2009 Toyota Prius Base Hatchback 4-door 1.5l on 2040-cars

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Ram takes out frustrations on Camry

No, not a Ram pickup truck. This is an actual ram, as in a male sheep, headbutting the hell out of a Toyota Camry that made the unfortunate decision to interrupt its battle with a rival member of the flock. Now, before you say, "How dare that Camry harm that cuddly sheep," we'd like to point out just how viciously the two males were fighting before the Toyota butted in. And after smashing the driver's side front fascia, the ram goes right back to attempting to beat down its opponent. All things considered then, we'd call this Ram: 1, Camry: 0.

China fines Toyota $12.5 million over Lexus price-fixing

BEIJING — China's market regulator on Friday has fined Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor 87.6 million yuan ($12.5 million) for price-fixing on its premium Lexus cars in eastern Jiangsu province, according to a document on its website. The decision comes as China steps up regulation over auto sales in the world's biggest vehicle market, where more than 28 million cars were sold last year. The anti-monopoly bureau of State Administration for Market Regulation said that between 2015 and 2018, the Japanese carmaker set a minimum sales and resale price for its cars in coastal Jiangsu province, which deprived dealers of pricing autonomy and harmed customers' rights. Lexus also fixed sales strategies in the region over the period, including offering customers discounts while asking them to purchase accessories at fixed prices, a sales tactic usual among individual auto dealers in China but frowned upon for carmakers. A spokesman at Toyota, Lexus' parent firm, told Reuters the firm acknowledged the penalty and respects the decision. He did not comment further. China's auto sales are declining, but Lexus' sales keep growing. It sold 180,200 vehicles in the first 11 months this year, a 21% jump from a year earlier. In June, China's market regulator imposed an 162.8 million yuan fine on Ford Motor Co's joint venture with Changan Automobile Group for violating anti-monopoly law. ($1 = 6.9927 Chinese yuan renminbi) Reporting by Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirouzu. Related Video:

5,000 Toyota Prius V models recalled due to airbag issue

Toyota has issued a recall of roughly 5,000 Prius V hybrids. All of the affected vehicles are from model years 2014 and 2015. The problem with the hybrid MPVs centers on its Occupant Classification System. According to the company, the OCS is responsible for activating and deactivating the passenger's side airbag, and in the affected models, the system may not have been calibrated correctly. Should a crash occur, the passenger front airbag may not deploy. The company reports there have been no injuries or fatalities related to the OCS faulty calibration. Owner will be notified and will, naturally, be asked to report in for a free recalibration. TOYOTA RECALLS CERTAIN 2014-2015 MODEL YEAR PRIUS V VEHICLES TORRANCE, Calif. – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced plans to conduct a safety recall of approximately 5,000 Model Year 2014-2015 Prius V vehicles. In the involved vehicles, the front passenger seat is equipped with an Occupant Classification System (OCS), which activates / deactivates the passenger seat air bag system depending on the weight of the seat occupant. There is a possibility that some OCS's may not have been calibrated properly during the vehicle manufacturing process. Under some conditions, this could result in no deployment of an airbag, increasing the risk of an injury to a front seat passenger in the event of crash. Toyota is not aware of any injuries or fatalities caused by this condition. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will recalibrate the Occupant Classification System properly. Detailed information is available at www.toyota.com/recall and by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331. ###