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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.

New Toyota Mirai videos continue questionable hydrogen claims

"Toyota engineers were simultaneously working on a brand new technology that met all the driver's needs with an even smaller carbon footprint." Toyota has released a number of new promotional videos for the hydrogen-powered 2016 Mirai. Most are exactly what you'd expect: pretty, full of promise and vaguely informational. But there was one line in the Product Introduction video that caught out ear. In the Product Information video about the Mirai, the narrator goes into a short history of Toyota's green car advances. After talking about the Prius and the Prius Plug In, making EVs for urban commuting and the rest of Toyota's advanced fuel programs, we hear this: "Never satisfied though, Toyota engineers were simultaneously working on a brand new technology that met all the driver's needs with an even smaller carbon footprint, one that took its lead from nature itself." You can watch the video (and four others) below. Plug In America co-founder Paul Scott told AutoblogGreen, "Show us the math! Toyota claims the FCV has a smaller carbon footprint than their EV, but every paper I've read indicates the FCV uses 3-4 times as much energy to travel a given distance as an EV. If they are making this claim, let's call them out to prove it. Show us the math!" There's some math that comes out in favor of EVs here and here. "BEVs and FCs have a very similar carbon footprint, dependent on fuel source." – Toyota's Jana Hartline Plug-in vehicle advocate Chelsea Sexton went further. "Assuming appropriate comparisons in energy feedstock, basic science doesn't support the notion that the footprint of an FCV is smaller than that of an EV," she told AutoblogGreen, explaining that "appropriate comparison" would mean using similar energy generation methods for both hydrogen and plug-in vehicles. Not the tendency, she noted, "of H2 fans to compare FCVs based on solar-based electrolysis to EVs running on coal-bases electricity and similar shenanigans." Besides, Sexton said, "focusing purely on efficiencies entirely misses the biggest struggles that FCVs face in the market, namely fuel price, inconvenience, and market fear, even if the vehicles themselves are initially subsidized.

Toyota bringing refreshed Auris to Geneva

Americans got a chance to see the Toyota Auris dressed up as the Scion iM concept at the LA Auto Show a few months ago, but the Japanese automaker isn't about to leave its European customers who call the Auris their own out of the action. Toyota will be showcasing a revised version for the local market at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. For those unfamiliar, the Auris is essentially a Corolla with a liftgate at the back – or put another way, the European counterpart to what we once knew as the Matrix. It's available in hatchback and Touring Sports wagon body styles, and with gasoline, diesel or hybrid powertrain options. Though the hybrid (which accounted for half of the model line's sales last year) carries over unchanged, the updated Auris will get new gasoline and diesel engines. Along with them, the refreshed Auris also benefits from revised sheetmetal, a remodeled cabin and some upgraded equipment. Full details will be announced closer to its debut alongside the larger new Avensis at the Swiss auto expo. NEW TOYOTA AURIS TO JOIN NEW AVENSIS ON STAGE AT GENEVA Motor show debut for British-built Auris hatchback and wagon Toyota will reveal its new Auris at the Geneva motor show (3 – 15 March), the British-built hatchback and Touring Sports wagon versions making their debut alongside new Avensis. New Auris enjoys a refreshed design that adds presence and prestige, together with an upgraded cabin and new comfort and safety equipment features. The hybrid remains at the heart of the range, having established itself as the leading powertrain in the line-up, accounting for around half of all Auris sales in Europe in 2014. Nonetheless, the new model heralds the arrival of new and improved petrol and diesel engines, developed with a focus on efficiency and performance. The simultaneous reveal of new Auris and Avensis follows on from last year's introduction of Aygo and Yaris to complete a full rejuvenation of Toyota's core European model range. Both Auris and Avensis will continue to be built side by side at Toyota Manufacturing UK's car plant at Burnaston, near Derby. Toyota will host its Geneva motor show press conference on its stand in Hall 4 at Palexpo, at 12.15pm on 3 March. Featured Gallery 2016 Toyota Auris News Source: Toyota Geneva Motor Show Toyota Hatchback Wagon Economy Cars 2015 Geneva Motor Show