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Green Car Journal has announced its five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year; for the fifth consecutive year, this prestigious award will be announced at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show on December 3....
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It's the week ending November 13, and we've browsed our favorite automotive blogs all week long to gather the highlights from each....
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It's the week ending November 6, and we've browsed our favorite automotive blogs all week long to gather the highlights from each.
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Toyota Motor Sales seems to have been too enthusiastic in its response to a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report when it issued a press release Monday stating “No defect exists in vehicles with properly installed floor mats.” Toyota had claimed that NHTSA had completed its investigation into unintended acceleration with certain models, finding that " ... the only defect trend related to vehicle speed control in the subject vehicles involved the potential for accelerator pedals to become trapped near the floor by out-of-position or inappropriate floor mat installations." (See our post “ NHTSA Says No Defect In Recalled Toyota, Lexus Vehicles .”) NHTSA has come out with a strong rebuke, calling the Toyota release “inaccurate and misleading.” In its own statement, the government safety organization said: “NHTSA has told Toyota and consumers that removing the recalled floor mats is the most immediate way to address the safety risk and avoid the possibility of the accelerator becoming stuck. But it is simply an interim measure. This remedy does not correct the underlying defect in the vehicles involving the potential for entrapment of the accelerator...
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Toyota was strapped in the national hot-seat after a tragic accident in August involving a Lexus ES 350 was blamed on sudden, unintended acceleration. A floor mat from a Lexus RX 400h SUV was wrongly fitted to the sedan and suspected as being a key factor in that incident. Toyota Motor Sales has begun mailing letters to owners of certain Toyota and Lexus models regarding the potential for an unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat to interfere with the accelerator pedal and cause it to get stuck in the wide-open position. (Read " Toyota, Lexus Recalling 3.8 Million Vehicles to Inspect Floor Mats .") More significantly, Toyota reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( NHTSA ) has completed its investigation and found that no defect exists in vehicles in which the driver's floor mat is compatible with the vehicle and properly secured. After conducting an extensive technical review of the issue, including interviews with consumers who had complained of unwanted acceleration, NHTSA concluded that " ... the only defect trend related to vehicle speed control in the subject vehicles involved the potential for accelerator pedals to become...
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Findings from a federal investigation into the fatal car crash that led to Toyota recalling 3.8 million vehicles point to a possible link between floor mats and accelerator pedal design, according to the Los Angeles Times . The Times reports that analysis by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “draws no conclusions” about the August accident that was the catalyst for the safety advisory and the automaker's largest-ever recall, but it does make key observations highlighted below. The report surfaced by the LA Times is an important milestone, but the investigation continues. The agency has not yet reviewed information stored on the electronic data recorder, which should provide further insight into the operating conditions at time of time at triple-digit speeds. That said, the findings thus far do paint clearer picture of the conditions that lead to this tragedy and even suggests a possible solution, should the pedal design be officially named a causal factor. What we know thus far: The Lexus ES 350 driven by an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer, with three family members as passengers, had been a dealer loaner. The Lexus was fitted with all-weather...
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It's the week ending October 23, and we've browsed our favorite automotive blogs all week long to gather the highlights from each. Toyota's problem with unintended acceleration remains in the headlines at LeftLaneNews where they suggest the problem goes deeper than loose floormats, perhaps even to a flawed design with a highly computerized engine control system that lacks a fail-safe mechanism for emergency situations. Betcha that's something lots of people are thinking! Tokyo Motor Show is underway, and as much as we especially love all the fun concepts and high-tech prototypes we see there every two years, we also love the Tokyo booth babes, whose costumes are even more funky than the vehicles themselves. Carscoop has posted a gallery of Tokyo Motor Show girls that perfectly illustrate this point. And yes, they also show some fun cars too. Lounging under the influence: A Minnesota man took his motorized La-Z-Boy out for a drive, and after drinking eight or nine beers, crashed it into a parked car while trying to "pop a wheelie." Apparently, his blood alcohol limit was 0.29 - more than three times the legal limit. Yeah, if I had a cushy chair powered by a...
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It is the week ending October 16, and we have browsed our favorite automotive blogs all week long to gather the highlights from each....
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Safety experts have become so concerned that today's whisper-quiet hybrid and electric cars may pose a danger to visually-impaired pedestrians that they've introduced a study to investigate whether such vehicles should have artificial soundtracks to help people nearby hear them....
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So, CNN Money is reporting that Ford is recalling more than 4 million vehicles due to a potential fire hazard that can be created by a faulty cruise control deactivation switch. A friend of mine sent me an email that said " See? This is why people don't buy American. " The recall covers 1995-2003 Windstars, 2000-2003 Excursion diesels, 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 F-Super Duty diesels, 1992-2003 Econolines, 1995-2002 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Rangers and 1994 F35 motorhomes. This is the eighth recall that involves a specific faulty switch manufactured by Texas Instruments, and brings the total to more than 16 million Ford vehicles recalled because that switch. The article at CNN Money advises that "Ford drivers should look for warnings of possible imminent fires, including malfunctioning cruise control systems and brake lights and antilock braking system and brake light warnings on the dashboard. The safety agency also said difficulty in getting the vehicle out of the park mode should be treated as a warning." Ford says it has not used that switch in any model years after 2003. It's disappointing that this is what people think...
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Toyota will use the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show to unveil its latest concept car, the FT-86 sports car. The name doesn’t roll off the tongue, but the car itself is quite tasty. The FT-86 is the long-rumored coupe co-developed with Subaru, and it suggests fun may be returning to the rather conservative product line. The FT-86 is rear drive, with a 2.0-liter boxer engine under hood. Toyota has not yet released the horsepower, though it may be rather entertaining, for Subaru offers a turbocharged 2.0L in Japan. The car measures 163-inches long and 69-inches wide, making it about the size of the Nissan 370Z . For contrast and historical perspective, it is more than a foot shorter than the Subaru XT sports car from the 1980s and about seven inches shy of the last-generation Toyota Celica . Toyota refers to the FT-86 as a five seater, though from the photos it is hard to imagine it holding that many full-sized humans. Subaru is expected to introduce its own version of the FT-86 on the show circuit this year. Naturally, the car will feature all-wheel drive. It could be quite interesting with a 2.5-liter engine family, like the Impreza, ranging up to the 265-hp WRX and 305-hp STI. This is definitely...
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As Toyota and Lexus brace its mechanics to inspect the floor mats on more than 3.8 million vehicles, it is also offering the following advice to drivers of who might be concerned about what to do in case of unintentional acceleration:
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This might not be such a well-publicized issue if not for the tragic deaths of a California Highway Patrol Officer and three members of his family last month. While the exact cause of the accident has not yet been proven, initial police reports say his speeding 2009 Lexus ES could not be stopped because the driver's floor mat had interfered with the pedals. In response, Toyota has issued a Consumer Safety Advisory asking owners of specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver's floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat. "If there's any doubt in their mind about the security and shape of their mat, go ahead and visit the dealer" to have it checked, says Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons. Toyota considers this a critical matter and will soon launch a safety campaign on specific Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also alerted Lexus and Toyota owners : "This is an urgent matter," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "For everyone's sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration." Toyota's...
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The all-new, fifth-generation Toyota 4Runner is incrementally larger, more powerful, more capable off-road, and $1,000 less than last year’s model. The 2010 4Runner will be offered in three grades: the top-of-the-line Limited, value based yet well-equipped SR5, and an all-new Trail grade (shown here) aimed at outdoor adventurers who require maximum off-road capability. Pricing ranges from $27,500 for the SR5 grade 4x2 with a four-cylinder engine to $39,800 for the Limited grade 4x4 V6. Despite improvements and added equipment, the MSRP for the most popular 4Runner, the SR5 4x4 V6, remains the same as the previous generation at $30,915. As with the third-generation, the new 4Runner offers a choice of four- and six-cylinder engine. The 2.7-liter inline four produces 157 horsepower and 178 lbs.-ft. of torque – notably 22 horsepower less than the RAV4. With a four-speed automatic transmission, this base four returns 18 mpg city, 23 mpg highway. For more grunt, the 4.0-liter V-6 products 270 horsepower and 278 lbs.-ft. of torque. Compared against the previous, the new V-6 engine produces 34 horsepower more and 10 horsepower more than the optional V-8. (See our fourth-gen 4Runner review ...
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The days for lawful texting while driving are numbered, with several government and academic studies exposing the extreme dangers of this popular distraction. Ahead of a Department of Transportation-led safety conference in Washington, D.C., next week, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) has announced its support for banning text messaging using a hand-held device or calling using a hand-held device while driving a motor vehicle. The AAM is an 11-member industry group consisting of BMW Group, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Several AAM members are developing solutions to facilitate text-based communication, all offer Bluetooth connectivity to allow hands-free phone operation. There is general consensus on the problem and the risks, with some studies equating texting to drunk driving, or worse. However, the debate continues on how to reduce those risks, through legislation and/or technology. (Read “ Cell Phones Quadruple Chance of Crash .”) AAM has come forward with the strong statement: …"texting on a hand-held device while driving is challenging the ability...
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