The New York Times reports: "A FEW blocks from the Tesla Motors dealership here is one of California’s public charging stations for electric vehicles. But the Tesla Roadster, just the sort of vehicle that planners had in mind when the statewide network was conceived, cannot be charged there. “It’s an inductive charging system,” Jeremy Snyder, general manager of the Tesla showroom, said of the facility. Translation: the inductive connector is not compatible with the Roadster,... Read more

Toyota has added the brake systems of the latest Lexus hybrid vehicles to a growing list of problems with various models, the company said Friday. The company said it was checking the brakes on the Lexus vehicle model HS250h — as well as a Japanese model called the Sai — because they use the same system as that used on the 2010 Toyota Prius. Toyota has announced no recall of these vehicles, however, and said it has not received any complaints about the brakes from consumers. Read More →

Toyota Motor Corp. may soon announce a recall of the 2010 Prius hybrid in the US and Japan to address complaints about slipping brakes. This would well be what’s to come next after transportation authorities in these two countries have ordered investigations. Junji Ogata, Toyota’s general manager in charge of recalls, confirmed that the company is considering a recall and is in talks with the Transportation Ministry about it. Ogata said however, that a final decision has yet to be made.... Read more

Toyota acknowledged design problems with the brakes in its prized Prius, adding to the catalog of woes for the Japanese automaker as it reels from massive gas-pedal recalls in the U.S. Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it found design problems with the antilock brake system and corrected them for Prius models sold since late January, including those being shipped overseas. But the company said it was still investigating how to inform customers who had bought them earlier. Nothing was decided on that... Read more

Toyota Motor Corp. officials may have publicly stated the causes of unintended acceleration that have led to the massive vehicle recall, but the truth could be that it has yet to identify the source of the problem, according to the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Henry Waxman. Earlier this week, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President James Lentz appeared on television and said that the problem was restricted to two causes: floor mat interference with the accelerator pedal and a... Read more

Finally, the Tesla Roadster electric car is available in right-hand drive, in order to bring some joy for the Queen. Also, it appears that the car is available with some improvements over previous left-hand version such as a new sound system and new noise-reduction materials. The model is available now at Tesla’s Knightsbridge showroom in London with a price tag of £86,950. The Tesla Roadster will be followed by the Model S saloon, set to debut in 2012. “The right-hand-drive model... Read more

Volkswagen of America, Inc. today reported January 2010 sales of 18,019 total units, representing a 41.4 percent increase over January 2009. January marks Volkswagen’s seventh consecutive sales month of growth. Jetta, the top selling European nameplate in the U.S., continued to sell well and posted solid January sales results with sales of 8,893 total units. Proving that today’s consumers continue to place greater emphasis on fuel efficiency and the environment, Volkswagen’s... Read more

As you may know already, Ferrari launched its new F1 car dubbed Scuderia Ferrari F10 but it appears this isn’t the only good news. Why? Because at the official presentation of the vehicle, chairman Luca du Montezemolo confirmed the fact that Ferrari will reveal a hybrid 599 prototype at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. Europen patents already revealed the fact that the Italian manufacturer is working on a four-wheel drive hybrid drivetrain with electric motors powering the front wheels,... Read more