02 Toyota Highlander V6-158k-appearance Pkg-pwr Windows-pwr Mirrors on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota, Lexus to build more CUVs to meet surging demand

What was the biggest takeaway from the auto industry's 2014? Besides the fact that recalls are now a sad and mostly unremarkable part of a vehicle's life, it's that you can't be a competitive, mainstream brand in the US without a really strong line of crossovers, SUVs or pickups. We saw evidence of this as recently as Monday, when Hyundai unveiled its HCD-15 Santa Cruz Concept, and now we're seeing it again with Toyota. The company already has a comprehensive lineup of both mainstream and luxury CUVs and SUVs, although surging demand – sales were up 16 percent last year, Bloomberg reports – has led the company to increase its production tempo at the plants responsible for the RAV4 and Lexus RX. "The freeze is still in place until the end of March of 2016," Toyota's Jim Lentz told Bloomberg during this week's Detroit Auto Show, referencing the production bump at the Japanese and Canadian factories responsible for the models. "That hasn't changed. All indications are that it will lift, but right now it has not lifted." The increased sales are even spurring the brand to consider additional CUVs, including a compact that would slot in below the RAV4, Lentz told the business publication. Such a move would give Toyota a player in an increasingly competitive and important segment. In 2014 alone, mainstream brands, including Honda, Mazda, Chevrolet and Jeep, have announced brand new products destined for the compact CUV market. "We're going to have to look at how the market under RAV4 develops," Lentz told Bloomberg. "There's no question that it's going to. That's going to be the next growth spurt." Related Video:

Toyota Crown celebrates 60 years

Toyota offers a robust lineup of cars in North America, but while the Crown may not be one of them, that wasn't always the case. And this year, the company's longest-running nameplate is marking its sixtieth anniversary. First introduced way back in 1955, the Crown was Toyota's first major export. It became the first Japanese passenger car to reach the US market when the first-generation Crown was launched here in 1958, and marked the company's arrival in Europe when the second-gen model arrived in Denmark in 1963. It started building the Crown in Australia in 1967 and in China more recently in 2005. The Crown is now on its fourteenth generation, and to mark its birthday, Toyota is launching the sedan for a limited time only in sky blue and bright green. Jan. 08, 2015 Toyota 'Crown' Turns 60 Sixty years ago this week, Toyota launched the "Crown", a luxury sedan that would go on to become the company's longest-running passenger-car nameplate and a significant vehicle in the history of the Japanese automobile industry. In 1958 the Crown became the first Japanese passenger car to be exported to the United States, and also started Toyota's passenger car exports to Africa in 1957 and Europe in 1962. Now in its 14th generation, its foremost models are the Crown Royal deluxe saloon and the Crown Athlete sports sedan, both with hybrid powertrain options. In Japan, Toyota is marking the anniversary with the introduction of limited-time-only sky blue and bright green exterior body colors. Toyota Crown Milestones January 1955 First generation launched April 1957 Exported to Ethiopia, Africa August 1958 Exported to the United States October 1962 Second generation launched December 1963 Exported to Denmark, Europe February 1965 Exported to Canada February 1967 Assembly begins in Australia September 1967 Third generation launched February 1971 Fourth generation launched October 1974 Fifth generation launched September 1979 Sixth generation launched August 1983 Seventh generation launched September 1987 Eighth generation launched October 1991 Ninth generation launched December 1995 10th generation launched October 2001 11th generation launched December 2003 12th generation launched March 2005 Production begins in China February 2008 13th generation launched December 2012 14th generation launched

Airbag recall adds 85k Pontiac Vibes to tally

The repairs needed for the faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata continue to expand. Toyota initially announced a recall of 766,300 vehicles equipped with the bad part on June 11 as a followup to a campaign from 2013. Soon after, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary evaluation into five automakers who also used the component in their models. Now, NHTSA has released the official announcement of the latest Toyota recall listing 844,277 affected cars, including the newly added 2003-2004 Pontiac Vibe.
While NHTSA's document didn't include a model-by-model breakdown, General Motors spokesperson Alan Adler estimated to Autoblog that roughly 85,000 Vibes in the US would be covered under the latest recall. Like the rest of the affected models, the airbag inflator could rupture in a crash causing the bag not to work correctly, possibly spraying metal fragments at the occupant.
Toyota spokesperson Cindy Knight told Autoblog that the reason for the disparity between the earlier press release and NHTSA document was that Toyota was continuing to comb through VINs to create a list of affected vehicles. The original number was an estimate of that process at the time. Scroll down to the recall report from NHTSA.