Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

15 Mar 2010 20:16

tags

Biz: It’s official: The runaway Prius incident is a complete media circus

Look at that runaway Toyota Prius fly! It’s like going so fast it’s not gonna stop! Press down on that brake! Oh. It stopped. Would you look at that? source

15 Mar 2010 11:05

tags

Biz: Odd: Toyota couldn’t make that guy’s runaway Prius run away

  • They suggest that he might’ve been lying. Last week’s uber-bizarre story, the guy whose Prius had a stuck gas pedal and was talked to safety by police, may get even weirder. Apparently, technicians have been playing with the guy’s car and have not been able to replicate the circumstances that created the incident. Driver Jim Sikes says that he stands behind his story, BTW. source

09 Mar 2010 13:28

tags

Politics: Is the runaway Prius story getting a tad bit overhyped?

  • No one was hurt. But we have a new instant celebrity. When what we really need is to put the brakes on out-of-whack priorities.
  • MarketWatch assistant managing editor Steve Kerch • Regarding the runaway Toyota Prius story getting lots of attention. He prefaces this story by noting a recent car crash in Chicago that killed four young women but got no national press coverage. “As the circus grows around every little Toyota engine burp,” Kerch notes, “turn a thought to those four women. It’ll help you keep your perspective on true tragedy.” Well-put. source

09 Mar 2010 09:37

tags

Biz: The runaway Toyota Prius story has legs, getting huge coverage

  • I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny … it jumped and it just stuck there. As it was going, I was trying the brakes … it wasn’t stopping.
  • James Sikes • Whose Toyota Prius wouldn’t stop on a San Diego interstate, but was miraculously stopped with the help of police. Sikes’ Prius, by the way, was one of the cars recalled because of possibility of the floor mat accelerator getting stuck in the accelerator. No word on if he took advantage of the recall. source

08 Mar 2010 23:38

tags

Biz: 911 cell phone caller: “HELP! MY PRIUS WON’T STOP!”

  • Police had to help them stop their vehicle. Everyone’s favorite barrel fish to shoot, the broken Toyota accelerator, reared its ugly head again tonight when someone in one of the hybrids could not stop their vehicle, at one point going as fast as 94 miles an hour. While the Prius in the past hasn’t suffered from the sticking pedal problems that Toyota’s other cars do, it does suffer from braking system issues (the 2010 model), along with a gas pedal that can get caught in the floor mat (the 2004-2009 models). source

09 Feb 2010 10:04

tags

Biz: Sucks to be a Prius owner: Toyota’s forced to recall more cars

  • 400,000 cars added to the recall, mostly Priuses, due to brake problems
  • 8 million cars have been recalled total, a fairly unbelievable number source

08 Feb 2010 10:28

tags

Biz: Steve Wozniak treats Toyota’s problems like software bugs

  • All these problems should get fixed, but they shouldn’t stop people from buying the Prius. There are bugs in every product.
  • Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak • Regarding the problems of the Toyota Prius, including the faulty brakes and what he says are accelerator problems when the car is on cruise control. (Up to 97 miles per hour!) Toyota plans to recall 270,000 units of the hybrid in the U.S. and Japan to fix the brake problems. source
 

05 Feb 2010 11:09

tags

Biz: Toyota’s president: I take personal blame for all these problems

  • I deeply regret that I caused concern among so many people. We will do our utmost to regain the trust of our customers.
  • Toyota Motor Company President Akio Toyoda • Regarding the recent recall crisis. Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder, has a bit of a mess on his hands thanks to the recalls. He’s been absent in recent weeks, which hasn’t helped the company’s cause. Asked about whether they’d been underestimating the problem, he said, “I believe what is happening now is a very big problem. We are in a crisis.” source

04 Feb 2010 23:27

tags

Biz: Toyota could call for a recall of their Japanese Priuses

  • 200,000 hybrids to be recalled? source

04 Feb 2010 09:58

tags

Biz: Toyota says an evil computer is causing the Prius’ brake problems

  • This company has just had a lot of hell lately, haven’t they? A software glitch is to blame for the 2010 Prius’ brake issues. It causes a one-second disconnect between the brakes and the computer – long enough to go 90 feet if  you’re driving at 60mph. They plan to offer a fix for it, but one thing they aren’t doing is offering a recall. The Prius, BTW, doesn’t have the accelerator problems that caused many of the company’s non-hybrid cars to get recalled. source