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GM repairing 40,500 Pontiac Vibes as part of Toyota airbag recall

General Motors has confirmed to Autoblog that the Pontiac Vibe is included in Toyota's just-announced recall action. The Vibe and the Toyota Matrix share a large number of parts, including the affected cable to the airbag.
"About 40,500 Pontiac Vibes from the 2009-2010 model years are included in the Toyota recall. Toyota designed and engineered the Vibe for Pontiac. GM will service customers with these vehicles when Toyota makes the parts available," said GM recall spokesperson Alan Adler to Autoblog in an email.
The recall covers 1.3 million Toyota units in the US, including 2009-2010 Corolla, Matrix and Tacoma, the 2008-2010 Highlander, the 2006-2008 Rav4 and 2006-2010 Yaris, plus the addition of the 2009-2010 Vibe. The models all have their airbag module attached via a spiral electrical cable. The connections on this cable can be damaged when turning the steering wheel. Once broken, the airbag deactivates and the airbag warning light comes on. Toyota has an improved part, but it's still making preparations to begin repairs. It will begin notifying owners soon.

Toyota demos its TRD Pro Series line [w/video]

With a rich history of creating off-road worthy trucks and SUVs and a somewhat bland impression of its brand overall, Toyota has wisely created a line of TRD Pro Series vehicles to spice up its showrooms and newly engage customers. Debuting at this year's Chicago Auto Show before rolling into dealers this fall, the TRD-tuned vehicles include the 4Runner, Tacoma and Tundra, all with added rough-road gear and amped-up looks.
The TRD Pro Series trucks might end up, in many cases, as lifestyle accessories for outdoorsy types, but that doesn't mean they're all show. TRD springs and Bilstein dampers are set up for off-road performance, while skid plates will protect the softish underbellies of these would-be rock-crawlers. The trio all get lifted over stock height, as well, with two-inch gains for the Tundra and Tacoma (lovingly referred to as "Taco Supreme" in the Toyota press release), and an inch-and-a-half rise for the 4Runner.
We detailed all of the changes to the Pro Series vehicles in our original announcement post, and you'll also find more granularity of information in the Toyota press release below. Before you dive in, however, be sure to take in our set of live, action-packed images from the Chicago Show floor.

Toyota's 'Fueled by Oil Creek' gases up hydrogen's history

Hey, Toyota. We got a question for you. If you're using a small Pennsylvania town to highlight the technological and ecological advances of the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle, why are those vehicles going to be sold only in California this fall? The Japanese automaker has released an online documentary video (the second in a series) showing what advantages hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles have over gas-powered vehicles, and uses Titusville, PA, as a backdrop. Some students from that town, which was an oil boomtown in the 19th century, take water from that town's Oil Creek (ah, symbolic), uses electrolysis to split that water into hydrogen and oxygen gases, then shows how the resulting hydrogen can power a Toyota Mirai for as far as 300 miles. Fueled by Oil Creek runs about five minutes. Toyota debuted sales of the Mirai last year in Japan and will start selling the car in California in October. The model will be priced at $57,500 and will be offered with a three-year lease option of $499 a month (with $3,649 due at signing). Toyota also said earlier this year that it would spend about $170 million upping production capacity for the Mirai. Take a look at Toyota's press below and watch the video above. Petroleum Past Helps Fuel Hydrogen Future Water from Pennsylvania's Oil Creek Becomes Hydrogen Fuel for Mirai Second Video in Toyota's "Fueled by Everything" Series June 03, 2015 TORRANCE, Calif. (June 3, 2015) – A creek, a little high school chemistry, and a former oil boom town open to a hydrogen-fueled future. This is the story of "Fueled by Oil Creek," the second online video in Toyota's multi-part "Fueled by Everything" series aimed at highlighting renewable sources of hydrogen fuel, leading up to launch of the 2016 Toyota Mirai. Directed by Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers T.J. Martin and Dan Lindsay, the 5-minute video takes viewers to Titusville, Pennsylvania where, in 1859, an oil well changed the American energy landscape. Flash forward to 2015. Local high school students in the film collect water from the aptly named Oil Creek for a lesson in electrolysis, separating water into oxygen and hydrogen gas using an electric current. The resulting hydrogen gas powers the hydrogen fuel cell electric Toyota Mirai to travel up to 300 miles on a full tank. The only tailpipe emission is water, just like the fuel source.