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Federal investigators had just bought a 2007 Lexus ES 350 and were running it through a battery of tests at the government’s Vehicle Research and Test Center in East Liberty, Ohio, when they noticed something funny with the electronic throttle…

Tags: 2007 Lexus Es, 2007 Lexus Es 350, East Liberty Ohio, Electronic Throttle, Federal Investigators, Funny, Lax, Lexus, Lexus ES, Lexus Es 350, Liberty, Ohio, Oversight, Test Center, Vehicle Research and Test Center

Mike Jackson saw it coming, the tsunami that would wash over the Detroit 3 thanks to their push production system — a system that would spawn multibillion-dollar losses even in big sales years.

Tags: Detroit, Dollar Losses, Mike Jackson, Multibillion Dollar, Push System, Tsunami

Toyota’s meltdown has led thousands of car buyers to cross the brand off their shopping lists and has sent the company’s vaunted image into free fall. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.

Tags: Car Buyers, Image Free, Meltdown, Shopping, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota Sales, Trauma, United States

Toyota President Akio Toyoda has promised to launch a global quality task force to rein in the explosion of recalls that are hammering the company’s reputation and sales.

Tags: Akio Toyoda, Explosion, Global Quality, Launch, Quality Meetings, Quality Task Force, Recalls, Reputation, Toyota

When auto dealer Gary Grossinger calls himself “the craziest guy in Chicago,” he’s not talking about his low-priced deals. He’s talking about his Taj Mahal dealership.

Tags: Auto Dealer, Chicago, Gary Grossinger, Great Lengths, Grossinger, Taj Mahal, Taj Mahals

Toyota Motor Corp., battling new complaints about braking problems in the Prius hybrid, is evaluating whether similar glitches also need fixing in the Lexus HS hybrid.

Tags: Glitches, Hs, Hybrid, Lexus, Lexus HS Toyota Motor Corp., Prius, Prius hybrid, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Corp

Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. told dealers that it is preparing to resolve brake concerns on the Prius hybrid while speeding up the delivery of parts to prevent gas pedals from sticking on eight recalled vehicles.

Tags: Gas Pedals, Hybrid, Parts Toyota, Prius, Prius hybrid, Readies, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., Toyota Prius, Toyota Sales, vehicles

Toyota Motors Corp.’s U.S. recalls have addressed only a portion of the models tagged with unintended acceleration in consumer complaints, suggesting there may be causes of the problem other than those identified by the automaker, a new study says.

Tags: Acceleration, Address, Automaker, Consumer Complaints, Extent, Models, Toyota, Toyota Motors, Toyota Motors Corp., Toyota Recalls, United States

BMW of North America is upping the ante on its no-cost maintenance plan, adding an additional two years or 50,000 miles on select certified pre-owned 2007 models sold between Feb. 2 and March 31.

Tags: Bmw, Bmw America, Bmw Models, Bmw Of North America, Feb 2, Maintenance Plan, North America, Pre Owned, Ups, Warranty

Congressional committees have expanded their Toyota investigations to address whether there might be any connection between brake and accelerator problems that have been reported, and whether additional recalls for unintended acceleration might be…

Tags: Acceleration, Accelerator, Address, Congressional Committees, Investigations, Probes, Recalls, Toyota, unintended acceleration

Toyota Motor Corp., facing fresh complaints about momentary brake slippage in its Prius hybrid, now plans to recall the car in about 60 countries, including the United States, a Japanese media report said.

Tags: car, Hybrid, Japanese Media, Prius, Prius hybrid, Prius Toyota, Slippage, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Corp, Toyota Prius, Toyota Recall, United States

BMW of North America is upping the ante on its no-cost maintenance plan, adding an additional two years or 50,000 miles on select certified pre-owned 2007 models sold between Feb. 2 and March 31.

Tags: Bmw, Bmw America, Bmw Models, Bmw Of North America, Feb 2, Maintenance Plan, North America, Pre Owned, Warranty

Penske Corp. donated more than $1 million worth of diesel-powered flatbed trucks on Friday to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, adding to the growing number of trucks being given on behalf of the automobile industry for Haiti relief efforts.

Tags: 1 Million, Automobile Industry, Bush, Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Diesel Trucks, Flatbed Trucks, Haiti, Haiti Relief Efforts, Penske Corp., Penske Trucks, USD

Congressional committees have expanded their Toyota investigations to address whether there might be any connection between brake and accelerator problems that have been reported, and whether additional recalls for unintended acceleration might be…

Tags: Acceleration, Accelerator, Address, Congressional Committees, Investigations, Probes, Recalls, Toyota, unintended acceleration

Nissan brand’s U.S. marketing boss Christian Meunier has been promoted to president of Nissan Brazil. The promotion leaves Nissan’s marketing post empty at a critical time for the brand.

Tags: Boss, Brazil, Christian Meunier, Critical Time, Exec, Leaves, Meunier, Nissan, Nissan Brazil, Promotion Marketing, United States

After Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Woodside, N.Y., saw a spike in queries from owners of vehicles on Toyota’s massive recall list, the twin dealership created a special incentive program with those nervous vehicle owners in mind.

Tags: Acura, Honda, Honda Acura, Incentive Program, New York, Paragon Honda, Queries, Spike, Toyota, Vehicle Owners, Virtue, Woodside

Using characters such as sock monkeys and Mr. X from the blabla kids, Kia sports a funny and upbeat commercial in its first Super Bowl appearance.

Tags: Blabla Kids, Bowl Appearance, Funny, Joyride, Kia, Kids Sports, Sock Monkeys, Super Bowl

Toyota is cutting a special commercial that will begin airing nationally on Sunday, featuring Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., according to a source who has been briefed on the campaign.

Tags: Address, Cutting, Jim Lentz, Lentz, Television Ad Campaign, Toyota, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., Toyota Sales

Two foundry companies said they merged Friday under the auspices of a Minnesota investment bank, forming a parts supplier with expected sales in 2010 of $600 million. Citation Corp.

Tags: Auspices, Citation, Citation Corp., Foundry, Investment Bank, Minnesota, parts supplier, Two, USD

Some Toyota dealerships are running out of the metal shims used to repair sticky accelerator pedals.

Tags: Accelerator, Metal Shims, Running, Toyota, Toyota Dealers, Toyota Dealerships

Publishers of two high profile used vehicle value guide books have trimmed the values of used Toyota models included in the automaker’s massive recall.

Tags: Automaker, automaker's massive, Book Values, Guide Books, High Profile, Kelley Blue Book, Kelley Book, Nada Guide, Nada Values, Publishers, Toyota, Toyota Models

Sales halt or not, if you’ve got enough repair parts, go right ahead and start selling Toyotas again. That is Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.’s message to its retailers as it tries to get beyond the worst safety recall in its history.

Tags: safety, Toyota, Toyota Dealers, Toyota Motor, Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc., Toyota Sales, Toyota Vehicles, vehicles Sales halt

Former Delphi Corp. CEO J.T. Battenberg III is unlikely to see a quick resolution of fraud allegations against him, following a pointed exchange between the presiding judge and Battenberg’s defense counsel during a hearing Wednesday.

Tags: Ceo, Defense Counsel, Delphi, Delphi Corp., Fraud Allegations, J T Battenberg, Lawyers, Presiding Judge, Spar, T. Battenberg

Used-vehicle prices were almost unchanged last month from December, but after a year of steady gains, they were up 16 percent from January 2009, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index shows. The index for January, released today, stood at 117.6.

Tags: Manheim, Steady Gains, Vehicle Prices, Vehicle Value

Since last fall, Toyota has recalled 8.1 million vehicles globally in two recalls aimed at resolving incidents of unintended acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

Tags: 1 Million, Acceleration, Lexus, Lexus Vehicles, Million Vehicles, Recalls, Toyota, Toyota Lexus, Toyota Vehicles, Turmoil, vehicles