News About Automobile Technology 08-FEB-10 en-us Tokyo (AFP) Feb 7, 2010 - Embraced by Hollywood celebrities and beloved by environmentalists, the Prius has long been the envy of Toyota's rivals, but now its safety woes risk putting the brakes on the success of hybrid cars.]]> Washington (AFP) Feb 4, 2010 - US authorities Thursday ordered a formal investigation into reported braking problems in the 2010 Toyota Prius, in a fresh expansion of safety issues plaguing the Japanese auto giant worldwide.]]> Tokyo (AFP) Feb 4, 2010 - Toyota Motor's Prius, the world's most popular hybrid car, is supposed to help save the earth from climate change but for now it has plunged the world's largest automaker deeper into trouble.]]> Taipei (AFP) Feb 3, 2010 - Luxury sedans would seem a risky bet in a time of global economic strife, but Taiwan's Yulon Motor believes it has found the right formula: Its car is cheap and it is destined for China.]]> New York (AFP) Jan 29, 2010 - US electric carmaker Tesla Motors said on Friday that it plans an intial public offering of stock that could raise as much as 100 million dollars.]]> Shanghai (AFP) Jan 29, 2010 - Authorities will require Chinese auto makers to merge with a domestic rival before being allowed to build new factories as Beijing moves to muscle in on the global market, state media reported Friday.]]> Tokyo (AFP) Jan 28, 2010 - Toyota's coveted safety record took a major new hit Thursday as a massive recall caused by an accelerator problem grew in the United States and spread to Europe and China for the first time.]]> New York (AFP) Jan 28, 2010 - US automaker Ford said Thursday it was suspending production of a commercial vehicle sold in China that may be suffering from the same accelerator problems as rival Toyota.]]> Beijing (AFP) Jan 28, 2010 - China's product safety watchdog said Thursday Toyota would recall over 75,000 automobiles in the Asian nation, extending a programme that has already affected millions of vehicles in the United States.]]> Washington (AFP) Jan 27, 2010 - With a jump-start from a new quick charging system, Norwegian electric carmaker THINK is taking aim at the US market with a new assembly facility set to begin operations later this year.]]>