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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.

The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.

Toyota Mobility Foundation sets up shop in Da Nang

You never know where the next cleaner mobility effort is going to take place. Toyota is looking around the world for places to make getting around a less dirty affair and the latest experiment is going to take place in Da Nang, Vietnam. Aside from the new location, though, there's nothing particularly special about the Da Nang project. The first two basic ideas are to set up a community bus service in the governmental, educational and commercial districts and a park-and-ride program. The project is the second from the Toyota Mobility Foundation, which says that these the enhancements to Da Nang's transportation system further TMF's, "philosophy of combining Toyota's knowledge with the expertise of partners to enable more people around the globe to move safely, efficiently and enjoyably." TMF will spend 2.9 million dollars over three years to set up the project in Da Nang. The first TMF project launched in Bangkok earlier this year. Toyota Mobility Foundation Launches Program in Da Nang, Vietnam The Foundation's Second Program Will Address Emerging Transportation Issues in Rapidly Growing Mid-sized City Tokyo, Japan June 9, 2015-Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) today announced its second program, which will launch in Da Nang, Vietnam to address emerging transportation issues in the rapidly growing mid-size city. The announcement follows news earlier in April, 2015 from TMF regarding the launch of its first pilot program in Bangkok, Thailand. Both programs reflect the Foundation's philosophy of combining Toyota's knowledge with the expertise of partners to enable more people around the globe to move safely, efficiently and enjoyably. "Toyota Mobility Foundation develops innovative solutions that address a full range of mobility challenges facing communities around the globe by sharing our knowledge," said Akio Toyoda, Chairman of the Board of TMF and President of Toyota Motor Corporation. "As Da Nang adapts to its rapid population and economic growth, we-together with our partners including Da Nang city government-aims to build a more joyful mobile society." TMF will partner with the local government in Da Nang to develop a sustainable transportation system that meets projected population growth estimates and mobility needs. In the early stages of motorization, Da Nang is considered an entrance to the Indochina East-West Economic Corridor, which links Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.