The Trouble with Toyotas: Has the hybrid halo been tarnished?

By John LeBlanc So, let’s see, what’s on Toyota president Akio Toyoda’s agenda today? Oh. Only recalling its “halo” Prius, the best-selling car in Japan, that’s all.

Bye-Bye 2009: Worst Car of the Decade

By John LeBlanc I know. The Prius has become the best-selling gasoline-electric hybrid of all time. Over a million have been sold since the first one went on sale in 1997. You could make the argument and ask, “How can that many people be wrong?” Easy, really.

Bye-Bye 2009: Most Influential Cars of the Decade

By John LeBlanc These weren’t the best-selling, best-looking or best-performing new cars from the past decade. But these were the vehicles that set trends and had other automakers scrambling to play catch-up. Chronologically, here are the 10 most influential cars:

Feature: Prius grows up

Story and photos by John LeBlanc While taking some photographs of the latest version of the Toyota Prius in a parking lot at one of the many wineries lining the hills in the Napa Valley, a well-kept baby boomer approached me cautiously. “Is that the new Prius?” she asked, looking for all the world like […]

First Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius

Story and photos by John LeBlanc YOUNTVILLE, Calif.–With more than one million sold worldwide – about 14,000 in Canada since 2000 – the Prius has become the best-selling, most-recognizable hybrid in the world, and a halo car casting Toyota in an eco-friendly light.

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