Apparently the Which? Car Magazine seems to think that VOSA is 'toothless', and that unlike it's US counterpart the NHTSA (which issued 118 recalls last year) VOSA has not issued a single recall. The report then goes on to lament the terrible lack of focus on consumer protection and health and safety that this lack of action has on VOSA's part.
The story reads like a typical 'average man in the street' consumer interest story, we should apparently be outraged that our ever higher taxes are paying for a government department that, for all intents and purposes, seems to be doing nothing.
As always, it pays to look behind the immediate story, and see what the actual picture is, rather than the lazy journalist's mindless regurgitation of a PA or Reuters news feed, and the avaricious editors choice of those stories that they think will grab eyeballs. Back in 2010 I wrote the following piece about Which? in the US creating a kerfuffle over an alleged safety issue with Lexus's SUV. If this is the type of recall being routinely issued by NHTSA in the US, then perhaps we can be reassured by the fact that VOSA is obviously investigating and filtering out this kind of nonsense before it hits UK shores. Of course, it could also be delinquent, but then I don't see any actual investigation by the journalists, as that's not what we pay them for anymore...
They advise not to buy it until Toyota (owner of the Lexus brand) fix the 'problem'. Needless to say CNN, the major news channels and even the BBC (linked here) is echoing the report, without managing to lift their brains out of neutral to actually analyse the source material. /facepalm
If you actually watch the Consumer reports video below, you can clearly see the test driver enter a turn at far too high a speed, then panic and lift sharply off the accelerator - exactly the behaviour that we are taught not to do as it destabilises the rear of the car and can cause it to spin. So, basically the tester is driving like a numpty. The Lexus's electronic stability control intervenes, and the car neither spins nor rolls over. Marvellous.
You can watch the YouTube video yourself here.
So hang on a minute, why is Consumer reports saying not to buy the car as they think it is dangerous? Well folks, they say: "We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death."
Did they manage to cause the car to roll over? No.
Did they manage to cause the car to have any sort of accident? No.
Have any deaths, or even serious injuries been reported in accidents involving that make and model of car in similar circumstances to the test? No.
Have they ever heard of any accident AT ALL happening to that model car similar to the scenario that they are postulating? No.
So basically: No, No, No and No.
The reason? Because when you go too fast and sharply lift off the accelerator, the back end of the car steps out. Any car. All cars. Hell, there's even an entire sport devoted to doing exactly that, it is called Drifting!
Let's look at some of America's popular SUVs doing exactly the same thing that the Lexus does:
Mercedes Benz G55
Ford Explorer
Audi Q5
Jeep Cherokee
Etc. etc. I think you get my point. In the software industry we have two terms for this:
- WaD = 'Working as Designed", and
- PEBKAC = Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair
:-)
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