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Toyota Camry could lose No. 1 sedan spot next year [w/video]

Eleven months after Toyota claimed the 2012 sales crown a couple of months early thanks to the Camry, the headlines this year have been quite a bit different to last. Even though the Camry remains the best selling car so far in 2013 and its volume has increased year-on-year, it has lost market share due to the 20-percent sales explosion in the midsize segment. That means people are buying more of the competitor offerings like the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion - the Altima, in fact, outsold the Camry by 100 units in March.
In July it was reported that Toyota was upping Camry incentives and fleet sales to keep its lead and that dealer inventory was climbing as, again, competitors got better at fighting the champion. In August Ford doubled down on production of the Fusion, adding a line in Flat Rock, MI to keep up with demand.
Bloomberg has a report looking at the numbers behind the Camry's dominance, as well as what appears to be a recorded group interview with Toyota USA CEO Jim Lentz, and wonders aloud whether the Camry will be able to hold its top spot in 2014. Barring catastrophe it has this year locked up, being more than 30,000 sales ahead of the next-best seller as of the end of August, but it has done so with higher incentives and lower transaction prices than its competitors. According to Strategic Vision the Camry's consideration rate among consumers has also declined by a percentage point, while the consideration rate for the Accord and Fusion has increased by one point and two points, respectively.

Toyota to recall 185k cars globally, including Yaris

Toyota has announced it is recalling a total of 185,000 vehicles worldwide for a power steering issue. Yaris and (overseas) Vitz models built between November 2010 and March 2012 could suffer a short circuit in their power steering control module if water gets inside. Should that happen, the power steering could fail, increasing effort when turning. The recall also includes the Verso-S and Ractis built from August 2010 to August 2011. The recall covers 130,000 vehicles in Japan and around 22,450 in Europe.
Only 74 units are being recalled in the United States.
Toyota says if the fault occurs, the vehicle will display the Electronic Power Steering warning light on the dash and a buzzer will sound. The automaker will alert owners by mail and dealers will replace the power steering control module free of charge. You can read the quick press release on the recall below for more information.

Toyota takes i-Road tests to the streets of Tokyo

OK, here's where we think those road tests will start to get a little scary. Those super-narrow all-electric three-wheeled Toyota i-Road vehicles may have looked great sashaying through the towns of the French Riviera. But now? They're being tested in Tokyo. Hoo boy. The Japanese automaker says it'll start testing the i-Roads in the country's largest city on March 24 and will do so through early June. And while there will be some industry experts among the 20 participants, there will also be some regular folks who we hope won't find out the hard way how well those 660-pound, one-yard-wide vehicles perform in crash tests. In the meantime, we'll cross our fingers. The cool thing is that the i-Road now comes in five colors: blue, green, white, yellow and what looks like a magenta-fuchsia-type hue. Earlier this month, Toyota said it started testing the vehicles in Toyota City, Japan, as part of a broader program called "Ha:mo" where people link shared vehicles with public transportation systems (it stands for "Harmonious Mobility Network"). The three-wheeler was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show early last year before getting the star treatment in a French Riviera-locale video. Check out Toyota's press release below and read our impressions of driving the i-Road here.