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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 156%;">**The first page of a newspaper is “prime” real estate. It’s where the most important stories are often found. That’s why it’s helpful to understand what’s behind those stories – because they matter.

Here’s some background on a “prime” story this week.**</span><span style="color: #ef4d4d; font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace; font-size: 130%;">
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<span style="font-size: 130%;">March 15-19, 2010</span>
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=<span style="color: #ff0000;">**Toyota: Moving Forward...Forever?**</span>=

The Toyota company has had its share of troubles lately. After recalling about 8 million cars for sudden acceleration (moving forward even after the driver has taken his foot off the gas pedal), stories about this continue to make news. A recall is when a manufacturer asks people who have bought a product to bring it back, either to be fixed or to be destroyed. Toyota recalled some of its cars so that it could fix the gas pedal problem. The Prius model, though, was not one of the cars with the sudden acceleration issue. Or so they thought.

Just last week, a Toyota Prius went out of control on a California highway with a stuck accelerator. The driver said that he stepped on the gas pedal to pass another car but when he took his foot off the gas and stepped on the brake, the gas pedal was stuck and the car kept moving forward -- quickly -- more than 90 miles per hour! But, he had just taken his car to the dealer and they told him his vehicle wasn't one of the ones being recalled. And, the Prius models which were recalled weren't being fixed for gas pedal problems. They were being fixed for brake problems.

So now, some Prius owners are worried that they, too, have cars which will "move forward" even when they want them to stop. Many people are afraid to buy Toyotas, fearing that they are unsafe. Toyota Corollas have long been the biggest selling car in the world, with millions of them on the road. Now, millions of people are worried about their cars.

But, after a few days, there was a new wrinkle in the story about the runaway Prius. Technicians with Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that they examined the car and couldn't find evidence that the brakes had been applied continually while the car was going at a high rate of speed. They said the brakes were worn down and may have been applied intermittently. They haven't yet released the results of this investigation but some are wondering whether this story could have been true.

That may not stop Prius owners from joining the worriers, however. And, there have been other reports of drivers who say their Prius's sped up on their own.

People have joked that the Toyota slogan, "Moving Forward" is ironic, given the current events. But, Toyota owners are not finding it funny. Some are even suing Toyota.
==**What to watch for:**==
* ==additional Toyota recalls==
* ==U.S. government rulings about car safety==
* ==statements from the head of Toyota==
* ==results of the investigation of the "runaway Prius"==
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<span style="color: #004fff; font-size: 143%;">
</span> <span style="color: #004fff; font-size: 130%;">**Here are today's "prime" news stories. Are any of these mentioned in The Wichita Eagle today?**</span>


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