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Sudden Acceleration

Finally a "Prius Goes Boom" story without the car being blamed

Submitted by Danny on July 26, 2010 - 1:29pm.

Hooray, we finally have a "Prius drives into something" story without it ending in vows to sue Toyota and the driver not taking responsibility! According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, a Prius driver's foot slipped off the brakes and onto the gas pedal, causing the car to drive through a Wells Fargo's plate-glass window.

The driver was helping a passenger in the car, which was parked next to the ATMs, about 9 p.m. when the accident happened, Capt. Dan Walters said.

Video: Toyota Shares 5 Videos of Preliminary Findings in Sikes Case

Submitted by Danny on March 16, 2010 - 11:26am.

Toyota has posted 5 videos to share their preliminary findings in the James Sikes case of alleged sudden acceleration. All 5 are embedded below, but the first one is probably the most interesting. It shows many different camera angles of Sikes' 2008 Prius being tested going to high speeds and then using the brake override system to stop the car.

Toyota Plans Press Conference For Today To Release Findings

Submitted by Danny on March 15, 2010 - 10:54am.

The AP is reporting that Toyota plans to hold a press conference today to release their findings on the alleged sudden acceleration incident of a Prius in San Diego. As you probably already know, an early Congressional memo has shown that NHTSA and Toyota have not been able to replicate the issue.

We'll keep you updated on when the press conference is going to happen and the information released.

This Week in PriusChat - March 15th

Submitted by Danny on March 15, 2010 - 10:09am.

You'll never guess what discussion topic dominated the PriusChat forums this past week. What? You were under a rock last week? Well, let us show you what you missed!

What Drives Us - Episode 7 "Runaway Prius Dissection"

Submitted by Danny on March 14, 2010 - 10:19am.

This week on What Drives Us Russell and Danny dissect the runaway Prius driver James SIkes in an extended discussion on the subject. This week we were joined by panelists Tony Schaefer and Eric Powers.

Hosts: Danny Cooper and Russell Frost

Guests: Tony Schaefer and Eric Powers

Episode #: 7

Time: 52:30

Video: SNL Tries to Capitalize on Prius Hysteria With Not So Funny Sketch

Submitted by Danny on March 14, 2010 - 10:11am.

Oops! The 2010 Prius Manual Contradicts Toyota's Emergency Instructions

Submitted by Danny on March 12, 2010 - 4:11pm.

By now you've probably seen or heard from Toyota what you should do in the case of an emergency in your Prius. Shift the car into Neutral, apply brakes, pull over. If that doesn't work, hold the Power button for 3 seconds to shut the car down. There's only one problem with these instructions - they are exactly the opposite of what Toyota has written in the 2010 Prius manual.

As you can see in the image above from the 2010 Prius owners manual, the manual says on Page 155 under Chapter 2-1 Driving Procedures:

Runaway Prius 911 Call Released - Listen here

Submitted by Danny on March 10, 2010 - 12:24pm.

James Sikes' 911 call to authorities was released last night, and we have the full conversation available for listening below.

"My car can't slow down," he began when a California Highway Patrol dispatcher answered his call.

During the two 911 calls, Sikes ignored many of the dispatcher's questions, saying later that he had to put his phone on the seat to keep his hands on the wheel.

Leighann Parks, a 24-year-old dispatcher, repeatedly told him to throw the car into neutral but got no answers.

Full audio:

What Drives Us - Podcast Episode #3

Submitted by Danny on February 4, 2010 - 12:20pm.

This week's episode of "What Drives Us" is up a day early since we talked about some timely events. For those of you who are new to the podcast, "What Drives Us" is a podcast about alternative fuel and future technology modes of transportation. While focusing on the Prius, we do discuss other topics including this week's big discussion on Tesla.

This week Russell and I were joined by Evan Fusco (efusco as he's known on PriusChat). Thanks to Evan for taking the time out to join us!

Steve Wozniak Admits He Doesn't Know How To Use Cruise Control... Kind of

Submitted by Danny on February 3, 2010 - 9:19am.

Yesterday the internet was on fire with talk of Steve Wozniak finding a new reason for Toyota to recall more cars. By the close of business, though, the Woz had appeared on CNN and told his side of the story in order to calm down the masses.

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