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Toyota confirms i-Road electric trike for production

The wacky, three-wheeled Toyota i-Road we saw in Geneva earlier this year will be heading to production. But before you run down to your local Toyota dealer looking for one of these all-electric "personal mobility" vehicles, chances are, you'll never actually see one unless you visit Japan.
Announced at the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) expo last week, Toyota said that the i-Road would be used as a part of the Ha:Mo car-sharing system in Japan. Weighing in at around 661 pounds, with a 28-mile-per-hour top speed and a two-passenger seating arrangement, the i-Road seems more like a fully enclosed scooter than a car, but it does offer a 30-mile driving range and has a nifty articulating front suspension that leans into corners. As for Ha:Mo, Toyota says that the number of cars in the program will increase from 10 prior to October 1 to 100 by the middle of this month, and the number of stations will almost double from 13 up to 21. Toyota has more details about the car and Ha:Mo in the press release posted below.

Toyota reaches $1.2B unintended acceleration settlement in criminal probe

UPDATE: Just like that, Toyota has released an official statement confirming its $1.2-million dollar settlement with the US Attorney's Office. Our story has been updated to reflect this development and the automaker's official statement has been added below.
Toyota has reached a settlement over the criminal probe into its unintended acceleration problems, and the outcome is more expensive than first expected. The Japanese automaker has agreed to pay $1.2 billion to close the investigation among other settlement terms. The criminal inquiry focused on whether the company kept information from regulators and how it handled drivers' complaints about the problems, according to the sources.
Between 2009 and 2010, Toyota ended up recalling over 10 million vehicles worldwide over sudden acceleration fears. Fixes include modifying floor mats, gas pedals, and installing brake override software on affected models. In addition, Toyota made the latter standard on all of its new vehicles.

Subaru ends orders for BRZ in Japan as production winds down

Production of the Subaru BRZ has ceased, marking the end of an eight-year run for the small enthusiast car. The final examples have rolled off of the assembly line ahead of what is expected to be a brief hiatus before the introduction of its successor.  The wind-down of the current BRZ and Toyota GT86 should come as no surprise; Subaru even announced a "Final Edition" BRZ for the German market earlier this year. British outlet Autocar reports that Subaru's production partner, Toyota, is still taking orders for its version of the jointly developed sports coupe, though an announcement regarding its wind-down is expected to be forthcoming.  The timing is especially tricky for potential buyers in Japan who may be looking to snag the rear-wheel-drive sports coupe, as they are limited to whatever remains in dealer inventories. According to Subaru's Japanese BRZ landing page, there may not be a ton of options for shoppers still in the market.  "We have finished accepting orders for build-to-order manufacturing of the models listed," the translated page says. "Due to stock availability at retailers, we may not be able to meet customer requests for body colors and options . Please contact your dealer for more information." We don't yet know for certain when Toyota and Subaru will announce their plans for the next-generation GT86 and BRZ, which were first introduced eight years ago. Rumors have suggested that they could be powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder producing approximately 250 horsepower, which would be a healthy bump from the existing cars' 197-horsepower outputs.  The next-generation car is expected to ride on a new joint platform, and may ditch the current generation's boxer engine in favor of a more traditional inline layout. Despite hints that Toyota wants its next GT86 to "surpass" the Supra, it's unlikely that an affordable sports coupe will infringe too drastically on the more-expensive halo car's performance turf.  Related Video: