The T3 Series Electric Stand-up Vehicle was featured in last night's Super Bowl XLIV broadcast. Four of T3's vehicles were featured in a 60-second commercial by Audi entitled "Green Police." The commercial main focus was to promote Audis' diesel wagon, the A3 TDI. Cheap Trick also rewrote the lyrics to their hit song, "Dream Police," for the soundtrack to the commercial which aired in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Take a look:
The Wall Street Journalreports
that Toyota may begin recalls of 2010 Priuses for the defective braking issue.
Toyota Motor Corp. will likely start recall or voluntary repairs to fix the braking system problems of the latest model of its highly-popular Prius hybrid in Japan as soon as early this week, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.
One person said Toyota also intends to take similar steps in the U.S. and other overseas markets simultaneously, but didn't elaborate. Toyota will likely "take an action early this week," the person said.
The move goes a step further for Toyota, whose president Akio Toyoda, a member of the founding family, gave "a heartfelt apology" for causing a massive world-wide vehicle recall affecting over 8 million cars related to problems with its accelerator pedals and floor mats.
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In Japan, Toyota has already provided information, including what caused the Prius problems, to its dealerships, but the company has not specifically decided what form the customer support would take--a recall or voluntary repairs, the people familiar with the matter said.
One of the people said service to owners of the newest Prius model may start as soon as soon as Monday. The fix will take 20 to 30 minutes to rewrite a software program.
Toyota has received a great deal of criticism in both the U.S. and Japan for its slow response to the crisis and lack of communication with customers. The CEO of the company finally apologized on international television last week, but many felt his words were insufficient to stem the tide of bad PR the recalls have engendered. It didn't help that Akio Toyoda looked uncomfortable in front of the cameras. He looked like he would rather have been anywhere else than on TV apologizing for his company's errors.
This new key technology, called the Electronic Key Impressioner, makes it easy for a lost key to be replaced. The device made by Alternative Product Solutions LLC records everything it needs to know about the missing key when it is inserted into a lock. The device can then be plugged into a computer via USB where software will use the data to build the key code that key cutters can use to create a key for the lock. So it will be very easy to get you a key to open your car. Unfortunately, if criminals get a hold of this technology no car will be safe.
Toyota CEO Akia Toyoda held a press conference this morning to apologize to customers for all the recalls of Toyota cars. There have been seven million Toyotas involved in the recalls worldwide. Toyoda is the grandson of the founder of the company and was promoted to CEO in 2009. Toyoda assured customers that he would personally oversee the investigation and that he would fix the problem.
"We are facing a crisis," he said, publicly confronting the automaker's safety problems for the first time since the global recalls were announced Jan. 21.
He said the company is setting up a special committee he would head himself.
It would review internal checks, go over consumer complaints and listen to outside experts to come up with a solution to the widening quality problems.
"I offer my apologies for the worries," he said. "Many customers are wondering whether their cars are OK."
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Toyoda, 53, has been criticized for not coming out sooner to answer questions about the flood of quality problems that have hit Toyota.
Masaaki Sato, an auto industry expert who has written books on Toyota and its Japanese rival Honda, said Friday's public appearance was the company's last chance to keep the situation from worsening.
"He should have come out a week ago," Sato said of Toyoda during an appearance on a popular late night news program following the press conference. "After all the foot dragging, he was pushed into a corner."
More bad news for Toyota and Toyota owners: the company just issued a recall for 270,000 Priuses.
The Transportation Department had opened an investigation Thursday into brake problems in the 2010 Prius, the latest in a series of safety troubles at Toyota that have confused drivers and strained the Japanese automaker's relationship with U.S. regulators.
The recall will target the third-generation Prius launched in May, Nikkei reported.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Transportation Department's safety agency, said it has received 124 reports from consumers about the Prius brakes, including four reports of crashes. The investigation will look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over uneven road surfaces, potholes or bumps.
The cars in question went on sale in Japan and the U.S. in May of 2009.
A company spokesman said that drivers feel a time lack for brakes kicking in after they press the gas pedal. The delay is caused by having two systems in the car: a gas engine and an electric motor. When the driver is on a bumpy or slippery surface, there can be a delay when the car switches between hydraulic brakes and the electronically operated braking system. If the driver keeps braking, the brakes do work.
If you have a 2010 Toyota Prius, contact your dealership. You can find more recall information here on Toyota's website.
Earlier today U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood advised consumers to stop driving Toyota vehicles until they had been repaired. LaHood retracted his advice an hour later. The Detroit Free Pressreports that an hour later - after Toyota's stock plunged 5% - LaHood retracted his comments.
The Japanese automaker found itself in a whirlwind of attention again today when U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a House committee that Toyota owners should stop driving their vehicles until they were fixed.
The statement, an unprecedented one from a U.S. cabinet member, set off a fury of reports and pushed down Toyota's shares by 5%. But about an hour later, LaHood walked backed his comments, saying he "obviously misspoke."
"My advice to a person that owns a Toyota is to take it to a dealership," LaHood told reporters after the hearing.
LaHood has also said that it took an enormous effort to get Toyota to agree to a recall and has called the automaker "a little safety deaf."
Volvo Cars announced recently that they are working on an electric vehicle called the C30 BEV. BEV stands for Battery Electric Vehicle. The Volvo C30 BEV is powered with a Lithium-Ion battery that is charged via a regular power socket. The C30 BEV is limited to a top speed of about 130 kilometres an hour. Acceleration from 0 to 100 kilometres an hour will take less than 11 seconds. The car will have a range of up to 150 kilometres, about 93 miles.
"The Volvo C30 is the first model we will try out with electric power. This car's excellent properties in city traffic and its relatively low weight make it particularly suitable, since electric cars are primarily expected to be used in and around cities and for daily commuting," says Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.
Recharging an entirely depleted battery via the regular household power supply system (230V, 16A) will take about eight hours. The electric motor is housed under the bonnet, just like the engine in a conventional car. Volvo said one of its priorities within the BEV project is to find the optimal placing of the battery. Most likely the best places are the prop shaft tunnel and the place where the fuel tank normally is located. These locations are within the car's optimised crumple zone in the most common collision scenarios. Since the car runs solely on electricity, it requires a larger battery with higher capacity (24 kWh) than in the case of the plug-in hybrid (12 kWh).
Volvo will also introduce a plug-in hybrid in 2012. They have not set a date for the launch of the C30 BEV.
Toyota's reputation is taking a pounding in the press with all the recalls. The latest problem - a sticking accelerator -- has car owners furious with the company for its continued problems and slowness is dealing with them. Finally, the problem that causes the accelerator to stick has been discovered, according to Toyota and a fix is on the way.
Toyota presented a plan for repairing the potentially sticky pedals to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a senior official at the agency said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The safety agency is not required to approve remedies but can reject them if it does not think they will sufficiently address defects. The agency did not reject Toyota’s remedy, the official said.
Toyota officials phoned dealers Saturday to say that a remedy was ready. "We got the call this morning," said Peter Blackstock, the owner of Victory Toyota and Lexus Monterey Peninsula in Seaside, Calif. "The parts are on their way."
Brian R. Lyons, a Toyota spokesman, said in an e-mail message that the company plans an announcement next week "that will provide clarity in regard to recall deployment. Stay tuned."
Mr. Blackstock said it was his understanding that dealers would be sent replacement accelerator pedals, which are produced for Toyota by CTS, a parts supplier based in Elkhart, Ind.
At least the replacement parts aren't made in China.
A woman in Iowa went out to her car and found in frozen solid. A water main break and cold temperatures created the problem. It is going to take a lot of scraping to remove all that ice. Take a look:
Ford recorded a $2.7 billion profit in 2009. This was Ford's first profit in four years. Ford was the only big three U.S. automaker to not accept a government bailout. The company is expecting to stay profitable in 2010 but it does see many challenges ahead. It is good to see one of the big three back in the black again. Take a look:
The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany is celebrating its first anniversary. The Porsche Museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on January 31, 2009. Since the opening over 530,000 visitors from all across the world have visited the museum. tallied by the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart just a year after its opening. The building is host to some 80 of the brand's most famous sports and race cars, numerous small exhibits, as well as little-known prototypes from the company's 60-year history.
Honda's next generation solar hydrogen station prototype began operating today at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc. The system is intended for use as a home refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric vehicles, such as the Honda FCX Clarity. Honda says the unit is designed to fit in the car owners' garage although it looks a little tall for some garages. It produces enough hydrogen (0.5kg) via an 8-hour overnight fill for daily commuting (10,000 miles per year) for a fuel cell electric vehicle.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Toyota is halting sales of the eight models covered in the recent recall for sticking accelerator pedals. Production at five North American plants will be halted as a result.
"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," said Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter. "This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."
Toyota's accelerator pedal recall and suspension of sales is confined to the following Toyota Division vehicles:
The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo will arrive at U.S. dealers this week and go on sale on January 30. The 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo features the first entirely new engine in its 35-year history. The new flat-six boxer engine delivers 500 horsepower, 20 more than the previous power plant. Porsche says the new 911 Turbo can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds when combined with the Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) seven-speed dual clutch transmission. Top track speed is 194 mph for both the Coupe and the Cabriolet models. EPA estimates are 17 mpg city and 25 mpg highway for the new Coupe when equipped with the PDK transmission.
"We are very excited to welcome the all-new 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo into the family," said Detlev von Platen, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. "More than ever, this supercar is a technological tour de force, and the seemingly unanimous accolades from the media support what we already believe; this is the best 911 Turbo ever."
The 2010 Turbo Coupe and Turbo Cabriolet prices are $132,800 and $143,800, respectively.
It took four tons of chocolate to make this replica of a BMW which will be featured at the World Chocolate Wonderland Theme Park in Beijing. The exhibit is located next to the bird's nest stadium that was built for the Olympics. The attraction will also feature a replica of The Great Wall of China, made from chocolate. Take a look:
Earlier today U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood advised consumers to stop driving Toyota vehicles until they had been repaired. LaHood retracted his advice an hour later. The Detroit Free Press 
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