Toyota Retains Greenest Car Title From Consumer Reports
Toyota got some good news for a change: the Prius has retained its nod of approval from Consumer Reports as the most environmentally friendly car. Toyota recently recalled 437,000 hybrids to fix a brake software flaw. Bloomberg reports:
The carmaker's $76,572 Lexus LS460L was named best overall vehicle among more than 280 autos tested, the publication said at a news conference in Washington today. The Prius was ranked best "green" car for the seventh straight year.
The Consumer Reports rankings, used by U.S. car buyers, may help Toyota weather recalls now totaling more than 8 million vehicles worldwide and widening probes into its handling of the faults. A federal grand jury has asked for documents related to unintended acceleration and braking in the Prius, and three congressional panels are planning hearings, starting with a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee today.
The publisher of Consumer Reports, Consumers Union, has recommended that the Prius be redesigned so that it is easier to turn the car off in an emergency when the brakes fail. Apparently the push button starters are difficult to turn off in an emergency. Right now, the button has to be held down for three full seconds in order to turn off the ignition. That's much too long in an emergency situation.
