2003 Toyota Avalon XLS - click above for high-res image gallery
Toyota Motor Corporation's recall woes have resurfaced today with official word that the company will recall some 373,000 second-generation Toyota Avalon models built between the 2000 and 2004 model years.
According to the Japanese automaker, the full-size sedans' steering lock bars can crack, eventually leading to a break. If that failure occurs, the steering column interlock system can become difficult to unlock when parked, potentially disabling the vehicle. Worse, if the driver is in a right-hand turn with "sufficient lateral acceleration," under very specific conditions, the damaged lock bar can actually engage, locking the steering wheel and disabling steering control of the vehicle, a condition that increases the likelihood of an accident.
For its part, Toyota says it is unaware of any crashes stemming from the Avalon's steering interlock issue, and it will replace the steering column bracket in affected vehicles for free. The complete press release is available after the jump.
The first decade of the Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
As of 2010, the Toyota Prius has been available in North America for a decade, and it remains by far the best selling hybrid both here and around the world. Since its Japanese market introduction 1997, drivers have bought more than 1.8 million of the gas-electric dynamos, with about half of those ending up in the United States (and apparently half of those landing on driveways in the San Francisco Bay area!).
The original Prius was a gawky-looking four-door sedan that was slow and often didn't meet up with customer's fuel economy expectations. It wasn't until the second-generation model arrived in 2004 with a new teardop hatchback body style that the Prius really took off. By 2007, cumulative sales topped half a million, with the third generation model arriving two years later offering improved efficiency and better dynamic performance than ever. This year, Toyota has begun to deploy a test fleet of plug-in Priuses with lithium ion batteries with full series production of those versions coming in 2012.
While we wait for our future corded Prius models to give us even more pull with our eco-minded friends, we'll join Toyota in celebrating the now-iconic green machine by checking out the historic gallery below.
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Chris Shunk, Alex Nunez and Dan Roth are joined this week by Mike Spinelli, editor-in-chief of 0-60 magazine. Topics for Episode #188 of the Autoblog Podcast are the 2011 Ford Explorer, Audi's A7 Sportback, the announcement of the Hyundai Equus coming to the U.S. market, hybrid/electric Porsches and zombie-like rumors of a new Ford Ranger for North American showrooms. We also pepper poor Mike with our impressions of his fine publication. It's an hour-and-ten of stellar repartee this week, thanks for listening, see you next time!
Autoblog Podcast #188 - with Mike Spinelli from 0-60 magazine
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2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
It wasn't so long ago that Toyota was making big waves over plans to build the hybrid Prius here in the U.S. The company had originally planned to start cranking out the battery-powered people mover at its Mississippi manufacturing facility, but after GM pulled the NUMMI plug, Toyota was forced to move Corolla production to plant instead. That doesn't mean there won't be room for the Prius down that way in the future, though.
According to Reuters, Atsushi Niimi, the company's executive vice president, said that production of the hybrid could shift to the Mississippi plant when the car undergoes its next revision. Thing is, that won't be for another six years.
Niimi said that the car's production isn't likely to move until the fourth-generation Prius hits the assembly line, which is expected to be somewhere around 2016. Why the delay? Toyota doesn't see the American auto market - or even the economy as a whole - recovering any time soon. While some analysts have said that buyers in the land of the free would snap up 12 million cars and trucks next year and 14-15 million the year after, Toyota says it's not so convinced.
2010 Toyota Sequoia - Click above for high-res image gallery
At it's peak in 2002, Toyota was selling over 70,000 Sequoias. Last year, that number dropped to below 20,000 units. So it comes as little surprise that ToMoCo will be nixing its Tundra-based SUV at the end of the current model's lifecycle.
A source speaking with PickupTrucks.com confirmed that the Sequoia won't live on, partially due to slow sales, but surely in part to get Toyota's CAFE ratings in check before the new rules hit in 2015. But all's not lost for the automaker's body-on-frame offerings.
A redesigned Tundra is set to arrive in 2014, just in time for Ford, General Motors and Nissan's newest half-ton pickups. Although sales of the Tundra haven't lived up to Toyota's lofty expectations, it's obvious the automaker feels the need to compete in the segment, and a refreshed model should help sales, despite the market's less-than-enthusiastic reception of Toyota's largest pickup.
Toyota FT-86 G Sports Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery
According to Adam Zillin at 7tune, Toyota recently held at shindig in Japan for select scribes in order to get some things straight about its Toyota G's performance vehicles. Naturally, talk quickly turned to the FT-86 (or FR-S) Although it was reported two months ago that the much-anticipated sports coupe would be delayed until 2013 for design and powerplant reasons, the Toyota engineers at the event reportedly attested that "the car is on schedule" and still has a planned release date of November 2011.
Clarity on the lineup was offered as well: Three spec levels will be available with at least two engines, and the mid-range model is expected to run around 2.5 million yen ($28,500 USD). Further, it appears that a turbocharged variant will take the top slot. According to 7Tune, none of those engines will be a hybrid - that tech is being reserved for a different sporty product.
If there's any news from the event that makes us as excited as word that we might see the car next year, it's the head of the sports division saying that "because of Toyota's connection with Subaru, there was no way that the car wasn't going to be great." We hope he knows what he's talking about. Top tip, Adam!
Toyota and Honda have experienced a surge in demand for hybrid vehicles in their home market over the past two years thanks to generous government incentives for "eco cars." The Toyota Prius has been the top-selling vehicle for more than a year and even the oft-derided Honda Insight has sold beyond expectations. Unfortunately for the automakers involved, those incentives end in October and with the expected drop in sales, Toyota is reportedly planning to cut domestic production.
The Japanese Kyodo news agency reports that Japan's largest automaker will cut production from its current 14,000 vehicles a day to fewer than 12,000 in the final quarter of the year. The automaker does expect sales to recover later in the year and has maintained its production target for the full fiscal year.
Toyota TF109 - Click above for high-res image gallery
It appears that Toyota's aborted 2010 Formula One car design may finally make it to the track in 2011 under the banner of the Hispania Racing Team (HRT). The freshman Spanish team has struggled so far this season with the chassis it sourced from Dallara and already announced that it would not be continuing with the Italian race car builder in 2011.
When Toyota decided to shutter its F1 operations late in 2009, it had already competed the design of its 2010 car, the TF110. Toyota offered up its design to the new teams that were entering for 2010 and hopeful entrant Stefan GP had planned to use it. Unfortunately, Stefan did not get one of the new positions on the grid even after USF1 collapsed.
HRT has now reportedly struck a deal to use not only Toyota's design but its Cologne Germany facilities. Toyota will apparently be providing a significant amount of technical support to HRT for 2011 and has even begun rehiring some of its previous staff.
No one can accuse our legislative process of being particularly swift. Even in the midst of one of the most productive congressional sessions in years, it takes plenty of hemming and hawing to push a bill all the way from committee to law. Unfortunately, a group of individuals affected by the recent rash of runaway Toyota vehicles must not have gotten that memo. A group of family members of those who died in instances of unintended acceleration recently met with members of congress to discuss the obstacles facing the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010.
The bill specifically addresses the need for brake override systems on all new cars as well as so-called black boxes, or event data recorders, but it also ensures that federal investigators will be able to quickly access information stored on a vehicle in case of a widespread safety emergency. Meanwhile, the bill has run into some opposition. Most automakers have come out in favor of EDR's, but have found issue with other portions of the legislation.
Other potential snags include worries about the cost of the added technology. As such, proponents of the bill have decided to underscore the need for such a law for fear that the topic will grow cold in the public's memory. Hit the jump for the full press release.
[Source: Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety | Image: Kevin Burkett | CC2.0]
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Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Paukert and Dan Roth are the crew for Episode #187 of the Autoblog Podcast. We cover Lamborghini rumors, the new Ford Explorer's fuel economy with its rumored EcoBoost powertrain, the rumors swirling around the possibility that the Wall Street Journal printed an article that was a plant from Toyota, a sports car based on the Nissan Leaf, and the seemingly insatiable appetite for German premium cars. We hit your feedback and questions before throwing in the towel at the hour and a half mark. Thanks for listening, see you next time!
Autoblog Podcast #187 - Lamborghini rumors, Explorer economy, media plants, a sporty Leaf and premium Germans
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2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery
Following on the heels of our earlier report about yesterday's scheduled hearing between Toyota and Alex Severinsky at the International Trade Commission came word that the parties have settled. Neither side has released any details about the agreement - and they probably won't. Toyota had previously been found guilty of infringing upon Severinsky's patent, which centers around getting power to a vehicle's wheels with a gasoline-electric vehicle using both high- and low current.
In all likelihood, Toyota agreed to pay royalties to PAICE (Severinsky's company) for all of the hybrids it has sold and will sell in the United States until the patent expires in 2012. This means that the threat of a ban on imports of Toyota hybrids has been lifted - at least until the next case.
In related news, Ford has also settled with PAICE over hybrid patent issues. The details are confidential, but there's a bit more information after the jump.
Automotive News reports that a federal grand jury in New York has subpoenaed Toyota for documentation related to a component in the steering mechanism of some of its vehicles. The company announced that the subpoena came on June 29, but isn't yet saying publicly which vehicles are involved with the issue.
What we do know is that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation in February of 749,685 2009 and 2010 model year Corolla and Matrix vehicles for a potential steering issue. Toyota has received 437 reports, including 11 injuries and 18 crashes, since 2008, and NHTSA has received 168 complaints. In affected Corolla and Matrix models the electric power steering units are reportedly prone to drifting or locking up, with the problem most notable when cruising at highway speeds. The Japanese automaker has stated publicly that the issue is not a safety recall, though it intends to service the vehicles of Corolla and Matrix owners who say they have an issue. NHTSA still has not revealed the results of it's investigation.
This subpoena is the third Toyota has received so far in 2010, with the first coming in February due to unintended acceleration issues and the second from the Michigan Attorney General for recall issues in March. Toyota has recalled 10.8 million vehicles worldwide for acceleration-related issues.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. | Image: David McNew/Getty]
Toyota has officially spoken out against allegations that it planted a story in TheWall Street Journal that attributed the majority of the company's unintended acceleration woes to driver error rather than entrapped floor mats or faulty software. The Japanese company's American arm emailed a statement to Just-Auto saying that no one within Toyota has any access to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's research, and that no one in the government agency had reported any findings to the automaker.
As you may recall, The Wall Street Journal article cited "people familiar with" the NHTSA's research on the Toyota unintended acceleration problem. It wasn't long before fingers began pointing back at Toyota for supposedly planting the story with the WSJ. Just-Auto originally cited a spokesperson with the NHTSA who said that the information that the publication used came from Toyota.
In its defense, Toyota has said that any reports that claim that the company planted a news story are absolutely false. In its independent research, Toyota has found a number of causes of unintended acceleration, one of which happens to be "pedal misapplication." For those of us that don't speak corporate, that would be driver error. Whether that means that someone at the The Wall Street Journal managed to get their sources crossed or whether the NHTSA is simply trying to cover its bases after leaking otherwise confidential information remains to be seen.
We're taking this news with a grain of salt for now, but Motor Trend is reporting that Toyota is hard at work on a fully electric supercar. If there's any truth to this report, Toyota President Akio Toyoda was so impressed after a spin in Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster that he immediately green-lit a feasibility study into the electric supercar project.
In any case, Toyota's supposed electric supercar would theoretically go up against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E-Cell, Audi e-tron and whatever BMW's Efficient Dynamics movement has cooking up. We should also point out that Toyota has indeed shown off a number of hybrid sportscar and electric vehicle concepts over the last few years, so such a project wouldn't be completely out of the blue.
That's the word from Toyota spokesperson Mike Michels on the automaker's investigation of some 2,000 vehicles reported to suffer from unintended acceleration.
Speaking with TheNew York Times, Michels said that a small amount of Toyota vehicles had issues with sticking accelerators, while a large number of the cases involved the previously recalled floor mats interfering with the pedals. However, he notes, none of these cases have resulted in a crash.
More importantly, and seemingly in-line with The Wall Street Journal's earlier report that human error was likely the cause of most unintended acceleration claims, Michels says "in instances where they reported having their foot on the brake pedal, there is very clear evidence that this is pedal misapplication."
Toyota says that its investigation into all the cases of unintended acceleration remains ongoing, and for its part, NHTSA continues to claim that it has reached "no conclusions" about the causes.
2009 Toyota Corolla XRS - Click above for high-res image gallery
Toyota has announced that it will voluntarily repair a number of issues that have arisen with 2001-2003 RAV4 crossovers as well as certain 2009-2010 Matrix and Corolla vehicles. According to Reuters, around 235,500 RAV4 models will be repaired outside of a recall for a "hard shift" problem. Owners have complained that under certain circumstances, the vehicle's transmission would either abruptly shift or otherwise fail to change gears properly. The culprit is typically a faulty engine control module, though in some cases, damage to the transmission may lead to outright replacement. Owners who have previously had to pay for this work out of pocket can apply for reimbursement.
Meanwhile, around 500,000 Matrix and Corolla models will be serviced for "steering drift." The company hasn't exactly elaborated on what that means, but as we first reported yesterday,Toyota hasn't issued a recall because the automaker says that the issue doesn't pose a danger to the vehicle's occupants - this, despite reports of 18 crashes and 11 injuries. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer has labeled the steering problem a customer satisfaction issue. Like the RAV4, owners can have a fix performed free of charge.
When The Wall Street Journal reported that crash data obtained by the U.S. Department of Transportation pegged the blame for Toyota's unintended acceleration on drivers, one line stuck out:
"A NHTSA spokeswoman declined to comment on the findings, which haven't been released by the agency."
With no official word from the DOT or NHTSA on its findings in the case, the WSJ's sources have been called into question.
According to an unnamed NHTSA spokeswomen speaking with Just-Auto, "The story was planted by Toyota. Toyota is the source - yes we know that for definite [sic]. It is [the] Toyota PR machine. We knew they were going to put it out."
There's no doubt Toyota is in close contact with the DOT and NHTSA, so there's a good chance that Toyota has been privy to the findings ahead of their official release. However, until something official comes down from the Feds, the exact causes of unintended acceleration aren't simply open and shut.
We're in the process of contacting both NHTSA and Toyota about the story and will update you as more information is collected.
UPDATE: A NHTSA spokesperson has confirmed that the agency hasn't released any information to the WSJ, but declined to comment if Toyota has gained advanced access to the agency's findings.
UPDATE 2: A report by the Detroit Free Press quotes NHTSA Administrator David Strickland as saying that the agency has "several more months of work" to complete before it can definitively come to a conclusion on the cause of unintended acceleration.
UPDATE 3: We've asked Toyota's National Manager for Environmental, Quality, and Safety Communications, John Hanson, if NHTSA has been supplying information to Toyota on its investigation. His response: "It's been a one-way valve [to NHTSA]. We've been supplying information and sending it to NHTSA. We are not aware of any study. We are not aware of any report. We've been compiling our own field reports on unintended acceleration and as we investigate them, we send them to NHTSA. The WSJ report was news to us."
KBB reader-submitted auto reviews - Click above to watch the videos after the jump
We've seen a lot of consumer-grade video in our day (we've made a few, too), and the quality can be less than astounding. So when we got wind of the fact that Kelley Blue Book was hosting a contest awarding $10,000 to the best consumer car review video, we were skeptical of the quality of product we were expecting to see. Good news. We were wrong, and the top videos are pretty darn good.
The top prize has been awarded to Clark Olson for a very funny critique of the 2000 Corolla with actual production-quality video work. In second place was Joel Moss Levinson, who managed to crack us up with a very clever rap featuring a somewhat problematic 2001 Volkswagen Passat. Seriously, it's pretty hilarious and is jam-packed with actual insight. In third place was an also entertaining take on the 2004 Subaru Forester by Patrick Latimer. Latimer sounded like a full-on auto enthusiast with 0-60 times and a very valid mention of the value of rowing one's own gears.
The winner was rewarded with $10,000 in cold, hard cash and a trip to sunny California for a video shoot with the KBB video crew. Second prize netted $5,000 and the third place winner received $1,000. Nicely done fellas. Hit the jump to watch the videos for yourself, and chime in via the post-jump poll to tell us if KBB correctly numbered the top three.
The recently-crowned king of the United Auto Workers, President Bob King, has a monumental task before him: reverse the decades-long decline in UAW membership. To do that the UAW will likely need to make inroads at transplant automaker plants, and to accomplish this goal King promises to be more active in staging demonstrations than in the past, and an early target is Toyota and California. Automotive News reports that the UAW is organizing protests in front of several Toyota dealerships in the Golden State to draw attention to the recently closed NUMMI plant in Fremont, CA.
The facility, which was making the Toyota Corolla and Matrix until it was shuttered in April, was the only unionized facility producing Toyotas in North America. The closing of NUMMI, which happened in part because General Motors pulled out of its agreement with Toyota during its bankruptcy in 2009, left thousands of UAW workers without a job. Toyota has since sold the NUMMI facility to Tesla Motors, who will utilize only a portion of the plant and hire around 1,000 workers. Toyota did spring for a considerable severance package of nearly $300 million for the laid-off workers when the plant closed.
Of course the group most upset about the upcoming protests is the American International Automobile Dealers Association. AIADA president Cody Lusk claims that the protests will only hurt small businesses that supply plenty of American jobs, adding
"An assault on America's auto retail industry will only serve to highlight the disconnect between the UAW and reality."
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. | Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty]
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Chris Shunk, Alex Nunez, Sam Abuelsamid and Dan Roth convene yet again for Episode #186 of the Autoblog Podcast. Topics are the final passing of the long-suffering Chrysler PT Cruiser, General Motors' "Build your own engine" for Chevrolet Corvette buyers, Tesla and its dalliance with Toyota prototypes, and the work being undertaken to develop vehicles that can be driven by the blind. There's the inevitable tangential excursions, and we finish up by responding to your feedback and questions before wrapping at an hour and twenty-five minutes. Thanks for listening, see you next time!
Autoblog Podcast #186 - The PT Cruiser is dead, blind drivers, Tesla and Toyota, and more!
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