your new Toyota really work any better than the cruise control on a 1980 Chevy pickup? We can’t stand the way newer cars lag in picking up the cruise control, and the lack of throttle response is just plain stupid on a new car.
Will the 2012 models be coming out with a new Driver Direct throttle? That would be marketing speak for mechanical linkage boys and girls. Perhaps the gang over at Lokar should be calling the Big Three and offering their services.
We picked this story up from our pals at SouthWestDrags.com who thought we would have some fun with otherwise mundane new car news and sent us a link to Neil Roland’s Automotive News story from this morning.
We would be remiss if we didn’t touch on the idiocy of the so called “complainants” mentioned in the story, one of which said his Caliber “abnormally accelerated” from 15 to 75 miles per hour and only stopped accelerating after he reached down to lift the pedal with his hand. I’m sure the kiddos in the school zone were amazed by the speed of the driverless Caliber careening by. When you consider that a Caliber RT goes 0-60 in just over 10 seconds, you gotta wonder how this driver couldn’t drop it into neutral well before 75, and without taking his hands off the wheel or eyes off the road.
He was probably sending a text to his girlfriend.
For all the Automotive News story, click here.
