Flaming River Billet-joint Steering Universal Joint Fr1717ddpl on 2040-parts.com

Toyota ordered by Japan to address Prius brake complaints

Toyota Motor Corp., already grappling with recalls totaling 8.1 million vehicles on five continents, has been ordered by Japan's Ministry of Transportation to investigate a rash of consumer complaints about braking problems in its popular third-generation Prius hybrid vehicle. The Japanese carmaker has received several complaints about braking in the Prius in both Japan and North America since the end of last year, Toyota spokeswoman Ririko Takeuchi said. She did not say when the directive was issued or how Toyota would respond.

One Lap of the Web: Motel kitsch, Bentley dragsters and rusting Porsches

-- The roach motel lives on in these postcards from Petrolicious. The Googie signs and modernist architecture jump from the Howard Johnsons and Travelodges of the 1950s, when buildings were built in color. For a precious few decades in the tapestry of American interstate travel, before they became the refuge of schlocky horror movies, the motor hotel was the true King of the Road.

BAC Mono: Fancy a Drive?

RS Academy grabs the first two BAC Monos Last month we reported on a new single-seat road car that offers more thrills than a garage full of hypercars for less than the cost of an M5 – the BAC Mono. The brothers Briggs - Briggs Automotive Company – have created the beautifully built, finished and specified Mono as the world’s only single-seat production car (well, the only one that’s actually made it in to production, anyway). Weighing no more than Kylie after a heavy diet, the Mono can scoot to 60mph in just 2.8 seconds before running out of steam somewhere around 170mph.