Car manufacturer Toyota has received yet another disastrous body blow to its international representation after a recent model Prius was halted by the US highway patrol after it was found to be accelerating out of control. The issue is a continuation of the massive problems with braking and accelerating that have plagued the brand image of the Japanese car maker.
The drama occurred on the Interstate 8 freeway near San Diego, where Californian police officers were contacted by the 61-year-old driver, James Sikes, who used his mobile to ring the Highway Patrol as his 2008 Prius accelerated out of control. The [...]

The toll for driving on the Irish M50 motorway is being applied to rental bookings by some operators, who argue that the increase in fees for hire car customers has been brought about by losses generated from unpaid charges. In some instances, the standard £3 pound each way charge is being added to the overall bill along with an additional fee of up to 64 percent.
The rate hike revelation came after a Europcar customer, who is based in the UK, hired a vehicle for his trip home. He was charged with a extra fee of €1.93 each for each leg [...]

The pay-as-you-go car hire service operated by Peugeot using their Mu vehicle program has been successfully launched in France for some time, and now UK motorists can experience the latest driving concept.
Similar to a pre-paid mobile account, the Mu system provides users with top-up options simply by visiting the dedicated website. With sufficient credit, renters can choose from numerous vehicles such as an SUV, the 207 or 308 CC, 407 Coupe and more. There is even the option to rent scooters and bicycles for the more environmentally friendly or exercise conscious, while additional extras such as ski racks and GPS [...]

The ongoing effects of the economic crisis that has driven many car hire and air travel operators out of business over the past 18 months has unveiled a bright side for rail passengers.
With business travellers have been suffering from budget cuts by employers worldwide, many have been forced to turn to rail travel as a more financially viable alternative. The continued push across the UK and Europe for high-speed rail networks has also wooed many to the benefits of business travel by train.
The Guild of Travel Management Companies has released data which shows that train bookings grew by around 13 [...]

Malaysia’s flag carrier, Malaysia Airlines, is adding up two non-stop daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Paris on top of its current flight service. The new service will commence on 28 March. Malaysia Airlines currently has five times flight a week to and from Paris. The additional flights are scheduled to depart Kuala Lumpur at 23:35 and arrive in Paris at 6:50 daily.
Amin Khan, Senior General Manager of Malaysia Airlines, said that the extra flight to Paris was due to the rise on demand from passengers. He added that the airlines’ strong load factor, currently at 80 per cent, makes [...]

Based from Wiltshire, a gang of four men travellers, thought to be liable for half of the UK’s caravan thievery that happened between 2004 and 2007, is now in jail. The stolen caravans are worth over £700,000.
All in their 20s, Martin Ward, Charlie Ward, Martin McDonagh and John McDonagh were sentenced by Winchester Crown Court to serve between four to nine years in jail. The men, arrested last October 2007, were found in custody of stolen caravans, motor homes, cars, cash and jewelleries. There were about 19 police forces utilized for their arrest.
After a three-month long trial, they had all [...]

Aer Lingus, the Irish national airline, has met with delays in the proposed release of its latest profit figures owing to cabin crew members rejecting a range of new cost-cutting proposals.
Raher, the under-fire carrier will instead issue a new trading update and will delay the release of the much anticipated profit details for a later date. Industry experts have been projecting that the troubled Irish airline could be facing a 2009 loss of up to 90m euro. The forecasted profit announcement from Aer Lingus was to have included restructuring charges but these will now be factored into the later profit [...]

The Aston Martin Rapide and the Cadillac Converi have emerged as the big winners in the most recent automotive design awards, held at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland. With car design the topic of most discussion at the awards, it was two of the more progressive big names in the industry who collected the top gongs.
Of the numerous awards handed out at the Geneva Motor Show, none were more prestigious than the Best Production and Best Concept car, which were taken out by the Rapide and Converi respectively.
The creators of the Aston Martin model were acknowledged by design director [...]

The international search operation to find a man from Johannesburg, who was thought to have lost in India last month, was stopped after he contacted his family just last week.
The relatives and colleagues of Shaun Gounden, 34 years old, began their anxious search after he did not make contact with them since 9 February. Gounden departed from South Africa last 5 February on a scheduled holiday for three weeks in India. After his Indian tour, he was expected to fly to Afghanistan where Gounden will serve as a volunteer English teacher at one of the country’s orphanages.
Gounden’s sister, Sudashini, said [...]

Iceland’s flag carrier has seen dramatic increase in tourism over the years. Thanks to the country’s economic status, many travellers, including Britons, are becoming more interested in the Scandinavian country.
UK travellers head to Iceland because of the pound’s favourable currency exchange rate.  According to Lonely Planet, a population travel guide book, Iceland is the world’s best value destination for 2010.
Birkir Holm Gudnason, CEO of Icelandair, said that the country is a great place to visit because holidaymakers can get more from there money. Meanwhile, Hjorvar Saeberg Hognason, Icelandair General Manager, informed that comparing to the pound travellers had exchanged in [...]