Why I want a '69 BOSS 302...

Aside from the sheer coolness factor, I've now been conviced that is a
matter of personal safety to get a non-technical "dumb" car, which has as
few computer parts as possible.

http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,1849825,00.asp

August 4, 2005
Software Bugs Threaten Toyota Hybrids
By Mel Duvall
Strong sales of Toyota's Prius hybrid vehicles could be threatened by
software malfunctions that leave drivers stuck in traffic.


Heading home from work in late March, Diana Len's heart raced as she tried
to figure out what was happening to her normally reliable 2004 Toyota
Prius. The St. Augustine, Fla., resident was boxed in between several other
vehicles in heavy traffic when a big red triangle suddenly appeared on the
dashboard. Then, the check-engine warning light came on, along with the
cryptic letters "VSC," or vehicle stability control.

The next thing Len knew, the vehicle's gasoline-powered engine shut off.

Luckily, the Toyota hybrid—which runs on both gasoline and electricity—had
enough juice in its batteries to get Len to a nearby parking lot where she
could call a tow truck. Len's vehicle spent the next week in the service
shop at Lighthouse Toyota in St. Augustine before the problem was
eventually traced to faulty software and not the vehicle stability control,
the systems that prevent a vehicle from tipping on sharp turns.

"It all sounded a bit mysterious to me," says Len, whose vehicle's repairs
were covered under a warranty. "I had no idea it would be that complicated
or take that long to repair."

Nor, as it turns out, did a number of other Prius owners.

In what is a rare black eye for the Japanese automaker, the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the
hot-selling vehicle to determine whether a safety recall is warranted.

Toyota has issued service bulletins, asking 2004 and 2005 Prius owners to
bring their vehicles into dealerships to have the hybrid electronic control
unit reprogrammed to eliminate an error that could cause the vehicle to
limp along as though it has run out of gas.

(continued in article)

--
kai - www.perfectreign.com
linux - genuine windows replacement part
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