Toyota is ordering mandatory inspections of all Toyota and Lexus vehicles after an improperly installed floor mat was linked to a crash that killed four people last month near Santee, California. One of the victims was a California Highway Patrolman, who was driving the vehicle. READ MORE UPDATE: Toyota recalls 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles, according to Channel 10 News.

Toyota is ordering mandatory inspections of all Toyota and Lexus vehicles after an improperly installed floor mat was linked to a crash that killed four people last month near Santee, California. One of the victims was a California Highway Patrolman, who was driving the vehicle. READ MORE

No Longer "aFORDable." Detroit's first darling is learning the hard way what it means to be fuelish.

Here's a summary of the renewable energy provisions in the recently passed Stimulus bill compiled by ACORE. Most notable for some consumers is that the bill increases the tax credit for qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles for the first 200,000 placed in service. The base amount of the credit is $2500. Batteries with at least 5 kilowatt hours of capacity have a credit of $2917. The credit cannot exceed $5000

The oil lobby has finally figured out how to tax drivers for using less gasoline. Here are eight good reasons why this "per mile" tax stinks worse than a highway road-kill on a hot August day.  Read the Blog.

Today's successful business model exemplified by Detroit. Make SUVs and trucks nobody wants to buy, post record losses, get government bailout.

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But only for state law lawmakers. While Californians struggle to pay record prices at the pump, we get the distinct honor of paying for our Legislators' gasoline purchases without any oversight. Read about this absurd perk at AP Exclusive: Gas cards give Calif. Leg. free ride.

San Diego Union Tribune: Energy Billionaires like T-Boone Pickens are using California's ballot initiatives in an attempt to get the "court of public opinion" to rule in favor of their own investments. Beware: Greed, not "green" is the likely motivator. Michael Shames speaks out. More.

Using a cell phone without hands-free equipment while driving is now unlawful. However, studies show that hands-free driving isn't necessarily any safer than having a cell phone glued to your ear, and that simply talking on any phone is as dangerous as driving drunk. Yet oddly, talking to a fellow passenger while driving or listening to the radio does not seem to be a significant cause of accidents. Why? Is it possible that driving poorly while talking on the phone is a function of age? More.