Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–April 30, 2010.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood responded to reports released yesterday by the DOT Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the General Accounting Office on the DOT’s popular ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program and announced next steps for closing it down. “Cash for Clunkers was wildly successful,” said Secretary[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 26, 2010.  The Department of Energy announced today the closing of a $528.7 million loan with Fisker Automotive for the development and production of two lines of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). The loan will support the Karma, a full-size, four-door sports sedan, and a line of family[Read More…]

TORRANCE, Calif.—(ENEWSPF)–April 20, 2010 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., today announced it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 9,400 2010 Model Year Lexus GX 460 sport utility vehicles to update software in the vehicle’s Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system.  No other Toyota, Lexus, or Scion vehicles[Read More…]

Torrance, California—(ENEWSPF)—April 19, 2010. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announced today that it has agreed to settle the civil penalty demanded in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s April 5 letter related to the company’s recall for slow-to-return and sticky accelerator pedals by paying $16.4 million.   The company said: “We agreed[Read More…]

Torrance, California—(ENEWSPF)—April 14, 2010. From Mark Templin, Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager: “For more than 20 years, Lexus has made customer safety and satisfaction our highest priorities.  We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer[Read More…]

AURORA, Ill.–(ENEWSPF)–March 18, 2010 – As spring looms, fuel prices have increased in Illinois and northern Indiana over the past month. This is attributed to a couple of factors including slight increased demand and a continued uncertainty of the economy. AAA Chicago’s most recent Fuel Gauge Report estimates that in[Read More…]

Torrance, CA–(ENEWSPF)–March 16, 2010.  Honda will recall approximately 344,000 Odyssey and 68,000 Element vehicles from the 2007-2008 model years in the U.S. to modify the Vehicle Stability Assist™ (VSA®) modulator. Honda has received customer complaints of brake pedals that feel “soft” or that gradually exhibit a pedal height that gets[Read More…]

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—(ENEWSPF)—March 15, 2010—At a press conference today, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. offered key preliminary findings of technical field examination and testing that were performed on March 10 and 11 regarding an alleged “runaway Prius” event dramatically covered by national news media. Toyota engineers completed an investigation[Read More…]

Washington, D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–March 11, 2010.  The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that the number of overall traffic fatalities reported at the end of 2009 reached the lowest level since 1954, declining for the 15th consecutive quarter. According to early projections, the fatality rate, which takes into account the number of[Read More…]