Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Carbondale, Illinois

Correct... David W. Gilbert, PhD. Professor of Automotive Technology Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Yes, sorry my mistake. Dr Gilbert is on faculty at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Many thanks for the clarification. Darn, knew that.

Just as a point of clarification.....isn't Dr. Gilbert on the faculty of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale??? I don't think he is at the University of Illinois.

The real problem with Dr. Gilbert's test was that It was too close to reality for Toyota to allow further testing. You do know that Toyota has pulled funding from the school and suggested they fire Dr. Gilbert. Would you keep testing if it meant losing your job? Toyota Lashed Out At Professor David Gilbert During Big Recall JIM SUHR | 07/10/10 09:16 PM | AP CARBONDALE, Ill. — It's the kind of publicity any university might dream about: An instructor uncovers a possible flaw that's causing some of the world's most popular cars to accelerate suddenly. His ground-breaking work attracts interest from Congress and reporters worldwide. But as Southern Illinois University's David Gilbert sought to show that electronics might be to blame for the problem in Toyotas, the world's largest automaker tried to cast doubt on his findings. One Toyota employee even questioned whether he should be employed by the school, which has long been a recipient of company donations. Electronic messages obtained by The Associated Press show the automaker grew increasingly frustrated with Gilbert's work and made its displeasure clear to his bosses at the 20,000-student school. "It did kind of catch us off-guard," university spokesman Rod Sievers said. So did the fallout. Two Toyota employees quickly resigned from an advisory board of the school's auto-technology program, and the company withdrew offers to fund two spring-break internships. The pressure on him continued to build. On March 8, Mark Thompson – identifying himself as an SIU alum and, without elaboration, a Toyota Motor Sales employee – voiced in an e-mail to the university's then-chancellor, Sam Goldman, his "great concern and disappointment" about Gilbert. Thompson said he was "deeply disturbed" by what he called Gilbert's false accusations about the automaker. Thompson reminded Goldman that he and Toyota regularly contributed to the university – including a $100,000 check to the auto-tech program in late 2008 – and "due to the outstanding reputation your automotive technology program has, we donate much more than money," including cars. "I ask you why your organization allows such activities to be performed by one of your professors and most importantly allowed to be reported to the media in a false manner," Thompson wrote. "I believe he should not be an employee of our fine university." That was one of several threats from Toyota concerning Gilbert's position with the School. We haven't heard much from Dr. Gilbert since the Congressional hearings. I guess the threats worked.

It's Dr. Gilbert - the same disgraced tech teacher who's theories have been debunked as wild speculation and was being paid by a lawyers representative. Sounds like you've been reading the Exponet press releases - you know, the firm of experts hired by Toyota's lawyers to put their own slant on things. Dr. Gilbert still shows up on the faculty page at the Automotive Division at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Doesn't seem to be in any disgrace to me. And I suspect he'll show up as an expert witness when the lawsuits get to the trial stage; he's probably already giving depositions. What I understand is that Gilbert was able to cause a voltage fault in the throttle position sensors that didn't get recorded by the computer. He never said that his example was the root cause of SUA. Disgraceful eh? Bah. Attacking individuals like this instead of attacting the facts is a poor substitute for getting to the truth, imo.