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Toyota, Mazda drop Takata as Mitsubishi, Subaru weigh options

It's not a very good time to be Takata right now. Fresh on the heels of longtime partner Honda ditching them, Toyota and Mazda have both come out and said they will not use the company's airbag inflators if they continue to rely on ammonium nitrate. Bloomberg reports that Subaru and Mitsubishi are also contemplating a divorce. "The inflator using ammonium nitrate produced by Takata will not be adopted by Toyota," President Akio Toyoda said during a briefing today. "What's most important above anything else is the safety and peace of mind of customers." Mazda echoed that position, simply saying it "will not use Takata airbag inflators which contain ammonium nitrate in our new cars." When you lose three huge OEM accounts in as many days, it's certainly going to have a deleterious effect on your fortunes. In Takata's case, that's meant a staggering 39-percent drop in their share price over the last three days. Yesterday alone, the company saw a 6.2-percent fall, Bloomberg reports. As the business publication reports, though, Takata isn't going down without a fight. The company is "considering some plans to survive," including a fundraising plan that will see it potentially offer up additional shares for sale. Still, at least one analyst doesn't see whatever company survives staying involved in the airbag inflator business. "I really don't see how they're going to be able to survive as an inflator manufacturer," Valient Market Research founder Scott Upham told Bloomberg. "When your major clients publicly come out and say that they're not going to use your products anymore, it makes this very difficult to sustain your business." News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Carlos Osorio / AP Honda Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Toyota Safety supplier

Toyota updates 86 in Japan with this weird special edition

In their constant drive for perfection, Japanese automakers Toyota and Subaru have both announced some minor updates for their jointly produced sports car specifically for their domestic market. Both the Toyota 86 (known in these parts as the Scion FR-S) and the Subaru BRZ are getting a revised version of the electric power steering system they were designed with in the first place as well as a reworked suspension. The more intriguing news, though, is the strange restyling Toyota is offering on the 86 Style Cb edition. Ditching the aggressively angular front end of the existing model, this special edition gets rounded headlamps and an extended nose to give it a much less severe face. The Toyota 86 Style Cb is also being offered with an optional two-tone paint scheme and gets unique LED turning indicator strips, a special badge on the bulbous snout and revised interior trim. We'll chalk it up to a matter of personal taste, but as far as JDM specials go, this special edition isn't one over which we'll be terribly disappointed if it never makes it to US showrooms. We'll be sure to keep you posted if and when any of the mechanical updates make the trip across the Pacific, though. Related Video:

GM outsold VW globaly in first quarter, Toyota reports numbers next week

General Motors released its first quarter sales figures this week, reporting that it sold 2.36 million cars and trucks worldwide. That figure represents an increase of 3.6 percent when compared to the same period last year. GM's growth was attributed to many factors, including global Cadillac sales that were up 26 percent and Chevrolet posting a one percent increase over last year (this marked Chevy's tenth straight year of record global sales).
Volkswagen came in just behind GM, as the German automaker reported global sales from January through March at 2.27 million vehicles, an increase of five percent when compared to last year. While that number was strong, VW is cautioning that markets outside China and the US, such as those in Europe, are becoming a challenge as economies falter.
Yet to report sales is Toyota, current holder of the global world sales crown (the Japanese company sold 9.75 million cars last year, against 9.29 million sold by GM and 9.1 million vehicles sold by VW). Even though GM and Toyota both say they don't care who sells the most units, it is unquestionably a strong bragging point and sales equate to revenue. That said, Toyota will report its first quarter numbers next week.