The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, meanwhile, urged motorists not to wait for a fix. “This is an urgent matter,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “For everyone’s sake, we strongly urge owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration.”

The impending U.S. recall, the largest in Toyota history, followed a horrific crash last month in San Diego in which a mat was suspected of snagging a gas pedal on a runaway Lexus, ending with a fiery crash that killed four family members.

A minute before the crash, the driver called police to say the car had no brakes and the accelerator was stuck. The runaway car was doing more than 120 mph when it hit a sport-utility vehicle, launched off an embankment, rolled several times and burst into flames. The car, equipped with all-weather floor mats, was on loan from a dealership while the driver’s own vehicle was being repaired.

“The tragic accident in San Diego was certainly an eye opener for all of us,” said Senior Vice President Irving Miller, prompting the company to review previous allegations of unintended acceleration caused by floor mat interference.

Miller said the company could not quantify the number of complaints, nor could it estimate the cost of the safety campaign.

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• Better Gas Mileage Car Review: 2009 Chevrolet Aveo

The Aveo is the sedan version and the Aveo5 is the hatchback.  Both pump out just over 100 horsepower and lb/ft of torque, so while they’re not ready for the NASCAR circuit they’re not wimply little boxcars, either.  They start in the mid $12,000 to $13,000 range, so they’re very affordable as well.

Now, the 34 mpg sounds pretty good, but that’s the best it will get.  The actual breakdowns are 27 mpg/City, 34 mpg/Highway for a manual transmission, and 25 mpg/City, 34 mpg/Highway for the automatic (according to Chevy’s specs).  This is approaching hybrid fuel effeciency, but not quite there yet.  The Toyota Prius gets 48 mpg/City, 45 mpg/Highway (according to federal mileage specs).

But since the Toyota Prius starts at $22,000, almost $10,000 more than the Aveo and Aveo5, you have to consider total cost of ownership.  How many times do you have to fill the tank to make back your investment on a hybrid car as opposed to the Chevy Aveo?

It’s not a direct comparison, because the Aveo is a little smaller than the Prius.  It’s a nice car to get around in, but noone’s going to mistake you a rock star in it.  But if you’re not a rock star, chances are you don’t have rock star money to pay for gas, so it might be worth your while to consider Chevy Aveo‘s increased gas mileage and low sticker price as a great way to save at the pump.

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