Toyota Motor Corporation

Video: Car-wash chain won't clean older Jeep Cherokees over sudden acceleration fears

Sometimes it seems like every third Coloradan has an SUV -- and plenty of them are Jeep Cherokees. But if your model of the latter was produced in 2010 or before and you want to give it a scrub, don't take it to one of six Waterway Carwash branches in the metro area -- because the staff there won't ... More >>

Toyota settles with Colorado, other states for stuck accelerators -- and stonewalling officials

The Prius was one of the great automobile success stories of the last decade. Toyota's hybrid took off very fast -- too fast, it turned out, when owners found their accelerators sticking. And now, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has announced that Toyota had agreed to a $29 million settlement ... More >>

Toyota settles with owners taken for a ride by stuck accelerators

The Prius was one of the great automobile success stories of the last decade. Toyota's hybrid took off very fast -- too fast, it turned out, when owners found their accelerators sticking. And yesterday, Toyota said it had reached a settlement worth over $1 billion with car owners who'd sued over the ... More >>

Much To Do at the Zoo

If Mitt Romney won't tell you about these tax loopholes, we will

Laura McDermott hit and run: Police report says Dennis Esquibel admitted driving in fatal crash

Last week, we reported about the arrest of Dennis Esquibel in the tragic hit and run that killed Laura McDermott. Shortly thereafter, Esquibel's mother claimed he wasn't actually driving at the time of the collision, while the police insisted otherwise. A copy of Esquibel's probable cause statement ... More >>

Noah Van Sciver goes to the Denver Zoo

Editor's note: Westword cartoonist Noah Van Sciver paints the town like nobody else, as demonstrated in his recaps of visits to the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, our own Artopia, MCA Denver and StarFest 2012. (Make sure you read Noah's blog for more comics and wondermen ... More >>

Ryan Dungey, Jessica Patterson, Justin Barcia on top at Thunder Valley MX Park in Lakewood

Thunder Valley MX Park in Lakewood has become one the world's premiere motocross venues in recent years, and this past Saturday it hosted the Toyota Thunder Valley National, the third event in the 2012 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship series. Ryan Dungey (who also won the 2011 Thunder Vall ... More >>

Photos: Denver Zoo's $50M Toyota Elephant Passage opens today

This is it, zoo fans. This is what you've been waiting for and dreaming of since you approved that $62.5 million zoo-improvement bond in 1999. Big, hulking male elephants -- up to eight of 'em -- living in City Park. Big, hulking male elephants and their big, hulking...trunks. Today is the day tha ... More >>

Lon Jones cleared in killing of camera-shy homeless man

Not all self-defense killings are as dubious or controversial as the one that caused the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin. That's the message Seventeenth Judicial District DA Don Quick sends in his decision letter clearing Brighton's Lon Jones, who earlier this month gunned down a homeless man w ... More >>

Denver Zoo's poop-and-trash-powered rickshaw on display at 1700 Broadway

We first told you about the Denver Zoo's plan to turn a shitload of shit into electricity and heat back in 2009. The key is a scientific process called gasification. Basically, it works like this: Poop and trash and other waste goes in, science happens, and then voila! The end product is a useful c ... More >>

Denver Zoo welcomes 11,000-pound male elephant Groucho

Fort Worth Zoo​ Bodhi the elephant has a new buddy. The Denver Zoo has welcomed its second male elephant, a 41-year-old named Groucho who came from the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas to live in the Denver Zoo's new mega-exhibit, Toyota Elephant Passage. He's a big boy: At 11,000 pounds, Groucho is no ... More >>

B-cycle clocks 202,731 rides in 2011, nearly doubling last year's numbers

​ B-cycle wrapped up its second season last Friday, and the official numbers are in: 202,731 total rides from when B-cycle rolled out in March until 11 p.m. on December 9. That's nearly double last year's numbers, though a teeny bit short of the bike program's goal of 206,000 rides -- somethin ... More >>

Should Denver Zoo elephants be renamed after Toyota vehicles in light of $5.4 mil donation?

​The Denver Zoo's two lady elephants, Mimi and Dolly, moved yesterday to their new home: the recently rechristened Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit. Formerly called Asian Tropics, the ten-acre, $50 million elephant exhibit was renamed thanks to a $5.4 million donation from the Denver Toyota Dea ... More >>

Reader: Denver Zoo exhibit Toyota Elephant Passage's name has a funny smell to it

​Yesterday, Melanie Asmar posted about the renaming of the Denver Zoo's ambitious Asian Tropics elephant exhibit as Toyota Elephant Passage in recognition of a $5.4 million donation from local dealers. For one reader, though, the moniker conjures up an unwanted image.

Denver Zoo's new elephant exhibit renamed Toyota Elephant Passage after $5.4 mil donation

​ Update, 4:15 p.m.: The zoo has announced how much money the seven local Toyota dealerships donated to the newly christened Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit, slated to open in June 2012. The figure? $5.4 million, the zoo's second-largest donation ever. Read on for more details.

Aaron Williams: Aurora cops cleared in killing of man saving bullets for officers & police dog

Don Quick.​Another week, another letter clearing Aurora Police officers of wrongdoing in a fatal shooting. But whereas the judgment by Seventeenth Judicial District DA Don Quick in the case of Oleg Gidenko, whose family received a $150,000 settlement from the city, stirred debate, there's like ... More >>

Today in Stoke: Breck snowboarder Eric Willett throws down at Burn River Jump TTR in Italy

Photo by Eleonora Raggi, courtesy TTR Press OfficeEric Willet soars to second place at TTR Burn River Jump event in Livigno, Italy​Breckenridge local Eric Willett finished second behind Norwegian Aleksander Ostreng at the Burn River Jump contest this weekend in Livigno, Italy, part of the Swat ... More >>

Colorado's top skiers and snowboarders rock Winter Dew Tour in Utah

AlliSports.comBreck Freeride team member Eric Willet, center, wins Men's Snowboard Slopestyle at the Toyota Challenge in Ogden, UT​Breckenridge Ski Resort is getting a good return on investment from its Breck Freeride Team and its stepped-up park & pipe programs: Yesterday, Breckenridge snowbo ... More >>

Man dies after being shot at several times while sitting in a car in northeast Denver (41)

North Pontiac Street​A man in his 20s is dead after being shot while in a car this morning in the 2900 block of North Pontiac Street in northeast Denver. Denver Police responded to a report of a shooting at 9:58 a.m. at 2915 North Pontiac, to find a black male in his early 20s suffering from ... More >>

Betsy Long pleads guilty in wrong-way crash, when her blood-alcohol level was .252

9News​A short time ago, 9News reports, Betsy Long, who was accused of causing a July crash that killed Mary Warren, a young CSU grad bound for the Peace Corps, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an accident and DUI. Regarding the last charge, Long re ... More >>

Mile High Music Festival: Matt Morris performing "Money" in Toyota Free Yr Radio Tent

Another Mile High Music Festival is in the books. Weather was ideal, parking was a breeze and there were plenty of memorable moments at this year's fest, from Rivers Cuomo wandering through the crowd during Weezer's set to Z-Trip throwing down a Colorado-centric version of "California Love" to Cyp ... More >>

Betsy Long blew a .252 after crash that killed Mary Warren: Drunk driving times three

Betsy Long in a 9News image.​Alleged wrong-way drunk driver Betsy Long, a onetime green-biz entrepreneur, faces vehicular homicide charges and more in a July 5 crash that killed Mary Warren, a 22-year old bound for the Peace Corps. And according to prosecutors, she cleared the legal .08 blood- ... More >>

Cathy Donohue got a crash course in Toyota's problems

​For decades, as both a Denver City Council member and then a member of then-Mayor Wellington Webb's administration, Cathy Donohue helped steer the course of Denver. She just never expected to steer into Denver. But on November 24, 2008, Donohue was behind the wheel when her car crashed into ... More >>

Toyotas speeding out of control like something out of a bad Stephen King movie

The impending Prius recall we told you about yesterday is now a reality -- but only 2010 models are targeted, despite serious problems with earlier versions of the hybrid documented in a 2009 Westword feature. Clearly, Toyota's bad batch of cars -- you know, the ones that accelerate beyond the dri ... More >>

Toyoto Prius concerns accelerate

​Despite numerous complaints from customers about accidental acceleration, the Prius was not included in Toyota's recent recall of eight models. But this week concerns about the Prius have accelerated, and Steve Wozniak -- yes, the co-founder of Apple -- has been in the driver's seat, steerin ... More >>

Toyota recall: Ryan Scharrel wants anyone with a twitchy Toyota to join the club -- and a class action lawsuit

It's comin' right for us!​In response to the befuddling recall of nine million vehicles by motor behemoth Toyota -- don't worry, it's just brake failure, or is it the floor mats? -- Lakewood's Ryan Scharrel is punching the gas on a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer whose brand was ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Toyota keeps Prius pedal to the metal

​Toyota has recalled 2.3 million vehicles and halted production on eight of its models, including the Camry and Corolla. But Toyota's "stop sale" order does not involve the Prius. And that could be a problem, since numerous owners of that model have complained about mysterious -- and sometime ... More >>

Hit the Snow With the Pros

Dualistics Charley Hine's 4-Runner gets an unexpected makeover

​Imagine waking up to find your car in exactly the same place where you parked it the night before, but looking drastically different from how you left it, with a note attached to the windshield explaining the extensive damage to the rear of the vehicle -- damage, mind you, that wasn't there when ... More >>

Denver Blogs: Hammer time for the Independent Ethics Commission

A Flickr photo If you can tell the difference between a good bad and a bad blog, send links to the former here. Colorado's top ethics panel has been ordered to turn over records it went to court to keep secret. That kinda backfired, didn't it? (Colorado Independent) Chrysler still has a lot more ... More >>

Letters from the week of April 30, 2009

The Prius can take owners on a wild ride

DeVotchKa's "How It Ends" gets licensed... again

Scot Free

Readers discuss the brotherhood of Spics and Micks.

Eco-Fashion Goes Couture

George Inai

With his unique blend of gothic Americana and Mexican folk music, this troubadour gives world music new meaning.

El-P

I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Definitive Jux

Road Warriors

These adventure hounds are gearing up for the quest of their lives: driving across six continents and 100 countries in two years.

Hooved Heat

Quarter Horses spend a Day at the Races.

Steaking a Claim

What's old is new again at Emil-Lene's.

Desperately Seeking Sushi

Hapa Sushi can sometimes leave you cold.

Stayin' Alive

Ruggerfest stomps back to Aspen

Model Driver

Hotfoot Danica Patrick proves ladies love the fast lane.

Off Limits

Dollars and sense

CART Blanch

Denver's Grand Prix offered a vroom with a view.

Best Hello Kitty collection

Hello Kitty World at Min Min

Take It for a Ride!

Who keeps an eye on Colorado's car dealers? The dealers themselves.

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