1973 Toyota Corolla Deluxe on 2040-cars

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2016 Toyota Camry and Corolla Special Editions hit the floor

In addition to bringing the refreshed Avalon to the 2015 Chicago Auto Show, Toyota has also brought along a duo of limited Special Edition models based on the Camry and Corolla. The company is only building 12,000 examples 2016 Camry Special Edition, which might sound like a lot at first, but it's a pittance compared to the sedan's overall annual sales numbers. The SE models arrive at dealers in August with 18-inch wheels, black highlights, smoked taillights and a choice of Blizzard Pearl or Blue Streak Metallic paint. The interior gets a few more upgrades with a power moonroof, blue seat inserts with black bolsters, push-button start and optional navigation. The updates are similar for the 2016 Corolla Special Edition, which is limited to 8,000 units. Toyota gives it a set gloss black 17-inch wheels and Absolutely Red, Black Sand Pearl or Super White paint. The interior features red stitching for the seats and matching trim on the dashboard and doors. Tech upgrades are limited to push-button start, but navigation and a power moonroof are optional. Check out both the Camry and Corolla Special Edition models in our live image galleries, above and below.

Toyota settles first wrongful death suit related to unintended acceleration

Toyota's sales seem to have rebounded from the unintended acceleration issues from 2009 and 2010, but the automaker is far from done dealing with this situation. Following a settlement worth up to $1.4 billion for economic loss to affected vehicle owners, Toyota has settled rather than going to trial in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from an accident in Utah in 2010 that left two passengers dead. This isn't the first case in which Toyota has settled, but it was the first among a consolidated group of cases being held in Santa Ana, CA.
According to The Detroit News, this case was scheduled to take place next month, and it was for a November 2010 incident in which Paul Van Alfen and Charlene James Lloyd were killed in a Camry when, based on findings by the Utah Highway Patrol, the accelerator got stuck causing the car to speed out of control and hit a wall; the terms of the settlement were not announced.
The article says that while Toyota will settle on some cases, it doesn't plan on settling on all of them as it still wants to be able to "defend [its] product at trial." This will probably be the case in suits claiming that software for the drive-by-wire accelerator was the cause of an accident in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle. The question of whether or not the electronic accelerator played any role in this problem has been a hot-button topic since the beginning. Toyota has issued recalls in the past to attempt to prevent unintended acceleration caused by trapped floor mats and faulty accelerator pedals, but it also says driver error was to blame in some instances.

Toyota responds to video of Highlander ramming house [w/video]

There are, as they say, two sides to every story, so after we posted a video on Monday showing what an owner claimed to be a case of unintended acceleration causing her Toyota Highlander to crash into a house twice, Toyota reached out to us revealing some additional information about the incident.
Following this crash, which took place back in November, Toyota had this Highlander inspected and pulled data from its Event Data Recorder (EDR), or Black Box as we've come to call it. Not only was this the first time we've seen a claim of unintended acceleration like this caught on video, but now, also a first, we have actual data showing what the vehicle itself recorded during this frightening ordeal.
Brian Lyons, Toyota Communications Manager for Safety and Quality, first gave us some information about the Highlander in question, including the fact that it was a 2012 model. The 2012 Highlander came from the factory with a brake override system, meaning it was not part of the company's initiative in 2010 to add the system to all 2011 models. Also, after looking at the data from the EDR, he said - as many of you pointed out in the comments for the previous post - that the "brake pedal was never touched." In the video, you can see that the crossover's brake lights never come on, and the EDR's data backs this up.