As the annual observance of Columbus Day arrives on October 10, it should serve as a reminder that those who stand in the way of overwhelming scientific evidence often have to eat their words.
For all the excitement generated by every new hybrid car introduction, there is one little problem. In case you haven't noticed, hardly anyone is buying them.
Enthusiasts who are raving about the range assisted, battery-powered Chevrolet Volt are ignoring the 800-pound elephant in the room: Toyota, which in addition to its vast knowledge base and production volume in hybrid cars, has a better idea.
Toyota is recalling almost 106,000 early-model Prius because of a problem with the power steering and gear box.
One of the big worries about buying a hybrid car like the Toyota Prius is the possibility that the big, expensive battery pack will have to be replaced after a few thousand miles.
At the 2011 Detroit Auto Show, Toyota is asking "What's the plural of Prius?"
Toyota Motor Co. has announced a "limited service campaign" to fix cooling pumps on 378,000 Toyota Prius hybrid cars in North America.
Performance and fuel-efficiency are not usually words you hear in the same sentence. But who says hybrids can't be sporty?
Toyota will unveil a new version of its famous Prius Hybrid at the Detroit Auto Show in January, the automaker announced Thursday. This car would not be a replacement for the Prius hatchback but would sell alongside the now-familiar egg-shaped car.
Toyota said Tuesday it will begin selling a noise-making device for its popular Prius hybrids in Japan that is designed to alert pedestrians when the quiet, gasoline-electric vehicle is approaching.
A Toyota Prius was not the cause of a March 9 crash in Harrison, New York, said authorities citing "black and white" results in their investigation.
Early evidence points to driver error as the reason a 2005 Prius sped into a stone wall on March 9, according to federal investigators.
updated: Wed Mar 17 2010 22:14:00
A California driver says his Toyota wouldn't stop even though he was braking hard. CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.
Investigators from Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Wednesday inspected a wrecked Prius and extracted data from the car's event data recorder they hope will help determine what caused the car to speed out of control.
updated: Tue Mar 16 2010 16:29:00
A new report states investigators could not recreate braking issues in the Toyota Prius. CNN's Susan Candiotti has more.
Technicians who tested a Toyota Prius after its owner claimed its gas pedal stuck were unable to recreate the same condition, according to a draft congressional memo obtained Sunday by CNN.
Toyota challenged a California driver's story of an out-of-control Prius at a press conference Monday afternoon.
Testing a Toyota Prius after its owner claimed its gas pedal stuck, technicians were unable to recreate the same condition, according to a draft congressional memo obtained Sunday by CNN.
The Toyota Prius is a car that, right from its 1997 launch, came veiled in a frosty penumbra of disbelief, of incredulity. For some of us,anyway. How could we trust anything that was a hybrid?
The Toyota Prius sometimes accelerates while in cruise control, rocketing past the set speed and sending drivers on wild rides, according to some owners and auto safety experts.
updated: Wed Feb 10 2010 21:19:00
Public relations expert Robert Dilenschneider says Toyota's crisis is bigger than a simple repair job.
The decision by Toyota to recall thousands of its 2010 Prius models due to a problem with the braking system seriously threatens the reputation of the world's best-selling hybrid car.
updated: Wed Feb 10 2010 20:56:00
CNN's Kyung Lah reports on Toyota's latest recall: more than 400,000 hybrid cars worldwide.
updated: Tue Feb 09 2010 19:51:00
Japanese automaker Toyota is set to announce a global recall of its 2010 Prius hybrid vehicles. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
Toyota's president apologized profusely Tuesday as he announced the global recall of more than 400,000 of the automaker's 2010 hybrid models, including the popular Prius, for problems in their anti-lock braking systems.
updated: Mon Feb 08 2010 19:35:00
CNN's Kyung Lah says Toyota is now looking into whether Lexus and Sai brake systems have the same issues as the Prius.
Toyota Motor notified dealers it is prepared to unveil a solution to problems with the brake system of the popular Prius hybrid sedan, as well as a public relations campaign to try to repair its battered image.
By now, you've heard that some 2010 Toyota Priuses have a braking problem blamed for several crashes. That sounds scary, but to some it sounds like a deal.
Toyota has added the brake system of a Lexus hybrid vehicle to a growing list of problems with various models, the company said Friday.
Toyota has known about brake problems in its popular Prius cars for some time, going so far as to fix it in new production vehicles, but has kept Prius drivers in the dark about the problem until the Japanese government called for an investigation.
updated: Thu Feb 04 2010 20:39:00
Toyota's woes continue via problems with its 2010 Prius. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
Toyota's consumer woes deepened on Wednesday, and for the first time on native soil.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced Thursday it is opening a formal investigation into problems with the braking system of Toyota's Prius hybrid.
In the wake of massive recalls for gas pedal-related problems, Toyota Motor Co. is now faced with mounting complaints of brake problems in its 2010 Prius hybrid, one of the carmaker's most iconic and popular models.
The Toyota Prius, America's most popular hybrid car, will become a family of vehicles, Toyota announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Monday.
updated: Wed Jan 06 2010 23:13:00
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout looks back at the most important "green" developments of the decade.
What a difference a decade makes. Since the turn of the millennium environmental issues have come to the forefront with a marked shift toward all things green in politics, technology and perhaps most importantly, society.
Of all the changes in the American economy over the past 18 months, perhaps the most startling has been the rapid collapse of the major car manufacturers.
Take a glimpse of the near future. Electric vehicles and other types of eco-friendly cars are taking center stage at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show, which runs through November 4.
While General Motors continues to define itself post-bankruptcy, it is pushing ahead with one of its key pre-bankruptcy projects: developing the Chevy Volt.
The Volt may get 230 miles per gallon, and GM says it will cost only 40 cents to charge up the car from a regular household outlet. But guess what...it still might not be worth it to buy one.
Since there have been cars, people have chosen their rides based on what their cars say about them. AOL Autos put a list of cars before automotive industry experts to capture their take on several popular cars.
Toyota's third-generation Prius, due at dealerships this spring, will have an optional solar panel on its roof. The panel will power a ventilation system that can cool the car without help from the engine, Toyota says.
Honda Motor Co. unveiled a pure-hybrid concept car Thursday that hopes to go head to head with Toyota's wildly popular Prius.
Attention, horsepower-hungry: Fear not the exploding array of environmentally friendly alternative vehicles. They are a hopeful signal of the potentially mind-blowing stuff to come.
Consumer Reports recently announced its annual used cars ratings, and we weren't surprised to see one of the major categories was "Best in Fuel Economy."
It was bound to happen - the Toyota Prius could soon lose its crown as the most fuel-efficient car on the market. But you might want to hold off before you cancel your order.
When they're thinking about buying a hybrid vehicle, people sometimes worry about stuff that's just silly. Sometimes, though, they're absolutely right to be concerned.
Investors who abhor smoking or environmental degradation are regularly told by financial advisors that they should choose stocks that yield the highest returns, including stocks of companies that produce tobacco or pollute the environment, and then donate their profits to campaigns for the causes they support.
Gas-electric hybrid vehicles, the status symbol for the environmentally conscientious, are coming under attack from a constituency that doesn't drive: The blind.
Introduction of the next version of Toyota's hit Prius gas-electric hybrid won't hinge on improvements in a more efficient type of battery called lithium-ion, a senior Toyota executive said Friday.
Nowadays, most car models get a major redesign about every 4 or 5 years. By that time, sales have started to slow as competitors have introduced fancier, better cars in the auto industry's endless cycle of one-upsmanship.
The Toyota Prius remained America's most popular gasoline/electric vehicle even as sales of hybrids rose 35 percent in the first quarter of 2007 compared to last year, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates.
Over the past several decades, the promise of the "car of tomorrow" has remained unfulfilled, while the problems it was supposed to solve have only intensified.
In the auto business, where new cars take 36 months or more to move from a designer's inspiration to the dealer showroom, changes can take years to reveal themselves.
Everyone knows about Toyota's hybrid hit. Below are eight fuel-efficient alternatives, either here or on the way.
To combat increased production and more competition from other hybrid vehicles, including some of its own, Toyota has introduced a large incentive program on its popular Prius.
If you bought a Toyota Prius last summer you may have thought you were entitled to a $3,150 tax credit.
If you're thinking of buying a hybrid car, this would be a good time to act on that impulse, according to a pricing and cost analysis by the automotive Web site Edmunds.com.
Registrations of new hybrid vehicles in the United States increased 28 percent in 2006, but that was the second-smallest increase since 2000, and represented just 1.5 percent of new vehicle registrations, R.L. Polk & Co. said Monday.
Whether you're looking at a gas miser or gas guzzler, fuel economy is about to look a lot worse, according to new estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency.
You can find two new things at Toyota dealerships: a supply of Prius available for sale, and incentives to attract buyers to the fuel efficiency icon.
The Prius shortage may be ending, according to a report published Monday
It would be so easy to disparage the BMW Hydrogen 7, the world's first production-ready hydrogen car and a guaranteed showstopper when it's unveiled next month at the Los Angeles Motor Show.
Rising gas prices and booming sales of the Toyota Prius mean a big opportunity for Pete Nortman. A year and a half ago, the Monrovia, Calif., engineer hacked his Prius by replacing the battery with...
In an atmosphere of high fuel prices, the market for used cars with high fuel mileage has gotten red hot.
In an atmosphere of high fuel prices, the market for used cars with high fuel mileage has gotten red hot.
Deadly Caution
In a list of the 10 hottest cars now on the market, six of the 10 are products of the Toyota Motor Co. The Prius tops the list and all three of Toyota's low-priced Scion models are on the list, as well.
Buying a hybrid will save you money on gas...but you might still come out behind.
The Toyota Prius is the car that makes its owners happiest, according to a survey by Consumer Reports, but the Chevrolet Corvette is a close second.
In late 1995, six months after Toyota decided to move forward with its revolutionary hybrid, the Prius, and two years before the car was supposed to go into production in Japan, the engineers worki...
New York (FORTUNE Magazine) - In late 1995, six months after Toyota decided to move forward with its revolutionary hybrid, the Prius, and two years before the car was supposed to go into production in Japan, the engineers working on the project had a problem. A big problem.
Move No. 1: Buy a Hybrid this Winter.
There's something unsettling about walking outside your office building and finding a man dressed in a suit inviting you into the back of a Toyota Prius. First of all, it's small. Really small. ("D...
The Honda Insight, a gas-electric hybrid car, edged out the Toyota Prius as the most fuel-efficient vehicle in the U.S., according to new mileage ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy.
Two years after its U.S. debut, why is Toyota's iconic Prius hybrid still so hard to get your hands on? It's no longer about saving the planet or projecting a greener-than-thou image. Nope, today i...
Toyota is now measuring "time on the lot" for the Toyota Prius in hours, not days. The average Prius goes unsold for only about 20 hours after it hits a Toyota dealer's lot, according to a recent report.
After a string of consumer complaints over engine problems,Toyota's popular hybrid vehicle, the Prius, will face an investigation, the government announced Wednesday.
Toyota Motor Corp., the leader in sales of hybrid gas-electric vehicles, announced a hybrid version of its Camry sedan Tuesday, the best-selling U.S. car model.
A software problem is causing some Toyota Prius gas-electric hybrid cars to stall or shut down while driving at highway speeds, according to a published report.
Demand for the gas-electric hybrid Prius is so great that some used Priuses are selling for more than the list price for a new one, a report said on Monday.
A Ford SUV took a place among the "greenest" vehicles in this year's "greenest and meanest" list from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
Environmentally friendly hybrid cars are finally being mass-produced -- thanks to an increase in demand due to rising fuel costs, cheaper technology and growing public acceptance.
With Toyota's Prius all the rage, other automakers are exploring even cheaper ways to save fuel. In early November, Peugeot will unveil a Citroën C3 model in France that relies on "start-and-stop" ...
ENOUGH ABOUT THE OIL problem; now there's an oil solution. Within the next few decades the U.S. can end its oil dependence.
It's become the game everyone hates but everyone plays: watching the dials spin at the gas pump, holding your breath like a roulette player, wondering how high the stakes can climb for a lousy tank...
It's become the game everyone hates but everyone plays: watching the dials spin at the gas pump, holding your breath like a roulette player, wondering how high the stakes can climb for a lousy tank of gas.
I really tried to avoid getting sucked in, but after four days, it was too much to resist. I had insisted I would drive like a New Yorker. But, finally, I let a car soften me. And what did that get me?
High-rolling exotic car aficionados are familiar the idea of months-long waiting lists for new models. Now gas-sippers are joining the rubber-scorchers as waiting lists for the Toyota Prius keep getting longer.
If you're looking to save money in this new era of rising gas prices, cars with high fuel-mileage figures are tempting.
Not to get Freudian on you, but a car is rarely just a car. More often it's a signifier, telegraphing wealth or aggression or fear, swaddling insecurity in layers of leather and steel, often at zer...
Americans are all in favor of saving fuel, as well as the planet. And we're fascinated with gee-whiz hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius that pair electric and gasoline power to boost mileage and cut...
Americans are all in favor of saving fuel, as well as the planet. And we're fascinated with gee-whiz hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius that pair electric and gasoline power to boost mileage and cut emissions. Just don't ask us to pay much extra for either benefit. Or to trade SUVs for a dawdling economy car.
Now here's a social dilemma: Say Cameron Diaz calls to ask if she can come over to your house right after the post-Oscars parties. You're tickled, of course. Then you realize in a panic that you do...
With a $19,995 sticker price, the Toyota Prius, one of two hybrid cars now on the market, may not seem like a bargain. (A Toyota Corolla of a similar size lists for only $12,983.) But tax incentive...
To some, it may seem ironic that electric cars are finally coming to market just as electricity prices are soaring. But today's hybrids aren't like those experimental plug-in vehicles that had to b...
In the oil crises of the 1970s, drivers who wanted to save money on gas had to forgo the cosseting of their Buick Electra 225 or Chrysler Newport for a spartan, cramped econobox. Now, with gas sell...
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