Chris Craft Controls on 2040-parts.com

Study finds teen drivers need more time in adverse conditions

Practice might make perfect, but not if the drills never change. In a study organized by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Study and the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, participating teen drivers averaged about an hour and a half of supervised driving each week--mostly on routine trips along the same roads. At the end of the year-long study, 47 percent of parents said there was at least one driving condition they felt their student wasn't prepared to handle.

Toyota recalls Corolla, Lexus IS models

On Wednesday, Toyota said it is recalling 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years, and about 270,000 Lexus IS vehicles built between 2006 and 2012. The Corolla and Corolla Matrix may be susceptible to an electrical short that could cause the frontal airbag and front seatbelt pre-tensioners to inadvertently deploy, according to Toyota. The Lexus IS faces a problem with windshield wipers that are not sufficiently secured and may not operate properly when weighted down by heavy snow.

Most hybrid owners don't buy another hybrid, Polk study says

Almost two-thirds of U.S. hybrid buyers returning to the market in 2011 chose something besides another hybrid. Excluding owners of the best-selling Toyota Prius, the repurchase rate among other hybrid buyers dropped to 22 percent, according to a Polk study released today.