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Toyota found not at fault in alleged unintended acceleration crash

Toyota has already paid out millions and billions of dollars in settlements surrounding unintended acceleration, but the first lawsuit in the matter, which headed to a California court in July, has reached a verdict. Following the 2009 death of Noriko Uno, whose 2006 Camry was hit by another car and then sped out of control before crashing into a tree, the jury found that Toyota was not at fault in the crash.
Even though the 2006 Camry (shown above) wasn't involved in any of the unintended acceleration-related recalls and it was not equipped with a brake override, Automotive News reports that the jury's verdict says there was no defect in the car and actually blames the entire incident on the driver that ran into Uno's car - to the tune of $10 million. The accident started when the other driver ran a stop sign and hit Uno's car, and the report says that medical conditions (including diabetes) caused Uno to fail to stop her Camry.
The AN article also states that this lawsuit was a bellwether case for around 85 other personal-injury and wrongful-death suits against Toyota, but there are still many impending suits across the country. Scroll down for an official statement on this particular case from Toyota.

Retro review of the twin-turbo Toyota Supra you missed in the '90s

The twin-turbo fourth-generation Toyota Supra has slowly built up a reputation as one of the premiere sports coupes of the 1990s. The image was partially helped by its inclusion in the original The Fast and the Furious in 2001, but even before that it was part of the quartet of Japanese performance machines along with the Acura NSX, Mazda RX-7 and Nissan 300ZX Twin-Turbo that defined speed for a generation of enthusiasts. Thanks to Motorweek's Retro Review series, now we get a chance to hear opinions on the Toyota from its original release. Two things strike the viewer in the review. First, it shows what a performance standout the Supra TT is. A run to 60 miles per hour in 5.1 seconds and 14 seconds in the quarter mile is strong against its contemporaries and makes it hardly a slouch today. The second surprising thing is just how flabbergasted the reviewers seem at the coupe. The price is up about $8,000 from the previous year, and MotorWeek isn't entirely impressed with the Toyota's weight saving measures that make the fourth-generation Supra a bit more raw than the last model. The great thing about these retro takes is that there's no nostalgia in the way to cloud the reviewers' judgment. Check out the video to find out how the twin-turbo Supra was received before it became part of the performance pantheon.

VW takes world sales crown from Toyota for first half of 2015

Despite uncertainty in major markets like Russia and China, Volkswagen is wearing the global sales crown for the first half of the year to overtake Toyota. Through the first six months of 2015, VW sold 5.04 million vehicles, which only narrowly beat its Japanese rival's 5.02 million, Reuters reports. The half-year trophy also placed the German brand one step closer to the goal of being the world's largest automaker. VW can't just cruise through the second half of 2015 to continue wearing the crown, though. The company is a major player in China, and that might start to be a disadvantage soon. Auto demand there is expected to be weak for the rest of the year, which could mean dire effects for companies around the world. According to Reuters, the Western European market shows few signs of a sudden surge, either. To turn things around, VW is working on a massive realignment to be more responsive by organizing its 12 brands under four separate holding companies. One factor in VW's favor is that Toyota is facing its own sales struggles across the globe. In the last fiscal year, the Japanese automaker had growing profits but actual volume was down. At the time, the company predicted a drop to 8.9 million vehicles for the current fiscal period. According to Reuters, Toyota has had problems growing in emerging markets and dealing with higher taxes on small vehicles in Japan. For all of 2014, Toyota held the sales trophy with 10.23 million sales, and VW was in second place with 10.14 million. General Motors came in third with 9.92 million. The year was the first time that VW or Toyota had ever surpassed 10 million vehicles over the stretch of a calendar. Related Video: