Bredemann Toyota in Park Ridge

7/13/2010

A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study of dozens of Toyota vehicle data recorders supports Toyota's position that unintended acceleration complaints were not caused by glitches in Toyota's electronic throttle control systems, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

According to the story, NHTSA found that at the time of the crashes, data recorders show throttles of the vehicles were wide open and the brakes were not engaged.

"The results suggest that some drivers who said their Toyota and Lexus vehicles surged out of control were mistakenly flooring the accelerator when they intended to jam on the brakes," the paper noted. "But the findings don't exonerate Toyota from two known issues blamed for sudden acceleration in its vehicles: sticky accelerator pedals and floor mats that can trap accelerator pedals to the floor."

The Toyota findings, the Journal said, have not been released by NHTSA but are consistent with a 1989 government study that blamed similar driver mistakes for a rash of sudden-acceleration reports involving Audi 5000 sedans.

To view the story, please visit: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834604575364871534435744.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEADNewsCollection.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety - May 25, 2010

Based on new rollover test results, the 2011 Toyota Avalong and Sienna, and the 2010 Lexus RX are the latest vehicles to earn the Institute's TOP SAFETY PICK award.  The award recognizes the vehicles that earn the highest rating of good for front, side, rollover, and rear crash protection, and that have leectronic stability control, which is standard on all three of these models.

Redesigned for the '11 model year, the Sienna is the first minivan to earn the Institute's top safety designation since good performance for rollover protection was added to the criteria for 2010.

http://www.iihs.org/news/default.html

TORRANCE, Calif., April 5, 2011 ? Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today announced the one-millionth sale of the Toyota Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid gas-electric vehicle, in the United States. It is the third milestone for Toyota's hybrid lineup in the last six months that started with the announcement of worldwide Toyota Prius sales topping two million in October 2010 and overall global Toyota hybrid sales passing three million last month.

"Since the Prius went on sale eleven years ago not a year has gone by when it hasn't been the number one selling hybrid vehicle in the U.S," said Bob Carter, Toyota Division group vice president and general manager. "Prius has become synonymous with the word hybrid and as we see fuel prices starting to rise again, it has accounted for more than 60 percent of hybrid passenger car sales so far this year. Prius paved the way for hybrids and while it is still the hybrid leader in sales and fuel economy, I'm proud to say that since its introduction, 13 other auto brands have seen the benefits of hybrid technology and joined the hybrid market."
 
The third-generation Prius topped the EPA's list of the Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles for 2011. It has been named the Best Overall Value of the Year for the last nine years in a row by IntelliChoice, and has the highest owner loyalty of any mid-size vehicle for four of the last five years according to R.L. Polk.  More than 97 percent of all Toyota Prii sold since 2000 are still on the road.
 
Since it was introduced in the U.S. in 2000, Prius, when compared to the average car, has saved American consumers more than an estimated 881 million gallons of gas, $2.19 billion in fuel costs, and 12.4 million tons of CO2 emissions.     
 
In January 2011 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota debuted the Prius v, the first vehicle to be debuted as part of the Prius family marketing strategy. Prius v, which goes on sale in third quarter of 2011, is a mid-size vehicle that provides more than 50 percent additional interior cargo space than the current Prius. In early 2012 Prius will launch two more Prius family members ? the Prius c compact hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle.

http://pressroom.toyota.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2959