FAIL: Prius Driver Jailed for Racing?!

Huh?

I recently tested the 2010 Toyota Prius, and even though it isn’t the car for me, I came away quite impressed. One of the things that impressed me was its unexpected power. The Prius can get from 0-100 in 9.8 seconds. That isn’t fast enough to induce any sort of thrills, but for a hybrid, that’s pretty damned good. I even pondered whether I should even mention the Prius’ 0-100 time because I figured no one remotely interested in a Prius would really care. Speed = lots of fuel consumption after all. Apparently I was wrong.

Timothy Hird from Georgia seemingly had a fit of road rage as he was unimpressed with the way a Honda Civic was driving. He then decided to show non-hybrid owners just how fast his Prius could go by racing the Civic. There was lots of back and fourth yelling, and the Prius was apparently able to hold its own, but in the end, a close call with a police officer ended the Civic vs Prius affair.

Both drivers were booked for wreckless driving and Hird even got thrown in jail for it. All this just to prove your Prius is faster than people think?

[Top Speed]

Test Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius

By Kevin Harrison

I believe in climate change. There really is no reason to not believe it in my opinion. Is it a cash grab by certain companies and corporations? Maybe. Businesses are certainly shifting towards a more environmental angle and are starting to make products that they claim will help save the environment. We usually need to pay more than we’re used to. But really, when are businesses not jumping onto the latest trend? They’re here to make money and if they’re making it at the expense of saving our earth, then I’m okay with that. And if climate change turns out to be a hoax, then at the very least it means that we saved money on energy, fuel etc and we end up with a less disgusting, cleaner earth. So, in my mind there’s really no downside to trying to save our environment.

How we go about doing it is fairly controversial. In the car world, there are many interesting solutions. You have diesel, which has been around since 1892 and thus proven to be the most reliable way to save gas. Then there’s relying on pure electricity – burning no gas and emitting no emissions is pretty sweet… assuming you don’t run out of electricity in the middle of nowhere. But really the same risk of running out of gas exists in the cars we drive today.

Then there are hybrids, likely the most popular way to save fuel and emissions right now. Toyota has the most hybrids out of any manufacturer. The most popular is likely the Prius. In fact, the Prius is so popular that you simply need to say its name and everyone not only knows it’s a Toyota, but knows that it is the car of choice for environmentalists, celebrities and people who order chai lattes at Starbucks – you know, the trendy ones.

There’s no doubt that the Prius is the most frugal car when it comes to gas consumption, but there really is more to cars and driving than how much gas it uses. Is it actually a good car?

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How Are Car Makers Doing With CO2, Anyway?

Overall they’ve improved…slightly.

While most car companies have been focusing on fuel efficiency and pushing money savings as the main benefit to the public, the reality is they are all being forced to make better vehicles to cut back on Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions as well.

The overall improvement is 2.8% over the 2008-2009 year for the U.S. The study was performed by British Consulting Firm JATO Dynamics.

Any improvement is all well and good, but there needs to be significantly more change in this area.

Can you guess the car company that improved its CO2 the most? Find out which one after the jump.

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World Car of the Year 2010: Top Ten Entries Revealed

What is the best car in the world? It’s all relative and subjective and thus, impossible to determine. But that doesn’t stop automotive journalists from trying.

52 automotive journalists representing each continent in the world (except Antarctica – Penguins can’t legally drive yet) have gotten together and submitted their top ten choices for World Car of the Year in two categories: Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year. There will then be three finalists chosen for both categories.

Find out what car made the top ten and what our pics are for the finalists after the jump!

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Toyota Brake Issues Expand to Lexus, But It May Help Them Sell More Cars

It’s starting to get to the point where there should just be a big ‘FAIL’ stamped on Toyota’s head office as these gas pedal/brake problems don’t seem to be dying down. In fact, they’re expanding.

Toyota’s Lexus division is now feeling the heat as the rookie model of their line up is now on watch for the same brake issues as the Prius. The HS250 and Prius are close cousins. Notice that they’re both hybrids? The regerative braking process used in hybrids likely has something to do with it, and is why people are complaining of unusual brake fade and temporary loss of braking.

UPDATE: Toyota is expected to announce a global recall for all 2010 Priuses in the very near future, no word on if the HS250 will be included in the recall as of yet. Toyota has officially announced a recall of 437,000 Pruises, and HS 250h’s for brake problems. Pre 2010 Priuses may be affected as well as similar problems are now being reported but there is no official recall from Toyota on previous generation Priuses just yet.

But no matter, these braking set backs may actually help Toyota sell more Priuses. Find out why after the jump.

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FML: Toyota Edition – Investigation Ordered For Prius’ Brakes

When it rains, it pours… that’s probably the understatement of the year for Toyota. Seriously, 2010 has so far treated the company like a used piece of toilet paper.

First, Toyota had to recall eight of its new models for sticking gas pedals/floor mat issues (most of which were volume sellers such as Corolla, Camry and RAV4), then it got slammed (and may now get fined) for not initiating the recall sooner, then Toyota’s rivals GM, Ford, Chrysler and Hyundai offered specific incentives to lure away disgruntled customers, then it got its ‘recommended’ status stripped from Consumer Reports as result of the recall, then this all became the subject of an investigation by the U.S government which then called the company “safety deaf”, then it became the subject of a class action law suit over the sticking pedals and now the Japanese Government has officially ordered an investigation into the brakes on the 3rd generation Toyota Prius.

In Japan, there have been dozens of complaints of temporary brake loss at low speeds or in slick road conditions. This is obviously another safety issue that the biggest car company in the world now has to deal with. No word on if only Priuses in Japan are affected by these alleged issues. UPDATE: The U.S government is now launching an investigation for the same issues after receiving over 100 complaints about the Prius’ brakes.