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Santa swaps his sleigh for a Ferrari-powered Toyota

A Ferrari-powered Toyota 86 is sure to garner a bit of attention, as well it should. We've been paying attention throughout this build, so it should be no surprise then that Santa did as well. He's ditched his red sleigh for the Gumout GT4586 in this video. If you've been following along, you know that Ryan Tuerck and Gumout built this completely bonkers machine that's far more exciting than some previous Japanese/Italian mash-up automobiles. Donut Media has been doing their part to document and promote every stage of the process. This new video is filled with the gratuitous amounts of lights, noise, and tire smoke that Donut is known for. We don't know the conversion from horsepower to reindeerpower, but the GT4586 should provide plenty of oomph for Santa's Christmas trek. Related Video: News Source: YouTube Humor Ferrari Scion Toyota Coupe Special and Limited Editions Performance Videos toyota 86 engine swap

5,000 Toyota Prius V models recalled due to airbag issue

Toyota has issued a recall of roughly 5,000 Prius V hybrids. All of the affected vehicles are from model years 2014 and 2015. The problem with the hybrid MPVs centers on its Occupant Classification System. According to the company, the OCS is responsible for activating and deactivating the passenger's side airbag, and in the affected models, the system may not have been calibrated correctly. Should a crash occur, the passenger front airbag may not deploy. The company reports there have been no injuries or fatalities related to the OCS faulty calibration. Owner will be notified and will, naturally, be asked to report in for a free recalibration. TOYOTA RECALLS CERTAIN 2014-2015 MODEL YEAR PRIUS V VEHICLES TORRANCE, Calif. – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced plans to conduct a safety recall of approximately 5,000 Model Year 2014-2015 Prius V vehicles. In the involved vehicles, the front passenger seat is equipped with an Occupant Classification System (OCS), which activates / deactivates the passenger seat air bag system depending on the weight of the seat occupant. There is a possibility that some OCS's may not have been calibrated properly during the vehicle manufacturing process. Under some conditions, this could result in no deployment of an airbag, increasing the risk of an injury to a front seat passenger in the event of crash. Toyota is not aware of any injuries or fatalities caused by this condition. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will recalibrate the Occupant Classification System properly. Detailed information is available at www.toyota.com/recall and by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331. ###

400-hp Toyota Hybrid-R Concept gets second teaser

Toyota has released a second teaser of its Hybrid-R Concept, along with an estimation of the show car's power output. Using technology that's "similar to that used by Toyota Racing's TS030 Hybrid race car," the concept is expected to deliver over 400 horsepower.
The press release also mentions that the new concept is based on a current production model. While it's difficult to tell from the sole teaser image of the car's body, rumors are flying that it's related to the Yaris. If that's the case, though, it's difficult to know what to make of this concept. The teaser image is quite dark, but we played around with the exposure and came up with an image that reveals more details about the new concept. Take a look at the related gallery, below, to see the high-exposure image. We'll find out for certain what the Hybrid-R is in a few weeks at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Let us know what you think Toyota's newest concept is in the comments.