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In the aftermath of Japan's devastation, Conn. Sen. says it's time for temporary moratorium on building new nuclear plants (CBS News) Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman on Sunday called for a temporary moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants in the U.S. in the aftermath of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, which damaged two reactors at a nuclear facility in the country's northeast. "The reality is that we're watching something unfold," he said in an interview for CBS' "Face the Nation." "We don't know where it's going with regard to the nuclear power plants in Japan right now. I think...

General Motors President Barack Obama will fine his competitor Toyota a whopping $16 Million dollars.  It's good to be the king! The announcement was made by loyal Liberal Democrat and Grand High Lord Minister of The People's Roads and Transport, Ray LaHood.

California Highway Patrol officers say their patrol car acted as a brake for a Toyota Prius with a stuck accelerator Monday. The car, headed eastbound on Interstate 8, was going at a high rate of speed because the accelerator was stuck, according to CHP spokesperson Brian Pennings. The patrol car moved in front of the Prius and engaged its brakes to bring the Prius to a stop, according to CHP. The car eventually stopped on the highway near the La Posta Bridge in the area of the Golden Acorn Casino.

The U.S., like much of the industrialized world, is currently enjoying a media feeding frenzy over cases of unintended acceleration in Toyota-made vehicles. No one knows whether the ultimate culprit will be ill-fitting floor mats, gas pedals manufactured by CTS, or drive-by-wire software that develops a mind of its own, possibly dooming occupants to swift, untimely death. But Toyota's (TM) problem is far worse than a media circus. No, Toyota is being torn apart by the U.S. inability to gauge real risk in our lives. This shortcoming gives rise to irrational fears and now it's spawning anecdotal "stories"—all making it...

To judge by press accounts and statements from government officials, those innocuous-looking Toyota sedans and SUVs in millions of American driveways are somehow kin to the homicidal '58 Plymouth Fury in the Stephen King novel "Christine"—haunted by technological poltergeists and prone to fits of mechanical mayhem. In the midst of three major recalls, Toyota has been hammered by daily newspaper and TV pieces suggesting it has been slow to address safety problems. U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood announced that anyone who owns one of the recalled vehicles should "stop driving it." (He quickly backpedaled on that pronouncement, but warned, "We're...

First, What to Do if Your Car (Not Just a Toyota) Starts to Accelerate Uncontrollably If your car starts accelerating unexpectedly, hit the brake (it's the one to the left of the gas) and shift into neutral. After you do this, the engine may race loudly but the car won't accelerate. Pull off the road, brake to a stop, shift to park, and shut off the car. This is a simple solution we guarantee will save your life in any car that suffers from unintended acceleration. For more, read our story “How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration,” which is based...

Here are some of the headlines from my Ward's Auto Subscriber newsletter... January's U.S. Sales Gain Largest Since July 2005 Ward’s estimates Toyota’s sales stoppage cost the auto maker 20,000-25,000 units at month’s end, likely reducing the SAAR by about 200,000 Feds Say LaHood Comments Misconstrued; Prius Brakes Investigated Toyota Grapples With P.R. Bungles, Tarnished Brand Ward's Blogs: Recall's Impact on Toyota's Image? Toyota Blames Overly Sensitive ABS for Prius Brake Problems The software code that will allow the brakes to override the throttle in the Camry is ready to be added. Toyota January Sales Dragged Down; Lowest January...

WASHINGTON -- Toyota has hit another pothole. The company has gotten over 100 complaints in the US and Japan about brake problems involving it popular Prius hybrid, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Two involved crashes resulting in injuries. Japan's transport ministry ordered an investigation early today. The complaints are the latest in a spate of quality troubles for the auto maker as it grapples with massive global recalls due to sticking accellerators. The Prius is not part of that recall of nearly 4.5 million vehicles.

To Americans, high-speed trains evoke the gee-whiz factor of a trip to Tomorrowland: Ride futuristic cars that zoom you to a destination in a fraction of the drive time — without having to fight your way through an airport. Read a book, do paperwork, take a nap while you whoosh ahead in high-speed comfort. To governments, they evoke benefits to the common good — reduced freeway traffic, lower carbon pollution and more jobs. But this country has never built a high-speed "bullet" train rivaling the successful systems of Europe and Asia, where passenger railcars have blurred by at top speeds...

January 2, 2008 Recent developments in regeneration technology are almost ready for prime time. Both Hydraulic Hybrid Vehicles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle and Power Generating Shock Absorbers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_absorber are both being field tested and may be soon headed for mass production. Transport company UPS has committed to purchasing seven "series" hydraulic hybrid delivery vehicles while Electric Truck, LLC has exclusively optioned commercial rights to a technology from Tufts University that uses Regenerative Shock Absorbers to recharge the batteries of any hybrid electric and electric-powered vehicle while it is driven. Regenerative shock absorbers The regenerative electromagnetic shock absorber uses an electromagnetic linear generator to...

I've watched the prayer threads here on Freeper, I figured you might like to see a praise posting. While driving a short time ago, my brakes failed suddenly as I was approaching a stop sign. I tapped the brakes, there was a weird click, but the truck kept moving. I put all my weight on the brake pedal, even glanced down to make sure I was hitting the right one. The truck kept moving. I tried switching to park or reverse, the truck kept moving. I tried to reach the emergency brake, but its in a weird spot, and my...

Tire companies, big box stores, and the government are putting the brakes on the use of lead wheel weights. Through EPA's National Lead-Free Wheel Weight Initiative, partners have agreed to phase-in the use of lead-free alternative wheel weights and reduce the amount of lead released into the environment by 2011. "Our partners have pledged to reduce or eliminate their use of lead wheel weights," said Susan Parker Bodine, assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. "Their efforts will remove millions of pounds of lead from the environment and the waste stream." Eliminating lead wheel weights is...

Seinfeld unhurt after Hamptons car wreck 1 hour, 31 minutes ago EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. - Jerry Seinfeld was in a harrowing rollover wreck but was unhurt after the brakes on one of his vintage cars failed. Seinfeld was driving alone when the brakes on his 1967 Fiat BTM stopped working Saturday evening, East Hampton Town Police Chief Todd Sarris told the New York Post. Seinfeld tried the emergency brake, to no avail, and then swerved to keep the car from careering into an intersection, Sarris said. The two-door sedan flipped over and came to a stop just yards from the...

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez vowed Sunday to tackle everyday problems from soaring crime to trash-strewn streets, adopting a more pragmatic approach to governance and toning down his revolutionary rhetoric a month after a stinging electoral defeat. Voters in December rejected a radical overhaul of Venezuela's constitution that would have greatly expanded Chavez's powers and enshrined socialism. Chavez acknowledged his government would have to review its priorities. "I'm forced to reduce the speed of the march," Chavez said, urging new members of his Cabinet to "accept reality" and "put their feet on the ground." "This will be the year...

Siemens VDO’s Electronic Wedge Brake (EWB) has shown an average 15% reduction of braking distances on ice and snow compared to vehicles equipped with conventional hydraulic brakes. The automotive supplier achieved these results during intensive testing near the Arctic Circle in Arjeplog, Sweden. EWB. The brake calipers (1) span the brake disk (2) from two sides. The brake disk is braked by a pad (3) which is moved by an electric motor (4) by several rollers (5) along wedge-shaped inclined faces The EWB, which will go into series production in 2010, is an important milestone in Siemens VDO’s development of...

I am not sure what is wrong with my 2000 Buick and I am hesitant to take it to the dealer or mechanic as I do not want to get ripped off. In the last week when backing out of the garage, my car makes a squealing noise. It will also do this when I accelerate but does not do it when I apply the brakes. Does anyone have an idea of what this is?

Germany slams brakes on emissions targets 06 July 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. EUROPE'S efforts to meet its Kyoto protocol targets for greenhouse gas emissions are heading for trouble after Germany, the driving force behind the continent's emissions reductions for the past 15 years, slammed on the brakes. Since 1990, Germany has cut its emissions by 17.5 per cent, more than any other country in the European Union. Its Kyoto target is a 21 per cent cut, but on 28 June the environment ministry revealed that it would only require a further 0.6 per cent cut from its major...

(CBS/AP) Charges are being filed against the driver of a bus that caught fire near Dallas while carrying people fleeing Hurricane Rita. The driver is being charged with criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of 23 passengers.

WACO, Texas, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- A jury in Waco has found an Indiana-based trucking company at fault for a March 2002 accident that killed a U.S. Army lieutenant, and awarded his family $17.5 million. 23-year-old 2nd Lt. Matthew Giuliano had just graduated from officers training school, and was driving from Ft. Knox, Kentucky to his first assignment at Ft. Hood, Texas, when his car slammed into the rear of a tractor trailer owned by Celadon Trucking Services, Inc. Nasdaq: CLDN - News. The truck had been traveling in the high speed lane of Interstate 30 near Texarkana, when it...

Someone needs to pull the new director of the Department of Motor Vehicles over and stop her from speeding heedlessly into the future. Joan Borucki wants to put global positioning devices in cars to track the mileage they travel. The idea is to more closely tie gas taxes to where cars go, the routes they take and the mileage they rack up, rather than the fuel they use. The problem inspiring this potentially Orwellian notion is that as more new and fuel-efficient cars take to the state's highways, the less the state gets in gas taxes to maintain highways. As...