Between floor mat and throttle pedal issues, Toyota has an 8.1-million-vehicle worldwide recall on its hands – but that number could be poised to grow. Reports are now in that Japan has ordered the troubled automaker to start an investigation into potential braking issues in the automaker’s top-selling Prius hybrid.

Automotive News says complaints of brake issues on the current Prius have been filed in both Japan and North America, with most complaints filed since the end of last year.

“All the complaints were nearly the same,” Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi told Automotive News. “They are usually about driving in bumpy or icy conditions and when you push the brake, there is an unusual feel.”

We’re used to an odd sensation when a hybrid vehicle transitions from hydraulic braking to regenerative (i.e. using the electric motors to slow the vehicle) braking, but complaints registered with the U.S. National Highway Traffic & Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggest a momentary pause in braking over loose surfaces that, according to complaints filed, has led to at least one accident.

Japan’s Ministry of Transportation hasn’t commented on its directive, and NHTSA has yet to issue an investigation of its own.

Meanwhile, the NHTSA is launching an investigation into the drive-by-wire electronics of several Toyota models, in a search to determine if floor mats and sticky pedal actuation are actually the end story with regards to unintended acceleration issues.

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Home > Of the Year > Cars > 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Ford Fusion
2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Ford Fusion
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Check Dealer Pricing On a New Ford Fusion!
2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year: Ford Fusion
The Comeback Kid: Do-it-All Sedan is Reborn for 2010 and is Better, Smarter, Nicer, Prettier, Comfier, Leaner, Meaner, and Greener in Every Way
November, 2009
 / By Matt Stone
 / Photography by Wesley Allison

2010 Ford Fusion Se Sport And Hybird
 Click to view Gallery
In 1964, Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award went to the entire Ford lineup, recognizing its combination of design, engineering excellence, and performance. In 1970, we gave the nod to the Ford Torino, which could be ordered in a wide variety of configurations. Forty years ago, buyers could choose from economical, six-cylinder-powered sedans to the dragstrip-ready 429 Super Cobra Jet fastback. These legendary winners had one thing in common: bandwidth. In the 1960s and ’70s, this term wasn’t yet part of popular lexicon. Today, the 2010 Ford Fusion’s impressive bandwidth as a model range was one of the many factors that helped it earn the 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year award.

Want an economical midsize sedan that doesn’t cost much, yet won’t bore you to tears? Need to please your greener side with a high-tech hybrid? Fancy a near-sport sedan with AWD, 18-inch rolling stock, and the latest infotainment and electronics? Depending on which model you choose and how many option boxes you tick, the Fusion can be any of the above. Arthur St. Antoine calls the Fusion “a compelling sweep across one of the market’s most hotly contested segments.”

The original Ford Fusion came to market for the 2006 model year. The basics were there, but the car wasn’t fully baked. For 2010, Ford’s product teams gave the lineup a soup-to-nuts redevelopment so thorough, it’s as if the first-generation car never existed. Only the passenger-shell sheetmetal and other basic architectural elements escaped being redesigned, upgraded, or replaced. Although a four-door sedan is the only body style offered, powertrain choices expand from two to four, and each is new or substantially revised. There are several trim levels offered as well: base S, upmarket SE, luxurious SEL, a separate Sport model, and a Hybrid. Early in this year’s COTY program, there were quiet whispers, while heads nodded, about how the Fusion looked, felt, and drove like an entirely new machine.

Over the last few years, sales of pickups for personal use have dropped dramatically. It’s been a long, slow road to recovery in this country, and we still haven’t seen truck sales improve. Making things worse, guys who work in construction are among the most dedicated to buying pickups for use on the job, and there isn’t a lot of that going on right now, either.

How did truckmakers respond to this sudden, dramatic, and prolonged change in the marketplace? Instead of sticking solely with the mainstream-market formula, they’re focusing on catering to the specific needs of truck people. That helps explain the interesting grouping of vehicles for the latest Truck of the Year event. Four qualified: the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, the Ford Transit Connect, the Ram Heavy Duty, and the Toyota Tundra 4.6-liter work truck.

First contender is the off-road race-ready Ford F-150 SVT Raptor. Instead of taking the street-biased high-performance route of the Lightning, the design team looked at the strengths of the truck platform and redefined the idea of high performance. The Raptor is ideally suited to romping over the ruts and sand of the Baja 1000 and only gets better the faster you go. And even though the extended-cab powered by a 5.4-liter V-8 is an impressive combination, we hear a crew cab and 400-plus-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 are coming.

2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Front Three Quarters Driver
 Click to view Gallery
Some of you may wonder why on earth there’s a little van in Truck of the Year. The Ford Transit Connect is no kid-toting minivan. This is a van built for work, with a 1600-pound payload, comparable to that of any half-ton truck on the market. This van, which has been sold in Europe for many years, has been put through truck-durability testing and is ready to take on full-size vans for a piece of that market.

For those who need to be able to tow a fifth-wheel trailer or carry 5000 pounds of equipment in the bed, the Ram Heavy Duty arrives for 2010 with a revised platform, all-new sheetmetal, redesigned interior, and several innovations. These trucks are available as 3/4- and one-ton models, plus 4500 and 5500 trucks for even more capability.