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Honda Civic losing ground to Toyota Corolla, sales crown threatened

Oh, what a difference a year has made. When the numbers were tallied for 2013, the Honda Civic was riding high by claiming its segment's sales crown in the US despite being challenged by the latest generation of the Toyota Corolla for part of the year. However, with just a month to go in the battle for C-segment supremacy in 2014, it looks like Toyota gets to hoist the trophy this time. Looking at November sales numbers, Honda moved 300,644 Civics through the first 11 months of the year, down 2.1 percent in volume. Furthermore, for the month alone, the company sold 23,060 Civics, a 12.3 percent drop. Meanwhile, on Toyota's side, business has been booming comparatively. Through the first 11 months it sold 309,373 Corollas, a 10.6 percent jump, and for November alone it moved 25,609 examples, a 14.2 percent improvement. With fewer than 10,000 cars between them, it would take quite a December slump for the Corolla to lose this fight. According to The Truth About Cars, the Civic actually started out the 2014 somewhat positively with 5 percent growth over the previous year, though still behind the Corolla's figures. However, the Honda has seen a slide since then with five consecutive months of sales drops. Meanwhile, the Toyota has generally kept showing growth. Being the newer model of the two, the Corolla comes to this fight with an advantage. Honda hasn't let the Civic languish; it gave the model a CVT in 2014 to boost fuel economy. That's nothing like the Toyota's thorough recent rethink, though. According to TTAC, Honda does have reason to crow about the Civic, just not necessarily in the US. The model is on track to be the bestselling vehicle in Canada for the 17th consecutive year and have its best sales since 2008 there.

Toyota has 200 orders for 2016 Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car

Toyota built 500 Lexus LFA supercars between 2010 and 2012 in what Automotive News has called a "secretive workshop." The automaker has been wondering what to do with that production line since the last LFA rolled off in December 2012 and, like so much else for Toyota these days, the answer is a hydrogen car – and in about the same small numbers. The 200 Mirai orders are "mostly from government and corporate fleets." – Masamoto Maekawa The 2016 Mirai fuel cell vehicle will go into production later this month at the old LFA workshop, which is located behind Toyota's Motomachi assembly plant in Toyota City. The skilled workers there have been doing other things (like building bicycles) since the last LFA was finished and now Automotive News says they will hand-build the Mirai so that the car can get the attention to detail Toyota wants and because there won't be that many of the hydrogen cars made for a while. Toyota has already said it will sell only 3,000 Mirai FCVs in the US by the end of 2017 (it won't arrive here until late 2015, with deliveries in Japan starting earlier). With 200 orders already in and a plan to build only 700 in 2015, Toyota is already talking about delivery delays. Toyota's executive vice president for domestic sales, Masamoto Maekawa, said that, "the 200 orders are mostly from government and corporate fleets." Production could remain at LFA Works for a while. One Toyota exec said that even if the company makes 2,000 Mirais a year, that would still be only 10 each day. Doesn't sound like there's going to be anyone working weekends for a while.

Toyota recalling small number of 2014 FJ Cruisers for possible steering failure

Toyota is issuing a fairly tiny recall to fix a potentially serious problem in the FJ Cruiser. The company is recalling about 120 examples of the rugged SUV from the 2014 model year because the steering can fail. According to Toyota, the intermediate shaft that connects the steering wheel and steering gear box might not be welded correctly and can separate. If this happens, drivers lose steering control, which is obviously a major safety concern. However, the automaker is not aware of any crashes, injuries or fatalities from the problem. On the small number of affected models, Toyota will replace the intermediate shaft with a new one. TOYOTA RECALLS CERTAIN 2014 MODEL YEAR FJ CRUISER VEHICLES TORRANCE, Calif., February 5, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced it will conduct a safety recall of approximately 120 Model Year 2014 FJ Cruiser vehicles. The steering system contains an intermediate shaft, which connects the steering wheel to the steering gear box. In the involved vehicles the intermediate shaft could have received an inadequate weld. Under some circumstances, the weld could separate, resulting in the loss of steering control and increasing the risk of a crash. Toyota is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or fatalities caused by this condition. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will replace the intermediate shaft. Detailed information is available at www.toyota.com/recall and by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331.