Toyota Prius

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Cops: Popular Car-Part Theft Proves Fatal

Police say man in Anaheim was crushed while trying to steal catalytic converter from Prius

(Newser) - In the early morning hours of St. Patrick's Day, police responded to a call from a worker at a local industrial building in Anaheim, Calif. The employee had made a distressing find upon arriving at the site: a man's unmoving legs sticking out from underneath one of the...

Toyota Recalls 1.9M Priuses
 Toyota Recalls 1.9M Priuses 

Toyota Recalls 1.9M Priuses

Software problem can cause cars to stall

(Newser) - Another day, another Toyota recall : This time, the automaker is recalling all of the newest-generation Prius hybrids, a total of 1.9 million cars. About half of those are in Japan, and 713,000 are in North America. The problem? A software glitch that could cause the car to stall,...

Toyota Recalls 233K Prius Cars
 Toyota Recalls 233K Prius Cars 

Toyota Recalls 233K Prius Cars

Plus about 9K Lexus vehicles over braking problem

(Newser) - Toyota is recalling about 242,000 of its Prius and Lexus hybrid vehicles because of braking problems. The recall applies to about 233,000 Prius vehicles made between March and October 2009 and about 9,000 Lexus HS250h models made between June and October 2009. The automaker said brake-pressure parts...

Why Prius Drivers Are So 'Bad'
 Why Prius Drivers Are So 'Bad' 
opinion

Why Prius Drivers Are So 'Bad'

How an annoyed driver became 'annoying' himself

(Newser) - Annoyed by Prius drivers who coast up to intersections and cruise at 55mph on the freeway? So was Dwight Silverman, until he found himself driving the exact same way in his wife's Prius. "Indeed I do" become an annoying driver, he writes in the Houston Chronicle . "But...

2012's Best Value Car? Hint: It's Green and Japanese

Prius dethrones Honda Fit in Consumer Reports rankings

(Newser) - The Prius isn't exactly the cheapest car on the market, but it's the best value for your money, Consumer Reports has concluded. "Like penny stocks, a low purchase price doesn't make a car a good value," the magazine cautions. Toyota's increasingly popular hybrid bumped...

Sandy Victim Powers Home ... With Prius
 Sandy Victim 
 Powers Home ... 
 With Prius 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Sandy Victim Powers Home ... With Prius

Bob Sakala uses inverter to power lights, TV, computer

(Newser) - Hey, turns out that the Prius is good for more than just saving on gas: Bob Sakala, a New Jersey resident who lost electricity during Hurricane Sandy, managed to power some of the lights in his home as well as his TV, laptop, and modem using only some heavy-duty extension...

2 Out of 3 Hybrid Owners Switch Back

Prius owners stay a little bit truer

(Newser) - America's love affair with hybrids has turned out to be more of a fling for many owners: A new study finds that when they go to trade in, about 65% of hybrid owners pass on getting another hybrid. The numbers, based on 2011 data, do fluctuate based on the...

Hybrid Cars Don't Pay: Study
 Hybrid Cars Don't Pay: Study 

Hybrid Cars Don't Pay: Study

Except for a few models, hybrids and electric cars take years to pay off

(Newser) - Thinking of buying a hybrid or electric vehicle to ease the pain at the pump? You may want to think again: A TrueCar.com study commissioned by the New York Times shows that, except in three cases, fuel-efficient technology is so expensive that these types of cars take years to...

Inside Your Prius: Environmentally Dangerous Rare Earth Minerals
The Dirty Secret 
 Inside Your Prius 
in case you missed it

The Dirty Secret Inside Your Prius

'Rare earth' mining can hurt the environment

(Newser) - So, you bought a Prius or know someone who has. Beautiful. But look under the hood and you'll find some neodymium, one of the "rare earth" minerals that help run all kinds of green technology—and other high-tech stuff like smartphones and flat-screen TVs. So far so good,...

Toyota Recalls 106K First-Generation Priuses

If 'operated over a long time' power steering will become too forceful

(Newser) - Toyota recalled 106,000 first-generation Prius hybrid cars globally today for faulty steering caused by a nut that may come loose. Loose nuts in the electric-power steering can cause the vehicle, if operated over a long time, to steer with too much force. Only one minor accident, reported in the...

Rush Laughs at Japanese Refugees

Why would 'Gaia' do this to such an eco-conscious country?

(Newser) - Leave it to Rush Limbaugh to find some levity in the plight of Japanese refugees. Specifically, the radio show host is amused by the fact that one refugee camp is still recycling. A caller on yesterday’s show—after hearing a clip Limbaugh played of a Diane Sawyer report on...

Consumer Reports: Volt Doesn't Make Much Sense

Mag's tester says it's not too efficient as electric car ... or as gas vehicle

(Newser) - The Chevy Volt may be the cover girl of April’s issue of Consumer Reports, but the magazine doesn’t have a lot of glowing things to say about it. Economically, the car “doesn’t really make a lot of sense,” the magazine’s director of auto testing...

Toyota Rolls Out New Family of Priuses

A station wagon, a city car, a plug-in, oh my!

(Newser) - Hoping perhaps to gloss over its recent black eyes, Toyota today burnished its crown jewel, unveiling an expanded Prius line with something for, well, more than just your devout tree-hugger. The automaker is continuing the standard Prius, reports the LA Times, and will also offer:

Toyota Recalls 650K Priuses
 Toyota Recalls 650K Priuses 

Toyota Recalls 650K Priuses

Cooling pump problem could lead to overheating, power loss

(Newser) - Toyota today issued another recall of its Prius, this time recalling 650,000 of the hybrids to fix a faulty cooling pump, reports the Wall Street Journal. The problem could lead to overheating and loss of power, but thus far hadn't resulted in accidents; Toyota, however, appears to be erring...

Prius Growing Noisier to Warn Pedestrians

Toyota offers 'humming device' to help people hear hybrid coming

(Newser) - Prius drivers worried about mowing down pedestrians who can't hear them coming are being offered a chance to make their cars noisier. Toyota is selling a $150 device that makes a humming noise that's about as loud as a regular car's engine, AP reports. The speaker system is designed to...

Feds: NY Prius Crash Driver Never Stepped on Brake

Local officials say data are inconclusive

(Newser) - Computer data from a Toyota Prius that crashed in New York shows that at the time of the accident the driver was not applying the brakes, safety officials say. But local police say the evidence is inconclusive and driver error has not been established. "For any agency to release...

Runaway Prius Driver's Account 'Inconsistent': Toyota

James Skies' car was operating properly, automaker says

(Newser) - Toyota is casting doubt on a California man's claim that his Prius sped out of control, saying the report is inconsistent with the findings of the company's preliminary investigation. The automaker said today the accelerator pedal was tested and found to be working normally and a backup safety system worked...

Feds Question 'Runaway Prius' Driver's Story

Investigators can't replicate incident; brake-wear patterns inconsistent

(Newser) - Investigators have not been able to replicate the incident of uncontrolled acceleration a Prius driver says he experienced last week, and the condition of the car's brakes is raising suspicions with federal investigators and Toyota engineers, the Wall Street Journal reports. James Sikes said he lost control of his car...

Runaway Calif. Prius Driver Has Sketchy Past

Bankruptcy, bad real estate deals have some thinking scam

(Newser) - The driver of the Toyota Prius he says went haywire and took him on a 94mph terror ride earlier this week has a checkered past that leads some to doubt his story. “Immediately I thought this guy has an angle here,” a dissatisfied client of real estate agent...

Woman's 6-Mile Terror Ride to Open Toyota Hearings

Pressure mounts on Toyota as House investigation kicks off

(Newser) - A House panel probing acceleration problems with Toyota vehicles will begin hearing testimony today from safety experts, Toyota's American president, and a Tennessee woman who says her Lexus suddenly zoomed to 100 miles per hour while she was driving on an interstate, the AP reports. Rhonda Smith says the emergency...

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