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Super Bowl 2010: Car commercials revisited (Toyota Corolla, 2009)

Automakers have been major contributors through the years to a much-anticipated social phenomenon: Commercials of the Super Bowl. The 30-second and one-minute spots are the most expensive on television. And while it’s the game most fans tune in to watch, commercials, halftime entertainment and the rest of the pageantry are eagerly and equally awaited spectacles for many football and non-football fans. Chrysler will return to the commercial fraternity during the Super Bowl this year for the first time since 2004. Companies with connections to automobiles also involved in the Feb. 7 game (that’s less than three weeks) include: Hyundai, Bridgestone,

Super Bowl commercials: Kia offers Las Vegas, bikinis, Gabba Gabba dolls in its new 2011 Sorento ad

Kia is advertising the 2011 Sorento with an innovative Super Bowl ad geared toward kids and their parents and featuring Yo Gabba Gabba figures. The ad features the creatures fantasizing in different situations, like partying in Las Vegas and hanging out in a hot tub bikini-clad young woman with a come-on look on her face. But by the end of the commercial, the creatures are relegated to their original locale, in the backseat of a new Sorento waiting for its driver to leave the driveway of their suburban neighborhood. The idea is clever and the music is cool.

Super Bowl commercials: Tornados to Bengal Tigers to Cars.com

Timothy Richman will be featured in several commercials for Cars.com during the 2010 Super Bowl. He’ll be the poster boy played by several actors in the spots for the car-buying web site. Richman has special powers from toddler days to adulthood. He extinguishes a grease fire as a baby and he saves a busload of cheerleaders from a tornado as a teenager. But it doesn’t stop there. Richman delivers the cub of a breached Bengal Tiger and helps a young Italian girl on the beach who’s been stung by a jelly fish by applying vinegar — and speaks to her

Super Bowl commercials: 2010 Hyundai Tucson without gimmicks

Hyundai is among nearly a dozen auto-related companies that will advertise during Super Bowl KLIV. Its 2010 Tucson is getting strong reviews, and with this 30-second commercial, the Korean carmaker takes a classy approach. It doesn’t specifically poke fun at any other manufacturer. Rather it touts the technological virtues of the new Tucson and simply asks the question why other manufacturer’s don’t already offer than same? The commercial is straight-forward, devoid of overt flash, talking animals and anything risking being cute. It just gets the job done

Ford reveals Fusion Hybrid, Milan Hybrid join Prius with braking issues

In the aftermath of Toyota’s floor mat and braking issues in nine of its models, including top-selling Camry, Corolla and Prius, Ford has also discovered potential problems with the braking system in the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid. Unlike the Prius, the Fusion and Milan hybrids don’t lose braking power while the driver steps on the brake pedal, bit it can feel that way. The cars have two separate braking systems – a regenerative system that gently slows the car by reversing the spin of its electric motor, which also recharges its batteries, and conventional brakes

Toyota CEO emerges from silence, outlines current woes, Prius, Lexus plans

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda, speaking for the first time since his embattled company has recalled millions of its vehicles and is considering further recalls with Prius and perhaps Lexus models, has outlined the Japanese manufacturer’s plans. Here are the key points of what Toyoda, the grandson of the Toyota founder, said at a news conference in Nagoya, Japan, late Friday, which was shown at Toyota’s Tokyo office by satellite feed. Also included are other key points of the current Toyota scandal: * Toyota’s president apologized for the automaker’s global recalls and promised to beef up quality control by

Prius recall imminent for troubled Toyota, Lexus hybrid next?

Toyota is preparing to recall 270,000 Prius hybrid vehicles in the United States and Japan with brake problems, and the world’s largest automaker has also begun an investigation for similar problems with its luxury Lexus hybrid. Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said Toyota had not yet decided whether to recall the Prius. But several Japanese media outlets, including business newspaper Nihon Keizai and television network NHK reports the 2010 Prius recall is imminent. The new Prius hybrid went on sale in Japan and the United States in May 2009. More than 170,000 of the new Prius models have been sold in

Toyota Prius update: Brake complaints continue, U.S. government considers sanctions

The turbulent times for Toyota Motor Corp. now include problems with the most world’s most popular hybrid — the Toyota Prius. Toyota has received more than 100 complaints in the U.S. and Japan about brake problems with the popular Prius hybrid. Less than two weeks ago, the Toyota Camry and Toyota Corolla, the carmaker’s top-selling vehicles, were among eight Toyota models involved in a recall of more several millions vehicles with potentially faulty accelerator pedal. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received about 100 complaints involving the brakes of the Prius new model. Two involved crashes resulting in

Toyota Prius brake issues prompt U.S. Transportation Dept. investigation

Toyota Motor Corp., troubles have heightened. The U.S. Transportation Department has begun an investigation into brake problems in the 2010 Toyota Prius after the Japanese automaker acknowledged design issues with the country’s best-selling gas-electric hybrid. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told The Associated Press it has received 124 reports from consumers, including four reports of crashes. The investigation will look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over uneven road surfaces, potholes or bumps. The Japanese government has ordered Toyota to investigate brake problems. The automaker said it had corrected problems with the antilock brake system

Hyundai Genesis Coupe, 2010: The Weekly Driver Car Review

As the 2009 North American Car of the Year, the Hyundai Genesis may be the most unheralded car to win the honor. Still, many critics have bombarded it with hard-to-dispute praise. Without its badge and without what ever stigma remains against Korean cars, the Genesis is nearly as luxurious and nearly as unmistakable as its Lexus and Acura competitors.

Ferrari red at its brightest: Rare 1963 GTO available in private England auction

A 1963 Ferrari GTO, arguably one of the world’s most coveted cars, is now being offered for private treaty sale by RM Auctions in London, England. The 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO (chassis no. 4675 GT) is one of only 36 250 GTOs originally produced and one of a limited few with Series II GTO bodywork.

Toyota tumbles, Ford F-150 leads January U.S. auto sales

While bankruptcy and federal assistance were the top topics for the embattled automotive industry in 2009, the recall of eight Toyota models with potential faulty accelerator issues has overshadowed other carmakers’ woes in 2010.

Ray LaHood, U.S. Transportation Secretary, amends 'stop driving Toyotas' statement

Ray LaHood, the U.S. Transportation Secretary, has quickly amended a statement he made advising owners to stop driving the eight models of recently recalled Toyota cars. LaHood’s words came in the quick aftermath of the embattled Japanese manufacturer facing new concerns about its Toyota Prius.

Mercedes Benz GLK 350, 2010: Roman Mica's Rambling Review (Video)

Roman Mica has recently test driven cars in the snow and written about his first trip to the Detroit International Auto Show. This time around, the contributing editor to TheWeeklyDriver.com reviews what some might consider an automotive oxymoron — a sport utility vehicle Mercedes Benz.

Consumer Reports to Sean P. Diddy Combs: Cars for young drivers

Automotive News, News Service

Sean P. Diddy Combs recently attracted a lot of attention when he gave his son a new Lamborghini valued at $360,000 for his 16th birthday. The presentation was held in front of MTV cameras and a celebrity crowd gathered in New York in part for a Haiti relief fundraiser. Consumer Reports didn’t pass judgment on Combs’ actions. Instead, it compiled a list of cars it has determined as “appropriate for young drivers.” In part of story detailing its selection, the Consumer Reports’ reporter wrote: “We did not consider cars with 0-to-60-mph acceleration times faster than 8 seconds or slower than

Ferrari confirms its hybrid will debut at Geneva Auto Show in March

Like an any pending Ferrari debut, rumors about a hybrid have circulated for years. Now, the rumor has been confirmed as true. According to Reuters, among several news agencies, Ferrari will introduce its hybrid technology in March and the first model to get it will be the 599.