Amidst rumblings of war with Iran - and even an invasion of Pakistan (just to get Bin Laden, of course) - oBOMBa and McSame have both pledged their allegiance to a troop buildup in Afghanistan. Gotta change the focus of the "War on Terror" now that Iraq has become so unpopular.
Isn't it amazing how the two "opposition" parties can always agree on more war? How the Democrats - ushered in on anti-war sentiment - always wind up joining the Republicans for war funding? Talk about a two-party "system." It lapdogs for the military-industrial complex, promotes U.S. imperialism, and refuses to impeach Bush and Cheney for war crimes. Still wanna vote? I don't. And won't. But if you still do, save youself some time and just flip a coin. And use a dime to remind yourself that it won't make a dime's worth of difference which candidate or which party gets elected.
You can say the War on Terror is all about oil. Real oil for corrupt corporate interests, and snake oil for the rest of us. Hup, two, three, four, and The Great American War Machine is on the move....
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
Toyota stays quiet about design defects
Toyota's MR2 Spyders have an alarming number of engine and exhaust failures requiring replacement. Spyderchat.com (USA) features a multitude of postings from MR2 owners. My post is number 128. There's also a detailed documentation of pre-cat removal. For an in-depth technical discussion of these engine failures, visit the British MR2 Roadster Owners Club's official information thread. British Spyder owners have started a number of forums addressing this problem. CarSurvey.com features an especially interesting personal account.
Talk about financial schemes and rip-offs. This one puts Wall Street to shame. Its another one of those deals where an automobile manufacturer stays quiet about a known defect, buys time and then claims they aren't liable because the warranty has expired. No regard whatsoever for folks who suddenly find themselves with ruined engines and exhaust systems costing about $8,000 to replace. Adding insult to injury, owners can't be assured the problem has been corrected when their engines are rebuilt. Numerous engine failures have occured within low mileages, prompting some owners to sell their cars rather than chance another failure. Of course, this puts the next buyer at risk while Toyota basks in the sunshine of getting paid enormous sums of money to correct their own error. And insofar as a class action lawsuit is concerned, forget it. Not many Spyders were produced, and with a relatively small number of owners, lawyers aren't interested. Furthermore, industry lobbyists have made it extremely expensive to file class actions. So I guess Toyota has played it pretty smart. In a crooked sort of way...
I now have a separate blog, "Beware of Toyota: Their next victim may be YOU..." at http://www.uc2.blogspot.com/
Talk about financial schemes and rip-offs. This one puts Wall Street to shame. Its another one of those deals where an automobile manufacturer stays quiet about a known defect, buys time and then claims they aren't liable because the warranty has expired. No regard whatsoever for folks who suddenly find themselves with ruined engines and exhaust systems costing about $8,000 to replace. Adding insult to injury, owners can't be assured the problem has been corrected when their engines are rebuilt. Numerous engine failures have occured within low mileages, prompting some owners to sell their cars rather than chance another failure. Of course, this puts the next buyer at risk while Toyota basks in the sunshine of getting paid enormous sums of money to correct their own error. And insofar as a class action lawsuit is concerned, forget it. Not many Spyders were produced, and with a relatively small number of owners, lawyers aren't interested. Furthermore, industry lobbyists have made it extremely expensive to file class actions. So I guess Toyota has played it pretty smart. In a crooked sort of way...
I now have a separate blog, "Beware of Toyota: Their next victim may be YOU..." at http://www.uc2.blogspot.com/
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