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A few pre-race notes and a lot of photos from the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The 82nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is on.
Audi has won 12 of the last 15 events, the scion of Auto Union is trying to make it 13 this year. To do so, it will have to overcome a situation faced only three other times during its dominance of La Sarthe: underdog status. Toyota has won the first two races of the year and claimed pole for this race, the rumor being that this year it's Toyota's race to lose.
And then there's Porsche. It's been 16 years since the Stuttgart brand raced on the top rung at Le Mans, three years years since it announced its return, just a year since it acquired Mark Webber in a signing that wasn't subtle and a few months since we got eyes on the 919 Hybrid.

Toyota recalls 112,500 models for steering, transmission issues

Toyota has announced a voluntary recall of a variety of vehicles built between model years 2012 and 2015. Roughly 110,000 of the 112,500 vehicles being recalled consist of the gas and hybrid variants of the 2015 Camry and Highlander, as well as the 2014 and 2015 RAV4. The problem, this time around, is down to a circuit board that may have been damaged during manufacturing of the electric power steering system. According to Toyota, the bad circuit board can lead to a loss of power steering. Owners would still have manual steering control, although they'll have a warning lamp glaring at them from the instrument cluster the entire time. As for the remaining 2,500 vehicles, they're limited to the RAV4 EV, built between 2012 and 2014. A software issue in the electric vehicle traction motor assembly could cause the EV to shift into neutral. As with the issue affecting the Camry, Highlander and gas-powered RAV4, vehicles with this problem will produce a warning lamp in the instrument cluster, as well as a "Check EV" message. Toyota will be notifying owners of the affected vehicles via snail mail, and asking them to report in for free repairs at their local dealership. Check out the whole press release on the issue, available below. TORRANCE, Calif., March 11, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced it will conduct safety recalls of approximately 2,500 Model Year 2012 – 2014 RAV4 EV vehicles; and approximately 110,000 Model Year 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid, and 2014-2015 Model Year RAV4 vehicles. In the involved RAV4 EV, components in the Electric Vehicle Traction Motor Assembly, which is part of the propulsion system, may cause the vehicle to shift to "neutral" due to a software issue. This condition will also trigger a "Check EV System" warning message on the instrument panel and turn on a malfunction indicator lamp. If the vehicle shifts to "neutral", this will result in a complete loss of drive power, which can increase the risk of a crash. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will repair the electric vehicle traction motor assembly. In the involved Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander, Highlander Hybrid and RAV 4 vehicles, a circuit board for the electric power steering (EPS) may have been damaged during its manufacturing process. This can result in the loss of power steering assist; an instrument panel warning lamp will also come on.

Recharge Wrap-up: Honda Grace hybrid goes on sale in Japan, Daimler spends 100M euros on batteries

The Mercedes-Benz S-500 Plug-In Hybrid has earned an Environmental Certificate from the TUV Sud technical inspection authority. The award is based on a lifecycle assessment of the vehicle. This includes the ability to reduce CO2 emissions by 43 percent through charging, and by 56 percent if charged using hydroelectricity. Read more in the press release below. Daimler is expanding its production capacity for lithium-ion batteries. The company is investing around 100 million euros in its subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive, who will provide batteries for the electric Smart Fortwo and Forfour, as well as various Mercedes-Benz models. By the end of the construction, Deutsche ACCUmotive will have quadrupled production and logistics space since 2011. Read more in the press release below. Honda has begun sales of its Grace hybrid sedan in Japan. The Grace is based on the Honda Fit and uses the automaker's Sport Hybrid i-DCD system. It comes in front- and four-wheel-drive versions and uses a seven-speed DCT with built-in motor. The Honda Grace starts at the equivalent of about $16,500. Read more in the press release below. Honda has begun operation of its wind farm in Brazil. The farm consists of nine wind turbines, expected to produce about 95,000 MWh of electricity per year, which is on par with Honda's consumption for automobile production in the country. Honda is aiming to cut its CO2 production by 30 percent by 2020 compared to 2000 levels. Read more in the press release below. Toyota has won the 2014 World Endurance Championship's Driver and Manufacturer categories with hybrid technology. Toyota celebrated the win after the final race in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Toyota uses the same hybrid technology in its racing cars as it does in its production vehicles. Read more in the press release below. Controlled Power Technologies and other groups are calling for an international 48-volt electrical standard for vehicles. The groups called for the standard at the International Conference Automotive 48 V Power Supply Systems, saying that the 48V standard for mild hybrids would help make the systems more affordable. This will make it easier for automakers to meet the more stringent CO2 standards anticipated in coming years along with the introduction of the World Light vehicles Test Procedures. Read more at Green Car Congress. The world's first certified three-litre luxury saloon: S 500 PLUG-IN HYBRID receives Environmental Certificate Stuttgart.