Autoblog

Click on the image above for our Toyota Prius gallery

When an eight-year-old boy on a bicycle gets hit by a car while riding in the middle of the street, the blame often points directly at the youth. However, if the car in question just happens to be a quiet hybrid-electric... there just may be reason to accuse the vehicle.

Last weekend, a youthful Owen Erickson was riding his two-wheeler with a friend when he was struck by a Toyota Prius and tossed onto the hood of the popular hybrid. Thankfully, he was unhurt. His mother, however, was quick to place some of the blame on the "totally silent" Prius, claiming her son never heard it coming. As a scapegoat, the hybrid-electric vehicle is taking more than its fair share of heat. Two years ago, we blogged about the silent danger of hybrids. Earlier this year, Maryland launched a study, and passed legislation aimed at vehicle noise levels (more specifically, the "lack of" audible decibels), citing a legitimate concern for the blind. Just last month, a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives to study whether or not a "minimum sound level" needs to be established for these highly-efficient silent runners.

We obviously haven't "heard" the end of this hybrid-electric argument as it begins to gain momentum around the country. Whether future Prius models are equipped with blaring sirens or not, we do know that Moms will still need to teach their children to not play in the middle of the street. Thanks for the tip, Tyler!

[Source: KARE 11]

We thought we'd found the filthiest car when we gave away a vacuum last spring, but apparently, Ann Biglan of Massachusetts wasn't going to be passed over again this year. Training hard to win the Dyson, Biglan had crammed her Ford Focus with nearly enough crap to fill a 10-yard dumpster. Perhaps the car was struck by lightning and the decaying organic matter came alive, Johnny Five style. While cruising along in Yarmouth, Massachusetts -- on fairly provincial Cape Cod -- the detritus rebelled. The accelerator and brake pedals were rendered useless as the Focus-turned-refuse-bin rocketed out of a Post Office parking lot, across a freeway careening into a Ford Explorer, backing over a sidewalk and finally coming to rest by smashing a flowerpot in a gas station parking lot. While charged with several violations by the local constabulary, we know that Biglan was just trying to get into top form for this spring's competition. Some athletes are tempted into illegal doping, and true AutoBloggers may also go to extremes, but let this be a lesson to you, dear reader. No Dyson is worth the danger of having your own personal Swamp Thing take over your car and smash it into stuff. Clean that thing up!

Thanks for the tip, Tim!