Well, my Lexus doesn't have an ignition key, there's a button. The article says the engine will turn off if you hold the button for three seconds, but I didn't know that until I read it. And I'm wondering if three seconds would be soon enough in an emergency. Putting it in neutral would have been a good thing.

Floor mats seem to be a rather benign accessory in every automobile in the world except Toyota.
How can a floor mat be inherently dangerous? Perhaps if you drape it over your accelerator, or tie the pedal to the mat and then push it forward, but that seems to be an anal retentive thing to do.
I am still trying to figure out how to design a killer floor mat, these Japanese wonder cars just have everything don't they?

Aren't Toyotas made in Tennessee?

This sounds more like a broken engine mount than a simple accelerator sticking open.
If the motor mounts break the engine can torgue over to one side. This often will cause several things to happen all at the same time.
1. The accelerator can be forced wide open.
2. The vacuum hose can be dislodged from the power brakes.
3. The transmission shifting lever can be jammed.
The end result is a rapidly accelerating car, that has degraded braking, and the inability of changing the gear selection.
This will instill panic in the most seasoned and qualified driver and will most likely end in a tragic wreck.
From your account I would not be surprised if that is what happened to your friend. The only thing you can do to stop this is to kill the engine.. If you can think fast enough with all these things happening to do so, you are a calm, cool, collected individual. With the new push button ignitions odds are even higher of accomplishing the task.
My condolences to you for the loss of a friend and to his family for their loss.

have you never experienced flooring the accelerator while in neutral? turning the key to off without locking to the steering column would probably be a better...and safer option.

This plus the recent revelation that Toyota has burned internal documents to hide quality problems that led to similar deaths really shows what a good ethical company it really is. Their immoral actions aren't limited to just union busting anymore. Enjoy your foreign overlords those of you who keep making sure American jobs are outsourced to Japan, Germany and Korea. Thanks for putting America last.

That post is rather poor English. Maybe you should put some of that hard work into your language skills instead of insulting someone with unfounded accusations. What proof do you have that he's lazy? That he doesn't think highly of Toyota?

It is not irrational to think Toyotas are inferior cars, many who have driven them will say that freely. For instance I owned a 2003 Celica and got into a 15 MPH collision. That collision totaled my rather sorry excuse for a car due to the poor construction. A 20,000 dollar car, totaled by a 15 MPH collision, how is that quality?

I have since switched to GM and purchased several GM vehicles, most recently a 2010 Equinox that gets 32 MPG highway compared to "green" toyota which doesn't have a single SUV that passes the 30 MPG mark. It doesn't help that those Toyota SUVs also have low roof durability and correspondingly high injury rates which they cover up by burning documents in violation of American law.

Keep on your high horse about Toyota and Lexus if you want, but you made an inferior decision and should almost certainly not use that decision to gloat by insulting someone who supports domestic industrial production. I seriously doubt anyone would be jealous of you and your used Lexus, but maybe you're just flattering yourself for therapeutic reasons.

I have an '08 Porsche Carrera that shuts off at 185 mph.

Yes hurling down the road at a 120mph is much nicer.

I had a soda bottle stuck in my accelerator before... it sucked

are those bulky floor mats?

Much ado about very, very litle. Just a bit of common sense is required here. Clearly, it is just common sense to move ANY obstruction from the area near the foot controls such as the accelerator peddle. My new 2010 Camry was delivered to me without the " offending " carpet and replaced with the shorter and thinner winter mats. This dealer was on top of this potential problem months ago, and ALL of the new vehicles sold there had the rug mats removed and the thinner winter mat installed. There is clearly plenty of clearance in the pedal area of my Camry. Just a bit of common sense is in order here and a mass media event is absurd.

oh yeah, and how is shifting going to help a kiddo, pull that floor mat from the accelerator when they are in 70mph rush hour traffic?