Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., announced it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 133,000 2010 Model Year Prius (above) vehicles and 14,550 Lexus Division 2010 HS 250h (below) vehicles to update software in the vehicle's anti-lock brake system. Only Prius vehicles produced since May 2009 and all HS 250h vehicles are subject to this recall. No other Toyota, Lexus, or Scion vehicles are involved in this recall.
The ABS, in normal operation, engages and disengages rapidly (many times per second) as the control system senses and reacts to tire slippage. Some 2010 Model Year Prius and 2010 HS 250h owners have reported experiencing inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction.
Toyota has responded to owner concerns with a running production change for 2010 Prius that was introduced last month, improving the ABS response time, as well as the system's overall sensitivity to tire slippage. The production change for theHS 250his planned for later this month.
2010 Camry - Power Steering Hose
Separately, Toyota will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 7,300 early production - 2010 Model Year Camry vehicles equipped with the 4 cylinder engine to inspect for a power steering hose that may be in contact with a front brake tube. This contact could lead to a hole in the brake tube and cause a brake fluid leak, increased brake pedal stroke and greater vehicle stopping distance.
Kia's first-ever Super Bowl ad titled "Joyride Dream" is scheduled to air during the third quarter on Sunday so let's hope the Saints and Colts keep it close because this is worth watching. The 60-second spot follows a colorful cast of life-size children's characters – including Muno (from YO GABBA GABBA!, the award-winning series and live tour, produced by W!LDBRAIN and The Magic Store), Sock Monkey (Fox River Mills, Inc.), MR. X (BLABLA KIDS collection), Robot and Teddy Bear – who take the all-new 2011 Sorento CUV for a spin through a series of dream-like adventures and encounter exploding bowling pins, jumping jet skis, snow angels and a mechanical bull along the way. The rockin' soundtrack for the characters' epic adventure is "How Do You Like Me Now" by indie rock band The Heavy.
This ad makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life - a lot jammed into a 60 second spot. The tag line on the commercial is: Sorento, A Departure From The Expected. It certainly is!
Green Police is the Audi 60-second spot that will appear in Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast changing Cheap Trick's Dream Police song lyrics to "Green Police" which could relaunch the popularity of that 1979 hit. Though you wouldn't know it from the teasers, Audi says "the main premise of the Green Police commercial is to show how driving an Audi A3 TDI clean diesel car is one of the easiest decisions we can make to help the environment among the dizzying array of green choices facing us each day."
The commercial itself, however, does a great job of delivering a socially responsible message but you have to wait until the 47 second mark to realize who is behind the ad - that's when the Audi A3 wagon hits the screen. The Audi A3 TDI (above) speeds through the Green Police checkpoint because it qualifies as "green". The A3 TDI won the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award presented by the Green Car Journal at December's Los Angeles Auto Show. The A3, Green Car Journal judges concluded, stood out by delivering an EPA-rated 42 mpg in highway driving. The 2009 Green Car of the Year, also went to a diesel, the VW Jetta TDI.
More than half the cars sold in Europe have diesel engines, let's see if this Audi ad can convince the U.S market to go diesel.
Toyota says their dealers nationwide have received the parts, information and training they need to fix accelerator pedals which requires about 30 minutes of work.
Many Toyota dealers will offer extended service hours, and some are planning to stay open 24 hours a day until all customer vehicles have been fixed. Others are adding greeters to their service drives, dedicating body shop capacity to expedite repairs, providing free car washes and oil changes, increasing owner communication and providing complimentary maintenance service, among other customer-focused activities.
To support these efforts, Toyota is sending checks of between $7,500 and $75,000 to its dealers in acknowledgment of the additional costs they are assuming to make it easier for customers to have the necessary repairs done quickly and conveniently.
Separately from the recall for sticking accelerator pedals, Toyota is in the process of recalling vehicles to address rare instances in which floor mats have trapped the accelerator pedal in certain Toyota and Lexus models and is already notifying customers about how it will fix this issue. In the case of vehicles covered by both recalls, it is Toyota’s intention to remedy both at the same time.
Hyundai will be one of the most visible sponsors of Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, February 7 with a total of eight ads airing throughout the day. 2010 marks Hyundai’s third consecutive year of advertising during the nation’s largest sporting event and second consecutive year sponsoring the Kickoff Show.
Hyundai’s Super Bowl blitz will be highlighted by two in-game ads. The first, titled “Paint,” slotted for the first quarter of the game will feature the all-new 200 horsepower 2011 Sonata sedan which will hit dealerships this month.
The second in-game ad, titled “10 years/Favre,” scheduled for the second quarter, will feature Brett Favre, quarterback of this season’s NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings. Favre, who holds the NFL “iron man” record for most consecutive games started, will be included in a spot featuring Hyundai’s 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. In the 30-second ad, Favre accepts the Most Valuable Player award after the 2020 football season.
Hyundai, the title sponsor of the “Hyundai Kickoff Show,” which begins at 6:00 p.m. ET, will air three different 30-second ads during the Kickoff Show, including one in the time slot immediately preceding the game. In addition to highlighting the all-new Sonata, pre- and post-game spots will showcase the all-new Tucson and revamped Hyundai Assurance consumer protection program.
The all-new 2011 Infiniti M performance luxury sedan is scheduled for a March 18th launch with the newly designated M37 starting at $46,250 and M56 starting at $57,550 excluding applicable tax, title, license and Destination & Handling fees.
The 330-horsepower 2011 Infiniti M37 rear-wheel drive model with the 3.7 liter V6 engine with VVEL technology has an MSRP of $46,250 and the M37x all-wheel drive starts at $48,400 while the 420-horsepower Infiniti M56 with an all-new 5.6 liter V8 with VVEL and DIG (Direct Injection Gasoline™) technology starts at $57,550 for the rear-wheel drive model and $60,050 for the M56x with Infiniti Intelligent All-Wheel Drive.
Infiniti sales were down in January vs. a year ago so the new M should help sales accelerate.
General Motors reported 146,825 total sales (including all brands), representing a total sales increase of 14 percent from the previous year. The "new GM" brands - Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac – reported retail sales of 102,420, up 3 percent compared to January 2009, and 145,098 total sales, up 30 percent.
Ford Motor Company, including Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo brands, reported January sales of 112,406, up
24.1 percent from January 2009.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., reported January sales of 98,796 vehicles, a decrease of 8.7 percent over
last January.
American Honda, including Acura, posted total January vehicle sales of 67,479, an increase of 2.9 percent compared to January 2009.
Nissan North America reported January sales of 62,572, an increase of 16.1 percent, compared with
January 2009.
Chrysler Group reported total U.S. sales for January of 57,143 units, an 8 percent decrease compared
with the same period last year.
Hyundai Motor America had January sales of 30,503 units, up 24 percent versus January 2009.
Kia Motors America January sales of 22,123 units, was 0.1 percent increase over the same period in
2009.
Volkswagen of America reported January 2010 sales of 18,019 total units, representing a 41.4 percent increase over January 2009. Audi, owned by VW,separately reported January U.S. sales of 6,510, a 37.9% overall increase from January 2009.
Daimler reported sales for the Mercedes-Benz Cars division in the U.S. (Mercedes-Benz and smart
combined) of 15,436 units, an increase of 26.4 percent compared to January 2009. smartUSA accounted for 278 vehicles, an 84.3 percent drop from January 2009. Mercedes-Benz USA January sales of 15,158 vehicles was a 45.3 percent improvement over January 2009.
Mazda North American Operations reported January 2010 sales of 15,694, an increase of 1.8 percent versus January of 2009.
Subaru of America, coming off a record-breaking sales year in 2009, announced sales of 15,611, a 28 percent increase over January 2009.
BMW Group in the U.S. (BMW and MINI combined) sold 15,410 vehicles, up 7.7 percent from January last year. Sales of BMW brand vehicles increased 7.6 percent in January for a total of 13,163 while MINI USA reported sales of 2,247, an increase of 7.9 percent compared to last January.
Mitsubishi Motors North America announced January 2010 sales of 4,170.
American Suzuki Motor sold 2,040 vehicles in January, a 44 percent tumble from January last year.
This page will be updated as manufacturers report.
The all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata, the biggest hit of the Los Angeles Auto Show debuts, will have a starting price of $19,195 for the well-equipped GLS model powered by a 198 horsepower 2.4L GDI four-cylinder engine. The SE model with the 200 horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine starts at $22,595 and the top-of-the-line Limited model is available for $25,295.
The Sonata GLS manual has overall fuel economy of 24 mpg city/35 mpg highway, with all other Sonata models achieving 22 mpg city/35 mpg highway. The all-new 6th generation Sonata comes standard with XM Satellite® radio, standard Bluetooth® hands-free phone system, front driver and passenger airbags, front seat side impact and curtain airbags, ESC and Traction Control System, Antilock Braking System with Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Options include advanced touchscreen navigation, HD Radio Technology™ with multicasting (allowing the broadcast of alternative side-band content on HD stations) and heated front and rear heated seats. All navigation systems also include a 90-day complimentary subscription to real-time XM NavTraffic®, XM NavWeather®, XM Sports Ticker and XM Stock Ticker. The Navigation Package costs $2,100 and comes with rear backup camera and Infinity premium speakers with subwoofer/external amplifier.
Sonata will compete for customers against cars like Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima and Chevrolet Malibu.
Toyota is responding quickly and hopes to maintain customer loyalty with apologies from Toyota Motor Sales President & COO Jim Lentz and swift action to resolve an issue which has apparently caused 19 deaths according to longtime consumer watchdog and former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader who was interviewed on KNX News Radio in Los Angeles today. Nader also said that the under-staffed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has known about this problem for a some time.
Toyota said today that it will begin fixing accelerator pedals in the recalled Toyota Division vehicles this week after their engineers developed a solution that involves reinforcing the pedal assembly to eliminate the excess friction that has caused the pedals to stick in rare instances.
From the Toyota News Release:
A precision-cut steel reinforcement bar will be installed into the assembly that will reduce the surface tension between the friction shoe and the adjoining surface so excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick is eliminated. Toyota says it has confirmed the effectiveness of the newly reinforced pedals through rigorous testing on pedal assemblies that had previously shown a tendency to stick. In addition, Toyota has developed an effective solution for vehicles in production.
Parts to reinforce the pedals are already being shipped for use by dealers, and dealer training is under way. Many Toyota dealers will work extended hours to complete the recall campaign as quickly and conveniently as possible, some even staying open 24 hours a day. The company has also taken the unprecedented action of stopping production of affected vehicles for the week of February 1.
On January 21, Toyota announced its intention to recall approximately 2.3 million select Toyota Division vehicles equipped with a specific pedal assembly and suspended sales of the eight models involved in the recall on January 26.
Toyota vehicles affected by the recall include: certain 2009-2010 RAV4, certain 2009-2010 Corolla, 2009-2010 Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, certain 2007-2010 Camry, certain 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia.
No Lexus Division or Scion vehicles are affected by these actions. Also not affected are Toyota Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Highlander hybrids and certain Camry models, including Camry hybrids, all of which remain for sale.
Further, Camry, RAV4, Corolla and Highlander vehicles with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) that begin with "J" are not affected by the accelerator pedal recall.
In the event that a driver experiences an accelerator pedal that sticks in a partial open throttle position or returns slowly to idle position, the vehicle can be controlled with firm and steady application of the brakes. The brakes should not be pumped repeatedly because it could deplete vacuum assist, requiring stronger brake pedal pressure. The vehicle should be driven to the nearest safe location, the engine shut off and a Toyota dealer contacted for assistance.
Detailed information and answers to questions about issues related to this recall are available to customers at www.toyota.com/recall and at the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.
