Oh Ford. How can you possibly build a light-duty truck that gets worse gas mileage than the Hummer H2? Well, that’s precisely the case for the 2010 Ford F-250 Lariat which was recently credited by Consumer Reports for getting the worst mileage of all 2010 vehicles with a shocking 10 mpg in real world tests.

That’s right, 10 miles per gallon. Amazingly, it seems like the Ford F-250 Lariat engine is operating like an ancient dinosaur. Sure, you’re getting plenty of power, but at what cost? With current gas prizes and regular driving, it won’t take long for a Ford F-250 owner to have paid for the vehicle twice, not to mention the amount of greenhouse gases they will have pumped into the air.

The most fuel efficient vehicles in CR’s real world tests were the Toyota Prius at 44 mpg, the Smart Fortwo at 39 mpg and the Honda Insight EX at 38 mpg.

Bart Stupak, House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, sent an 11-page letter to James E. Lentz III, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A, that slammed Toyota for their response to the sticking Toyota accelerator problem.

The letter sates that Toyota was too quick to dismiss the possibility of their vehicles computer’s being the problem, that they made their conclusion based on flawed study, and then went on to mislead the public by stating that the fixes they were making would alleviate the pedal sticking problem.

Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles since late last year, with more than six million in the US alone.

Lentz is scheduled to appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on February 23, has been an ardent defender of Toyota and denier of any computer problems with Toyota vehicles.

Check out the House letter to Toyota and let us know what you think. Was Toyota trying to pull a fast one on American car buyers?

As the public magnifying glass zooms in on all the issues surrounding the Toyota recalls all Car manufacturers are probably getting nervous. As the amount of Toyota recalls rises, it’s becoming clear that the problem lies with the US Department of Transportation as much as anywhere else. Clearly there is a disconnect between consumer complaints and action from the government.

Hot on the heels of the Toyota Prius hybrid recalls due to brake problems, the Ford Fusion hybrid and the Milan hybrid are getting updates to their software to address a braking problem of their own.

Ford has started a repair program which will alert all known owners of Ford Fusions or Milan hybrids built before October 17, 2009. They will be directed to their nearest dealer regarding, their “Customer Satisfaction Program 10B13.”

In the meantime, the Toyota recall story continues to make headlines as it has now been revealed that Toyota has known for years that the Prius had break issues.

Stay tuned to Eco Auto Ninja for the latest on the Toyota recalls and breaking news on issues with the Ford Fusion.

The Detroit News is reporting that Toyota will be revealing a new hybrid vehicle, smaller than the Prius, at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show on January 11, the first day of the show.

Although Toyota is remaining tight-lipped about details, rumors persist that the new Toyota Hybrid will be a subcompact that will see production in 2011 and will be available for purchase in the US in 2012.

While Toyota is the largest producer of hybrid vehicles in the world, even they had a rough year in 2009. This was the first year they have ever had more recalls than any other automaker with a grand total of four million vehicles recalled. While the primary culprit of the recalls was a floormat that would jam the accelerator, the popular Prius is also currently facing a US probe over faulty brakes.

Considering Toyota’s success despite the recall setbacks, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they are moving forward with subcompact hybrid. The Detroit Press’ inside source said that Toyota is confident in the new model and will start by producing 150,000 annually to begin with.

Toyota is reportedly looking to parlay the popularity of the Prius into a whole new line of vehicles under a possible Toyota sub-brand. This sub-brand would be made up of a line of hybrid vehicles including a Hybrid SUV and a Hybrid Station Wagon (pictured above).

With hybrid vehicles gaining popularity in the U.S., larger hybrid versions of the popular Prius might satisfy that American need to size and storage capacity. Soccer mom’s alone could justify a Toyota Hybrid Station Wagon.

According to a Japanese newspaper, Toyota executives are looking at using lithium-ion battery packs for the upcoming line of hybrid vehicles, even though Toyota has in the past stated that they felt lithium-ion batteries were too expensive.

There is still a great deal of speculation surrounding this possible new line of eco-friendly vehicles, so stay tuned as more details come forth.

Progressive automaker Toyota announced recently that they will be contributing ten electric Priuses to the SmartGridCity project, the world’s first comprehensive smart grid demonstration. Toyota’s participation in the project will allow researchers to test how plug-in EVs can fit into a smart grid.

The project is being coordinated by Xcel Energy and the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, a new research venture by NREL and the university. The project aims to demonstrate how a smart grid can bring enhanced reliability and visibility to grid energy use. Participants will be able to monitor and remotely-control their homes’ energy use with smart meters.

The 2010 Toyota Prius is selling well, very well. In fact July of this year saw almost four time as many Prius Hybrids sold in Japan than July of 2008. In the first seven months of 2009, Toyota has sold almost 80,000 Prius Hybrids. Clearly the hybrid vehicle has arrived, but the question now is, can these sorts of sales be sustained by Toyota.

While maintaining consumer demand is one thing, acquiring enough nickel-metal hydride batteries from supplier Panasonic EV Energy Co. Currently, Toyota is receiving enough batteries to produce around a half million Prius Hybrids, but that’s not looking like it will meet up with demand.

According to Toyota senior managing director, Takahiko Ijichi, “The new Prius model has been excessively popular, inconveniencing some of our customers, and the factories are working overtime at full capacity.” Yet plans to open a new Toyota plant in Tupelo, Mississippi are still on hold because of the limited battery supply.

According to Panasonic, their production of nickel-metal hydride batteries is increasing and is expected to get up to one million units by this time next year.

An interesting combination of the economic recession in the United States and a perfect storm of contributing factors in Japan has resulted in Japan buying more hybrid vehicles in June than the U.S.

America’s population is more than double that of Japan’s and their GDP is almost five times, yet, in the month of June there were 8,782 Honda Insight hybrids sold and  22,292 Toyota Prius hybrids sold. Those two companies alone accounted for far more sales in Japan than all of the hybrids sold in U.S., which capped out at 26,205.

The dip in American car sales is no surprise, but what is really interesting the spike in Japan that has led to a seven month waiting list just to buy a 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid (pictured above).

It’s mainly a combination of high gas prices in Japan, at $4.50/gallon, and a government tax break that has made all hybrids exempt from purchasing tax.

According to a recent report by Japanese news agency, Nikkei, Toyota is planning to start producing around between 20,000 and 30,000 Plug-in versions of the Prius hybrid. The new electric plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid will cost around $48,000.

An interesting price point considering that the Chevy Volt is expected to start selling this year for $8,000 less than that. Plus, the standard Toyta Prius will be selling for less than half the cost of a plug-in Prius.

Toyota is expected to use lithium ion batteries with a 12-18 mile range although it hasn’t been revealed if that’s just on battery power alone or if the engine will need to run at all.

Test fleets of the plug-in Toyota Prius will start running this year. We’ll keep you informed on the results of those test.