prius

Last week, Toyota released a new set of commercials in which the Asian manufacturer tries to implore car buyers to remain loyal to the brand despite its recent faulty accelerators recall. People inside and outside the auto industry are criticizing Toyota for its hard sell in the wake of such a major boo-boo; however, I guess we'll see if Toyota can pull a Tim Gunn and "make it work, make it work."

In the meantime, I think Toyota should be putting the spotlight on its arguably most recent, notable, and successful product: the Prius. I'm sure … Read more

Bentley takes the top off its Continental Supersports, and adds a rear seat. Rinspeed makes an electric car/train hybrid. EnerDel tests plan to have utilities pay for part of electric car batteries. And we take a drive in one of the most luxurious hybrids available.

• Bentley Continental Supersports convertible previewed pre-Geneva

• Rinspeed UC electric car

• GM tests closing grille to boost truck mpg

• First Chevy Volt cars will not be E85 ready

• Hyundai Elantra now available with navigation

The electronic issues dogging the Toyota Prius signal that cars are increasingly susceptible to software bugs. Cars, however, are not PCs on wheels and have a different set of problems than that crash-prone computer on your desktop, according to an expert at Edmunds.com.

Anyone who has ever been in a Prius knows immediately that it's different, with its large LCD display on the dashboard, the computer-controlled buttons that switch the car into different fuel-efficiency modes, and the all-digital dashboard.

If the Prius is any indication of the future of cars, then cars with more computer-related glitches is part … Read more

We may have found the ugliest car ever, wanna' see? A Porsche hybrid goes to Nurburgring; Volvo offers a factory-installed Windows PC; lots of Porsche Cayenne feedback from y'all; and a drive in an American icon (you should really wait before you buy).

• Are car start buttons dangerous? Toyota may think so...

• ...and Cooley agrees.

• CNET reviews the 2010 Mustang V6

• Antuan shows you how to make your Garmin speak in your voice

• Nissan starts taking orders for the electric Leaf in April… Read more

Having just hung up with my Toyota dealer, I know nothing more than I did yesterday. My 2010 Toyota Prius, which I bought last summer, is expected to be among those 150,000 recalled in the U.S. for a braking problem. But an official notice won't come until at least next week.

The recall is a financial and public relations disaster for Toyota, coming on the heels of larger recalls of several Toyota models because of acceleration problems.

For average consumers like me, though, the plight of Toyota's squeaky green Prius says more about auto technology than … Read more

A quick rundown of Tuesday's news, including Google's dive into social media with Buzz and more woes for Toyota.

Today's stories:

Toyota adds 2010 Prius to global recall list

Google's social side hopes to catch some Buzz

Microsoft, Google split over browser bug bounty

McAfee: Spammers exploiting more news stories

Alleged Mario pirate agrees to pay $1.3 million

Netflix has Blockbuster on the ropes

Tweeting a book by its cover

Google rolls out its new Buzz feature and all we can say is this: don't even THINK of calling your new text-to-speech chat feature "Buzz Out Loud." Because we will come for you. Also, the Nexus One gets phone support ... for shipping questions only. Sad trombone. And Toyota can't catch a break. Poor Toyota. --Molly

Top Stories

Google to Add Social Features toGmail http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/technology/companies/09social.html http://www.businessinsider.com/google-is-set-to-launch-twitter-clone-for-gmail-2010-2 … Read more

Toyota Motor said it would recall nearly half a million new Prius and other hybrid cars for braking problems as it battled criticism of its response to the spiraling safety crisis.

The world's largest automaker, whose reputation for quality is on the line, is under fire for two other recalls covering more than 8 million vehicles worldwide due to problems with slipping floormats and sticky accelerator pedal.

Toyota put an end to days of speculation on Tuesday, confirming that it would it would recall more than 400,000 hybrid models, including the latest version of its iconic Prius, to … Read more

On the Internet, the only thing harder to fight than frivolous copyright infringement accusations is comment trolls. Nevertheless, we're all going to give it our best shots. In other news, Woz hacks its Prius, the Internet comes up with wishful-thinking rumors to turn the iPad into the thing we all wanted it to be, and we just cannot get excited about the Nexus One on AT&T. Or the JooJoo tablet. --Molly

Top Stories

Wozniak cites ’scary’ Prius acceleration problem http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10445564-64.html… Read more