1978 Toyota Corolla Dlx Wagon 5-door on 2040-cars

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Toyota teams with FirstElement Fuel on 19 hydrogen stations in California

Cross Toyota with a former General Motors and Hyundai executive and you might just get some real momentum when it comes to hydrogen refueling station deployment. Toyota and FirstElement Fuel Inc., which is headed by ex-GM and Hyundai executive Joel Ewanick, are working together on a project designed to complement California's agreement to spend about $200 million building 100 stations in the state. And while Toyota didn't put out any specific numbers, Automotive News reports that FirstElement received a $27.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission to build 19 stations, which will be sited at existing fueling spots and spaced far enough apart to be reachable by anyone within the state. In all, California has granted $47 million for the deployment of 28 new stations. Additionally, Toyota will get Linde to build a refueling station on a Toyota-owned property in the San Francisco Bay Area's San Ramon, Calif. Toyota, which is targeting a full-tank range of 300 miles and a five-minute refueling time for its fuel-cell sedan, had its fuel-cell prototype make its North American debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. The company said at the time that 68 stations could serve 10,000 hydrogen vehicles. And while that station number doesn't sound terribly high, consider that there are fewer than 10 hydrogen refueling stations in California now. Check out Toyota's press release below and Autoblog's impressions from a drive of one of Toyota's fuel-cell prototypes late last year here. Toyota Collaborates with FirstElement, Providing Financial Assistance to Facilitate a Hydrogen Refueling Network in Targeted California Locations Toyota also will collaborate with hydrogen provider Linde, which will build a public hydrogen refueling facility at the Toyota San Francisco Regional Office May 01, 2014 TORRANCE, Calif. (May 1, 2014) – "The issue of hydrogen refueling infrastructure is not so much about how many stations; but rather, location, location, location," stated Bob Carter, senior vice president, Automotive Operations, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS), just four months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas where he unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell sedan due to launch in 2015. "Solutions are being found through collaboration between government, academia, carmakers and energy providers.

Toyota restructuring US operations, possibly moving to Texas

According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Toyota is poised to announce Monday that it is restructuring its US operations, which may include plans to relocate some of its operations to Texas. Toyota Motor Sales has been located in California since 1957, and is responsible for North American sales, marketing, and distribution for Toyota, Lexus and Scion. According to Toyota literature, its Torrance operations presently employs 6,156 workers and represents a $2.3-billion investment.
Workers in Toyota's Torrance offices were abuzz about the possible relocation to Texas. One young offspring of a Toyota employee even posted to Twitter that her parents warned about the upcoming move, and she said she's refusing to go.
Rumors at one point had Toyota settling in Richardson, TX, just outside Plano. But Autoblog talked to Richardson Mayor Laura Maczka, who said she would be thrilled if that were true, but has not heard anything on the subject. Autoblog also emailed with Bill Sutherland, a city councilman in Torrance, CA, who said, "To date the only info I have is what I have read in the paper expecting a press release Monday."

Toyota urges owners of old Corolla, Matrix and RAV4 models to park them until airbags are replaced

DETROIT — Toyota and General Motors are telling the owners of about 61,000 older Corolla, RAV4, Matrix/ Pontiac Vibe models to stop driving them because their Takata airbag inflators are at risk of exploding and hurling shrapnel. The urgent warning Monday covers: Certain Corolla compact cars and Matrix hatchbacks from the 2003 and 2004 model years. RAV4 small SUVs from 2004 and 2005. Also covered are about 11,000 Pontiac Vibes from 2003 and 2004, which are essentially the same as the Matrix and were made at the same California factory. Most of the vehicles are in the U.S. “If the airbag deploys, a part inside is more likely to explode and shoot sharp metal fragments, which could cause serious injury or death to the driver or passengers,” Toyota said in a statement. Owners can go to nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter their 17-digit vehicle identification number to see if their cars are affected. If you're not the original owner of the vehicle, the manufacturer's recall letter might not reach you, so be sure to do the VIN check. The recalled RAV4s have Takata driver's airbags while the Corolla and Matrix models have them on the passenger side. The Corolla and Matrix also are under a separate recall because their airbags can be deployed without a crash, the company said. Both companies said owners should contact a local dealer instead of driving the cars in for repairs. Dealers will provide options such as mobile repair, towing the car to a dealer, or vehicle pickup and delivery. Takata used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate airbags in a crash. But the chemical propellant can deteriorate over time when exposed to high temperatures and humidity. It can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel. At least 26 people have been killed in the U.S. by Takata inflators since May 2009, and at least 30 have died worldwide including people in Malaysia and Australia. In addition, about 400 people have been injured. The exploding airbags sent Takata of Japan into bankruptcy. The potential for a dangerous malfunction led to the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history. About 100 million inflators were recalled worldwide. Recalls Pontiac Toyota Takata airbag recall