prius

Toyota on Monday released information that calls into question a driver's account of uncontrollable acceleration affecting his Toyota Prius in San Diego.

In a video released Monday by Toyota titled "Toyota preliminary findings of alleged runaway Prius," Toyota Motor Sales Vice President Mike Michels questioned Jim Sikes' account of uncontrolled acceleration in his Prius last week in San Diego.

On March 7, James Sikes called 911, saying the accelerator in his Prius was stuck and he couldn't slow down. The event was thought to be related to glitches that, in rare cases, may cause uncontrolled acceleration … Read more

In light of not posting a podcast last Friday, we're back this week with an extra large version. The lead story so far this week is a report of the Chinese government allegedly warning certain Google partner sites that they should look for another search provider. This coincides with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez calling for tighter Internet regulations over the weekend.

Also, the FCC has a new tool for you to test how fast your Internet is; and the electrical problem that led to the runaway Toyota Prius the other day has been unable to be replicated. Whew. Tune … Read more

Seeing as I gave quite a bit of mostly positive airtime to the Toyota Prius last week, I thought it would be good to do the same for a new electric hybrid made stateside that's set to roll out later this year. And in case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm referring to the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. The Volt marks Chevy's first serious foray into the hybrid car market, and by the looks and sounds of things, this one may make a serious automotive splash.

Today's lengthy but informative video gives us a look … Read more

A U.S. government agency and Toyota could not replicate an alleged runaway Prius incident in San Diego, according to an Associated Press report.

On March 7, James Sikes called 911, saying the accelerator in his Prius was stuck and he couldn't slow down. The event was thought to be related to mechanical or electronic glitches that, in rare cases, may cause uncontrolled acceleration in the Toyota Prius.

But in a memo drafted for a congressional panel, technicians with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Toyota were unable to replicate the problem on Sikes' car, according to the AP report.

"Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor, the engine shut off and the car immediately started to slow down," the report said. The memo went on to say that it would not be likely that Sikes's gas pedal would be stuck while he was slamming on the brakes at the same time.

A similar conclusion was reached by Edmunds.com on Friday, which CNET reported based on an interview with Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing at Edmunds. The car Web site conducted a test on a Prius in an attempt to replicate the problem that Sikes… Read more

The "San Diego Incident" may change the Prius woes; Ford readies a brand new high-tech police interceptor; a black box recorder may be coming to your next car; and we drive the 2010 Mini Cooper S and love it--eventually.

Runaway Prius in San Diego raises interesting questions

Ford unveils the next generation police interceptor

2010 Mini Cooper S review

Hymotion plug-in hybrid conversion site

Vote for the hottest car from the Geneva auto show

I had a few ideas about how to end this week's look at the Toyota Prius. I could have continued presenting videos on the many neat features that Toyota is pioneering with the Prius. Usually on Fridays, I like to bring something a little more entertaining to the table, so I decided against that approach and came up with a video that I didn't know existed.

Most media reports praise the Prius and tend to proclaim Toyota's hybrid car flag-bearer as the most eco-friendly and economical car that money can buy. But Jeremy Clarkson, star of the … Read more

The Toyota Prius is arguably the hottest hybrid car for many reasons. Within the blog this week we've explored several of outstanding features of the Prius, and today I'm turning our attention to the astounding intelligent parking assist feature found on this groundbreaking automobile.

The intelligent parking assist feature found on the Toyota Prius isn't entirely new--the self-parking feature was found on the Lexus LS 460 as well. Along with its rear monitor, the drivers can set up a destination parking spot and then allow external sensors and electric power steering do the parking for them--hands free! … Read more

The latest cases of uncontrolled acceleration in the Toyota Prius point to software glitches that the car industry needs to address with more rigorous testing, according to a company that specializes in software integrity.

The most recent high-profile incident happened on Monday when James Sikes called 911 around 1:30 p.m., saying the accelerator in his Prius was stuck and he couldn't slow down, according to a CBS News report.

At one point, the car hit a speed of 90 mph. A California Highway Patrol officer inserted his car in front of the Prius and applied the brakes to try to get the Prius to stop. It stopped after about 20 minutes.

"I pushed the gas pedal to pass a car and it did something kind of funny...it jumped and it just stuck there," Sikes said at a news conference, according to the CBS News report. (See video below.) He said he tried the brakes but this didn't stop the car.

Dave Peterson, chief marketing officer at Coverity, said: "There are two things that are clear about the latest Prius incident. One, nobody knows where the problems are inside of these types of automobiles. Two, the days of blaming floor mats are coming to an end." Coverity provides software analysis to help electronics companies build high-integrity software. Its customers have included France Telecom, Siemens, Mitsubishi Electric, Research In Motion, and Broadcom.

Peterson asserts--as have other experts--that "drivers should not be software beta testers for automobiles." Sophisticated drive-by-wire cars like the Prius demand more exacting analysis, as is practiced in the airplane industry. "It is time to see the auto industry learn from the avionics sector and apply rigorous integrity testing for all software components and all combinations of integrations between these components," he said.

In a statement, Toyota said it sent a technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the Monday incident. Generally, the automaker has maintained that mechanical flaws, not electronics, are to blame in cases of unintended acceleration, though the company does investigate select incidents when drivers claim electronic failures. … Read more

Sometimes it's handy to have an extra pair of eyes to keep you that safe when you're out driving--a copilot, if you will. Toyota apparently agrees with such a philosophy, and offers a Pre-Collision System (PCS) in the Prius brand that serves as a virtual copilot while driving this groundbreaking hybrid. And that's what today's video is all about.

The Pre-Collision System on the Toyota Prius works in conjunction with its dynamic cruise control by scanning ahead of the vehicle for other vehicles. If you punch the brakes suddenly the sensors will pick up on this … Read more