In it’s “Innovation for All” series of commercials, Nissan is underhandedly going after Toyota. Although the automaker says it is not targeting one specific rival, it’s pretty clear to me that they have Toyota in their sights with this one. The commercial shows a Nissan vehicle coming to a stop. On a dime. And the voice-over is telling us all about Nissan’s brake override system, and how they started installing it on cars 6 years ago. Video after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Nissan taunts Toyota in new commercial’
Published on
August 26, 2010 in
Recalls.
Tags: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, control, ECM, electronic, GM, Matrix, module, Pontiac, recall, share, stall, Toyota, Vibe.

2008 Pontiac Vibe
Following the recall announced earlier today by Toyota, GM followed suit with a recall of its own for 199,163 Pontiac Vibe cars built during model years 2005-2008. GM and Toyota created the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix as sister cars, so they share a lot of materials; namely the chassis, suspension and engines. As part of this, the Electronic Control Module is shared between the two cars, prompting the recall. Click here to read the original recall by Toyota for the details.
by John Suit
Source: GM
Published on
August 26, 2010 in
Recalls.
Tags: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, control, Corolla, ECM, electronic, harsh, Matrix, module, recall, shift, shifting, stall, Toyota, transmission.

2007 Corolla LE
Toyota just can’t get itself out of the recall quagmire it’s in. Today, the automaker announced a recall of 1.13-million Corollas and Matrixes (Matrices?) from the 2005-2008 model years. Only the two-wheel drive models are affected, which means your AWD Matrix is immune to this one. The press release states that a crack can develop in the Electronic Control Module (ECM), which can lead to “harsh shifting” of the transmission or the engine stalling. Only one minor injury has been attributed to this fault, out of three “unconfirmed accidents alleged to be related to this condition.”
Continue reading ‘Toyota Corolla and Matrix stalling issue solved, recall announced’
Published on
August 6, 2010 in
Hot Car - Upcoming and Vehicle Redesign.
Tags: 2011, 2nd, 300, Civic, Corolla, direct, Generation, HD, Honda, injection, radio, redesign, redesigned, refined, Scion, stereo, tC, Toyota, watt.
Even though the Scion vehicles were originally slated for one generation before complete replacements arrived, it looks like parent company Toyota has changed their mind. Since they already diverged from the plan with the 2nd generation xB in 2008, Toyota has redesigned the tC for the 2011 model year. The look is more polarizing, the featureset richer, but the price is still in line. Click past the jump for details and pictures on the upcoming car.
Continue reading ‘Toyota announces changes for 2011 Scion tC’
Published on
July 29, 2010 in
Recalls.
Tags: 470, Avalon, column, Lexus, LX, LX470, recall, ring, shaft, snap, steering, SteeringGate, Toyota.
Well, it would appear that Toyota isn’t out of the recall woods yet. The automaker is recalling a total of 412,000 vehicles built between 2000 and 2007. Most of the recalled vehicles are Toyota Avalons, but about 10% of them are Lexus LX 470s. The issues are different between the two vehicles, but both can lead to loss of vehicle direction control. Toyota says that neither problem has caused any accidents. Continue reading for more details. If this reminds you of a recent event involving the Corolla, you’re correct, although Toyota says it wasn’t a defect, but will fix Corolla owners’ issues anyway.
Continue reading ’2 New Steering-related Toyota Recalls’
Published on
July 16, 2010 in
Hot Car - Upcoming and Vehicle Redesign.
Tags: 2011, 350, change, changes, economy, ES, fuel, Lexus, power, Toyota.
Lexus announced today the changes for its 2011 ES 350 luxury sedan. The ES will start at $35,525, an increase of $350 over 2010 models, and no longer does it require premium unleaded fuel. Instead, it will get 19/27 city/highway mpg on regular fuel. The aforementioned change is the big one, and the rest are fairly minor tweaks. Click past the jump for more details and a high-resolution picture gallery.
Continue reading ‘Lexus announces the 2011 ES 350′