Toyota Is Out of the Dog House, Eminem Is Chrysler's Big Dawg

Toyota was mostly cleared by federal investigators of the issues surrounding the rash of unintended acceleration claims. Now Toyota's reputation is already improving according to new research.

Someone else may also be getting revived. Bob Lutz may get a consulting gig from former employer GM, if it can overcome government objections.

Chrysler T-Shirt

Chrysler won the Super Bowl ad battle with its iconic Eminem ad for the 200, going so far as to come out with t-shirts. But GM got sneaky and grabbed some Web search traffic away from Chrysler. Unsurprisingly, Subaru went alternative and sponsored the Puppy Bowl and asked people to walk their dogs during the big game.

What kind of cars do men want? Pickups and sports cars. But the list of what women want is a bit more eclectic ... and suspicious.

Key fobs are handy, but do they make cars less safe. Probably not, but the NYTimes looks into whether they have the right safety mechanisms to prevent people from leaving them in Drive.

Finally, this podcast is all digital, thank goodness, because the cassette deck is finally dead as an option for new car buyers.

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[PODCAST] Toyota Recall Media Hype Exploitation

Matt finds an online mapping tool to help him avoid the snowpacalypse but its too late; Recalling the best Super Bowl ads; David rants about the media hype around the Toyota recall, thus adding to the noise; Fiat discloses plans for new Chrysler models, including the 500 and the sexiest vehicle shown at the Chicago Auto Show was a Honda minivan: Not a good sign for the car industry.

GetThisShowOnTheRoad Feb 12, 2010.mp3