It seems like gold-digging jerks are now lining up their sights on Toyota, hoping for a quick buck.

This is particularly sad because it seems that Toyota, in response to their recent issues with accelerator and brake pedals really seems to be “doing the right thing” and is being very above board with admitting to the problems, and fixing them properly.

Some guy made the news (see here) because his Prius allegedly would not slow down, and got up to 94 mph.  He claims this was due to a sticking accelerator pedal, or some unknown malfunction.  Now, I drive a Prius myself, and I know that all you have to do to get the thing to slow down in the event the accelerator jams and the brakes aren’t effective, is to simply put it in neutral or turn off the engine.  Is that really so terribly difficult?  Is this guy really so stupid that he can’t figure that out, or is he angling for some dough from Toyota?

Here’s a link to a pretty detailed article in PriusChat which exposes more of the “aroma” surrounding this story.  Included is a video which demonstrates what happens in a Prius when you floor the accelerator, hold it down, and simultaneously apply the brakes.  Guess what it does?  Oh okay, I’ll tell you.  The car slows down and stops.  Kinda boring, isn’t it?

Still, I’m figuring that if I get pulled over for speeding, I’ve got a story for the officer…