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Toyota and Mazda in talks to build joint US auto plant

UPDATE: The Toyota-Mazda deal has been announced. A newer version of this story appears here. Toyota Motor Corp and rival Mazda Motor Corp are expected to announce plans on Friday to launch a joint venture and build a new U.S. assembly plant, a person briefed on the matter said. A new auto plant would be a major boost to U.S. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on promises to boost manufacturing and expand employment for American autoworkers. Japan's Nikkei reported on Thursday that Toyota would take a roughly five-percent stake in Mazda Motor Corp to develop key electric vehicle technologies and jointly build a factory in the United States. The deal could be announced as soon as Friday, the newspaper said. The person briefed on the matter, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity, confirmed the Japanese carmakers were planning to build a large plant in a yet to be determined U.S. location and planned future joint efforts on electric vehicles. The same source declined to offer further details, however. Toyota, in a statement, said the two companies have been exploring various areas of collaboration under a May 2015 agreement. "We intend to submit a proposal to our board of directors today regarding the partnership with Mazda, however, we would like to refrain from providing further comment at this time," Toyota said in a statement issued by its U.S. operations. Mazda said in statement that "nothing has been decided yet" and added the company "will have a board meeting on this matter today. We cannot comment any further." Toyota, the world's second-largest automaker by vehicle sales in 2016 and Japan's dominant car company, has been forging alliances with smaller Japanese rivals for several years, effectively consolidating the Japanese auto sector. A new U.S. assembly plant would likely become the prize in a fierce competition among Midwestern and Southern states eager to expand manufacturing jobs. Trump in January criticized Toyota for importing cars to the United States from Mexico. The Republican president also threatened to impose a hefty fee on Toyota if it were to build its Corolla cars for the U.S. market at a plant in Mexico. "Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax," Trump said in a post on Twitter. But since January, Trump has praised Toyota for its U.S. investments.

2018 Honda Odyssey bests Pacifica, Sienna in minivan crash, LATCH tests

Honda has a lot to be proud of following the latest round of passenger small-overlap crash testing by the IIHS. The safety organization tested the 2018 Honda Odyssey, 2018 Chrysler Pacifica and 2018 Toyota Sienna, and the Odyssey managed the best rating of "Good." The Pacifica followed behind with an "Acceptable" rating, and the Sienna brought up the rear with just a "Marginal." Both the Pacifica and Sienna lost points because the structure around the passengers collapsed to differing extents, leading to parts of the structure intruding into the passenger compartment. The Pacifica didn't intrude enough to harm passengers, with each injury area still having a Good rating, but the Sienna's structure intruded far enough to potentially harm the leg and foot areas, leading to an Acceptable rating in those specific areas. In addition to the small overlap crash test, the IIHS evaluated all three minivans for LATCH child seat anchor ease of use. Once again, the Odyssey aced the test with a Good+ rating, which is awarded for both ease of use and offering multiple anchor point options. The Pacifica and Sienna swap the crash test ratings, with a Marginal for the Chrysler and an Acceptable for the Sienna. The Odyssey and Pacifica can both brag that they're Top Safety Picks, and they'd get Top Safety Pick+ awards if they weren't hampered by headlights that only get Acceptable ratings. The Toyota Sienna fails to earn the regular Top Safety Pick award because both small overlap tests yielded results that were too low. Only one other minivan tested by IIHS has the Top Safety Pick rating, and that's the Kia Sedona. It earns an Acceptable rating in LATCH usability, and its headlights actually earned a Good rating. It hasn't undergone passenger-side small overlap crash testing yet. If it fares well, it could get bumped up to a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS Chrysler Honda Toyota Safety Minivan/Van consumer toyota sienna chrysler pacifica IIHS Top Safety Pick

Recharge Wrap-up: Honda FCV Concept comes to Detroit, Toyota seeks young green energy fellows

Honda will bring its FCV Concept to the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The hydrogen-powered concept made its Japanese debut in November, and will now make its way to North America for the first time. The FCV concept improves upon the design of the FCX Clarity with a more striking appearance and roomier interior. Its smaller powertrain packaging means more space for people, and the FCV Concept seats five passengers. Honda also expects the next-generation fuel-cell car, which is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in March 2016, to cost less and have a range of over 300 miles. Read more in the press release below. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive has been awarded an environmental certificate from the TUV Sud technical inspection authority. The certificate is based not just on the vehicle's operation, but the entire lifecycle of the car, including production and recycling. The B-Class Electric Drive produces 24 percent less CO2 over its lifecycle than the Mercedes-Benz B180 when using the EU electricity mix, and 64 percent less when powered by hydroelectricity. Mercedes credits not just the use of electricity, but also the car's energy management system - such as its radar-based regenerative braking - for its carbon reductions. Read more in the press release below. Scania will test a wirelessly charged plug-in hybrid bus in Sweden. Beginning in June 2016, the bus will be put to daily use in Sodertalje. One of its stops will have a wireless charging station where the bus will recharge for six to seven minutes before continuing on its route again. The charger is located under the road surface and the bus positions itself above it to charge inductively. About $1.3 million will come from the Swedish Energy Agency to fund the test project, which could save up to 90 percent of fuel costs. If expanded to a fleet of 2,000 buses, it could save up to 13 million gallons of fuel each year. Read more at Green Car Congress, and in the press release below. Sandia National Laboratories and Linde are teaming up to expand hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The two groups have signed an agreement to research and develop new hydrogen stations, as well as ways to make fuel cell vehicles more desirable for consumers. They are looking at ways to incorporate hydrogen into existing fuel stations where possible, and make sure that it is able to be done safely.