2008 Toyota Camry Le Sedan 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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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.

In Jamaica, it's not easy to sell or buy hybrid cars

Jamaica's mellow reputation and Rasta vibe contributes to an international reputation of an island nation that moves at a leisurely pace. And the term "leisurely" certainly applies to the rate of sales of hybrids there. And we thought Mitsubishi i sales in the US have been slow. The country's Toyota dealership is still in the process of explaining hybrid technology to many of its prospective customers, with the widespread perception remains that a standard Toyota Prius needs to be plugged in for electrical charging, the Jamaica Gleaner reports. Because of such slow exposure, Toyota has only sold about 10 hybrids in Jamaica since the Japanese automaker started selling them there in 2010. And we thought Mitsubishi i sales in the US have been slow. Toyota dealers in Jamaica continue to tout hybrid technology that can boost fuel economy by about 30 percent but are going up against the fact that Toyota's hybrids now need to be pre-ordered and aren't kept in stock because of sluggish demand. There's also the fact that Toyota's Japanese operations insist on an approval process that ensures the hybrids sent there can handle Jamaica's road conditions, and it typically takes three to four months for a Prius to get to Jamaica once ordered. Island locales provide a curious dichotomy for advanced-powertrain vehicles. On one hand, the driving distances tend to be relatively small, lengthening the amount of time it takes to pay back the original cost premium. On the flip side, importing fuel to islands makes gas prices skyrocket and can prove costly for the economy in island nations. Late last year, for instance, the government of another Caribbean nation, Barbados, estimated it spends about $250 million a year on gas used for personal vehicles. That's why the government there is pushing for more electric-vehicle adoption, though the number of EVs on the island was in the low double-digits as of mid-2013.

2016 Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Vehicle likely to get 60 MPGe

Toyota isn't talking about the Mirai's fuel economy just yet, but that doesn't mean we can't make an educated guess. And we do so by looking at the competition and knowing that the DOE says that "One kg of hydrogen is roughly equivalent to one gallon of gasoline." For now, the Mirai's H2 competition means the 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell. It can carry 5.64 kg of hydrogen and has a range of 265 miles. If we do the division there (265/5.64) we get 47 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). The DOE says that the miles/kg values are 49 combined, 48 in the city and 50 on the highway while Hyundai lists the official MPGe estimates as 50 combined, 49 city and 51 highway. The simple math gets us pretty close to these official numbers. Or take the 2014 Honda FCX Clarity. With a range of 231 miles and a max of 3.92 kg of hydrogen on board, division gets us to 59 MPGe. Officially, it's rated at 59 miles per kg (combined), with 58 in the city and 60 on the highway. In other words, simple math is a reliable way to calculate rough MPGe. So, we know that the Mirai can hold five kilograms of hydrogen on board and that the car has a 300-mile range. We don't even need a calculator to figure out that the Mirai is looking at 60 MPGe. Interestingly, that might be what the next-gen Prius will get.