2005 Toyota 4runner Sr5 Sport Utility 4-door 4.0l 4x4 on 2040-cars

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Toyota sizzle reel gives better look at i-Road Geneva concept

Toyota is taking the tiny tandem Tango to Tron town. In a teaser video for the new i-Road, debuting at the Geneva Motor Show next week, we catch a light-bike-like glimpse of Toyota's quirky tandem-seat concept. We still don't know much about the vehicle itself, but the video does flash the words "fun, compact, emissions-free," which suggests this is an electric ride. Then comes the apparent tagline: "i Roll, i Rock i Road." An indication that the tilting image we see in the video isn't just a special effect, perhaps? We'll have to wait until we get to Switzerland next week to find out. Until then, you can watch the video below.
In more earthly reveals, Toyota will also show off its hotly anticipate FT-86 Open sports car concept and Auris Touring Sports wagon on its Geneva show stand.

Owner reflects on his $20.91 Toyota unintended acceleration settlement check

Where General Motors and Takata have grabbed many auto safety-related headlines this year with their problems with ignition switches and airbag inflators, a few years ago, a similar sort of scrutiny fell on Toyota for unintended acceleration. After multiple settlements with various parties totaling billions of dollars, the issues seem largely behind the Japanese automaker now. Owners are actually starting to receive their money, but it isn't exactly breaking the bank. Payouts are expected to be between $37 and $125 per person. Computer science student Jonathan Sourbeer received a check for just $20.91, and he considers what that money actually means in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. Sourbeer's biggest gripe is that the roughly 85 lawyers in the case are receiving $227 million in attorneys' fees and expenses, while the 25 primary plaintiffs and class representatives receive a total of just $395,270. According to the Frequently Asked Questions about the settlement, Toyota set up a $250 million fund to pay affected owners, as well. The money isn't for injuries or damages but for alleged economic loss to the vehicles. However, Sourbeer says he feels no personal suffering and still has the same car. In addition to the settlement, the automaker obviously has its own legal fees to deal with, as well. Sourbeer wonders how this is all going to affect Toyotas in the future. Obviously, the money has to come from somewhere, and it likely gets amortized over the company's vehicles in the coming years to add a few dollars to each one. That puts the problem back onto customers. Anyone involved in a class-action suit has likely seen this happen first hand. The lawyers take a large chunk of the money, and the rest is distributed in tiny morsels to those actually affected. Unfortunately, Sourbeer offers no solutions beyond saying the system needs to change.

Is this the fourth-gen Toyota Prius? [w/video]

A new video has appeared on Prius Chat of a camouflaged hatchback that just might be the next Toyota Prius. There's nothing here that concretely proves what we're looking at is the fourth-generation model of the world's best-selling hybrid, but upon first glace, the Prius guess makes sense. In an ironic twist, the car was caught because it needed gas. Prius Chat user Savior1974 says that the car was spotted on a drive between Las Vegas and California in Baker, CA. Savior1974 wrote, "As we are leaving we see a car dressed as it were being road tested. Upon further inspection it looks like it might be a Prius. I took a quick video as I drove by but it's not the best quality." The launch of the next-gen Prius has been delayed because of more work that was needed to make the car more efficient and to improve the styling. Work on getting the Prius to work well with the new Toyota New Global Architecture platform also needed more time. Last summer, we heard rumors that the Prius' new design would be finalized in November 2014. There are a few points to keep in mind that might point to this being something other than the next Prius. First, the all-black, electrical-tape-style camo is not the normal wrap that the Toyota Technical Center uses for testing (compare with these early shots of the Prius C and these other fourth-gen Prius spy shots). Second, the Baker grade between Las Vegas and California (where the video was shot) is full of vehicles being tested by any number of automakers. Nonetheless, the lines of this car do look like a Prius, so we leave you with a gallery of stills from the video and, of course, the video itself, above.