Honda Motor Co.'s (TSE:7267) Fit came in second, with a 26.7 per cent increase to 15, 444 units, switching positions with Suzuki Motor Corp.'s (TSE:7269) WagonR minivehicle, whose sales slipped 1.2 per cent to 15,067 units.

Toyota's Passo subcompact ranked sixth, with its sales jumping 70.8 per cent to 10,575 units.

Total new-car sales including minivehicles rose 4.4 per cent to mark a second consecutive month of increases. A broader range of models recorded sales gains in October, whereas only hybrid and a small band of other cars enjoyed popularity in previous months.

For example, Toyota's Voxy minivan came in 11th on a 54.2 per cent sales surge, and Nissan Motor Co.'s (TSE:7201) Serena minivan was ranked 13th, with sales shooting up 73.6 per cent.

As a result, 19 models posted sales of more than 5,000 units in October, compared with 15 a year earlier.

Tax breaks and subsidies have been fueling sales of green vehicles and compact cars, but they have created a tougher situation for minivehicles, which are less expensive and thus offer smaller savings.

Third-ranked WagonR's sales dipped 1.2 per cent, while fourth-placed Daihatsu Motor Co.'s (TSE:7262) Move suffered a 30.8 per cent sales drop.

(Nikkei) rw

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PRWeb.com

The crash in Santee that claimed four lives in August raised the profile of the issue with the public, Toyota, and federal regulators. California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor was at the wheel of a Lexus ES 350 sedan on Highway 125, when the vehicle inexplicably accelerated to speeds exceeding 100 mph. According to a 911 call of the incident, Saylor was unable to stop the Lexus before it crashed and burst into flames, killing him, his wife, daughter and brother-in-law.

This, however, is not the only fatal crash resulting from sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus models. Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies, Inc., has reported at least 16 fatalities and 243 injuries in crashes involving Toyotas that have been attributed to sudden unintended acceleration. In total, there have been more than 2,000 complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in these vehicles, culled from litigation and consumer-reported complaints to the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Toyota has tried to lay all the blame on floor mats, launching a recall last month affecting approximately four million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. But the evidence suggests that the causes of these uncontrolled acceleration events are likely more complex, involving computer, electronic, and mechanical systems.

"For years, Toyota Motor Corporation has dismissed complaints of sudden acceleration as being the driver's fault," said McCuneWright attorney, David Wright. "But neither driver error nor floor mats can explain away many other frightening instances of runaway Toyotas. Until the company acknowledges the real problem and fixes it, we worry that other preventable injuries and deaths will occur."

Toyota's first response should be immediate changes to their control systems, so drivers can safely stop a sudden unintended acceleration event, Wright said. Toyota's current design does not allow drivers to easily put the vehicle in neutral, apply the brakes, or just turn off the ignition. NHTSA recently highlighted this problem in a Vehicle Research & Test Center report. It noted that Toyota and Lexus drivers could be stymied in an emergency situation because:

    --  the ignition button on vehicles with a keyless ignition system must be
        depressed continuously for three seconds when the vehicle is moving
        before it will turn off the engine;
    --  the neutral gear position is difficult to find because it requires the
        driver to move the shifter both laterally and vertically; and

    --  when the throttle is in the open position it requires a brake pedal
        force of 150 pounds to stop the vehicle, five times more than the 30
        pounds required when the vehicle is operating normally.

In addition, Toyota vehicles are not equipped with a brake-to-idle failsafe, which many other manufacturers already incorporate in their designs. This failsafe brings the engine to idle when both the throttle is in the open position at the same time the brake pedal is being depressed.

"We think this lawsuit is necessary to save lives," Wright said. "Along with other individual lawsuits, the press, consumer groups, and the government, it is our goal to force Toyota to make these changes."

SOURCE McCuneWright, LLP