The article the quote below was taken from a story about the serious issues Toyota seems to have with its jamming accelerators.
Some owners of recalled Toyotas are now saying they are afraid to drive them. “I live only a half mile from the office and I drive there,” said Elaine Byrnes, a Camry owner in Los Angeles. “If I had to go farther, I wouldn’t consider it.”
I lived in California for a year. So, I know what sort of attitude Americans have towards their cars but this was too much – definitely too much.
The story unfolded like this in my mind:
Some owners of recalled Toyotas are now saying they are afraid to drive them.
“Yes, that’s understandable. Toyota really has a problem. But what do you do? You depend on your cars, don’t you.”
“I live only a half mile from the office…”
“Ohh, well, then there’s no problem, is there? You could walk or take the bike.”
I even did the math quickly: an average adult walks about 5km (3.1 miles) in an hour. Hence, a half mile takes you a little over 10 minutes.
“…and I drive there,” said Elaine Byrnes, a Camry owner in Los Angeles.
“Seriously? What a waste!”
“If I had to go farther, I wouldn’t consider it.”
“What? That reasoning makes no sense at all. That most certainly qualifies for being one of the dumbest justifications for someones actions I’ve heard in a long while.”
As much as I love America, stories like this make me wonder if this planet has a future.