2010
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Slick Lines And a Potential For 202 MPG
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Global Recall Part Of Toyota’s Consumer Retention Strategy
More Cars Get Added To the Toyota Recall List
Jonathan McGrew -
RECALL: 2010 Toyota Prius, Lexus HS250h For ABS Software Update
As expected, Toyota has announced a recall for its 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Lexus HS 250h models to update the anti-lock braking system (ABS) software. The new software improves the response time of the anti-lock system and alters its sensitivity to tire slippage. The update is intended to reduce...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Contacts Dealers With Fix For Prius Braking Problems, Software Flaw Identified
Toyota has been criticized in media reports for their slow response to claims of accelerator pedal troubles that forced the company to recall millions of vehicles, but their response to the potential braking issues with the Toyota Prius can be considered immediate. Toyota has already contacted...
Eric Loveday -
More Than 30 MPG Highway: The New Benchmark For Green Cars?
So what exactly IS a "green car"? At both the Los Angeles Auto Show and Detroit Auto Show, you could find the word "green" all over the place. LA has been pitching itself for years as the greenest auto show, with fewer muscle cars and more hybrids, clean diesels, and so forth than any other U.S...
John Voelcker -
Why The 2010 Toyota Prius Doesn't Have A Lithium-Ion Battery
Many reviewers lauded the new, third generation 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid when it launched last spring--but wondered why it didn't use a lithium-ion battery, rather than 15-year-old nickel-metal-hydride technology. Now we learn that the 2010 Prius was indeed supposed to have a new, more energy-dense...
John Voelcker -
Before either car launched, the 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Honda Insight were viewed as natural rivals. Would the third generation of Toyota's definitive hybrid be threatened by Honda's "least expensive hybrid", which too offered five doors and good gas mileage? What a difference a year makes. Prius romps, Insight craters The 2010 Prius was a smash hit. Its global sales success strained Toyota and caused shortages of nickel-metal-hydride battery packs. Of 270,000 sales to date, about 140,000 came from the United States. Its nemesis proved to be not Honda, but high-tech braking software. The...
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New Hybrid Braking Issue: First Prius, Now Ford Fusion Hybrid
Another day, another hybrid braking problem. Only this time, it's not Toyota. It's Ford. Late yesterday, Ford announced a "customer satisfaction program" that will ask that owners of 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid models built before October 17 to bring the cars to their...
John Voelcker -
More Toyota Woes: 2010 Toyota Prius Head For A Recall?
The Braking Issues On the 2010 Prius Rear Their Head
Jonathan McGrew -
UPDATE: Braking Issue In 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid, Recall TBD
UPDATE: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal inquiry into the brakes of the 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. It has now received 124 complaints of faulty brakes, out of roughly 37,000 of the cars sold to date in the U.S. Toyota said it would cooperate fully with the...
John Voelcker -
UPDATE: Toyota Admits Braking Problems, On 2010 Prius Only
Things are moving fast in the land of Toyota safety issues and recalls. Yesterday, we told you that the 2010 Toyota Prius was being investigated for braking problems in Japan. Today, Toyota has admitted that most 2010 Prius models (those built between the start of production last spring and late...
John Voelcker -
Is Woz's Prius Acceleration Just Toyota's Wacky Adaptive Cruise?
UPDATE, February 8, 2009: Speaking in a sort-of-webchat on Digg, Toyota president Jim Lentz said of the Woz complaint, "We are working with him on the operation of the cruise control." Please forgive us while we quietly smirk. ++++++++++ It's obviously pile-on-Toyota week. Transportation Secretary...
John Voelcker -
Citing allegations of braking loss or slippage, Japan's Ministry of Transportation ordered Toyota to launch an investigation into possible brake problems in the new 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. That car, currently in short supply globally and also the best-selling car in Japan, is the subject of 14 complaints from drivers in Japan and more than 100 in the U.S. 2010 Prius only, not earlier models Toyota's investigation will be restricted to the third-generation 2010 Prius, introduced in the U.S. early last year. It will not cover either the first-generation (2000-2003) or second-generation...
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Review: 2010 Toyota Yaris Takes On Fit, Versa
By Tim Healey Toyota's Yaris sometimes gets lost in the small-car shuffle, losing press to the Honda Fit, the Nissan Versa, and Toyota's own (admittedly larger) Corolla. The little subcompact quietly soldiers on with minimal changes for 2010. The biggest news is the addition of standard traction...
Nelson Ireson -
Recall Update: Reports Say Toyota and NHTSA Slow To Respond
Toyota Takes More Heat For Automotive Recall Problems
Jonathan McGrew -
Edmunds Consumer Poll Puts 2010 Ford Fusion As Top Hybrid
Ford Seems To Be Taking More Market Share From Toyota
Jonathan McGrew -
GM Tries To Do Damage Control: Pontiac Vibe Is Safe To Drive
Toyota’s Misfortune Is Affecting Others Who Partner With Them
Jonathan McGrew -
2010 Tesla Roadster Sport Offers More Punch
For About $25K Extra You Can Get To 60 MPH Quicker
Jonathan McGrew -
Some Say It Gives the GTI a Run For Its Money
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Ferrari To Unveil First Hybrid at Geneva Auto Show
It's highly unlikely that anyone could have ever guessed that Ferrari would launch a hybrid product, but believe it or not the time is coming. The company will officially show off its first hybrid product at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show in March. Ferrari and hybrid are two unlikely words to find in...
Eric Loveday -
Toyota Dealers to Give Away 2010 Prius at Chicago Auto Show
As widely reported yesterday, Toyota has suspended sales of 8 models due to a faulty accelerator pedal mechanism. The defective part apparently causes the pedal to stick, resulting in unintended acceleration and loss of control of the vehicle. So what does a Chicagoland Toyota dealership do when...
Robert Scardino -
New Hybrid Scorecard Slams Carmakers For Loading On Luxury
It's long been known that hybrid buyers often choose them over luxury cars, and aren't buying them solely for the payback in gasoline savings. But a new Hybrid Scorecard, launched by the Union of Concerned Scientists, slams carmakers for inflating their prices by loading luxury into fuel-efficient...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Corolla Production Halts With 7 Other Models
Toyota Takes Another Beating On the Recall Side Of the Business
Jonathan McGrew -
Which Car Company Seeks To Achieve 1 Million Annual Hybrid Sales in 2011?
Hybrids Become Huge Focus For One Car Company
Jonathan McGrew