Toyota has recently launched the largest recall in its history with over 4 million Toyota and Lexus models identified with potential safety issues. Last fall the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration received a flurry of reports that driver’s side floor mats were dislodging and causing the accelerator pedal to get stuck. The problem received national attention when a highway patrol officer and his family were killed. The officer’s Lexus crashed after traveling over 120mph as a result of a stuck gas pedal. Apparently the vehicle could not be stopped by the brakes alone. Toyota responded by issuing a safety alert recommending that Toyota and Lexus owners remove the driver’s side floor mats and not replace them until Toyota could investigate the matter further. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration also issued an alert in which they strongly urged owners of these vehicles to remove mats or other obstacles that could lead to unintended acceleration. The models with potential safety issues are:
• 2007 – 2010 Toyota Camry
• 2005 – 2010 Toyota Avalon
• 2004 – 2009 Toyota Prius
• 2005 – 2010 Toyota Tacoma
• 2007 – 2010 Toyota Tundra
• 2007 – 2010 Lexus ES350
• 2006 – 2010 Lexus IS250 and IS350
Toyota and Lexus service technicians have undergone training and are now equipped to make the necessary modifications to these models. Although it would seem to be an easy fix; just replace the defective floor mats with a more efficient design, Toyota wants to ensure the safety of their vehicles. Therefore, technicians will actually be reshaping the accelerator pedal and in some models will also install a brake override system. Beginning in April 2010 there will be accelerator pedal replacement part available for those customers that would like to have it installed. Toyota has begun issuing recall letters instructing owners to bring their vehicles in for repair and anticipates a deluge in their service departments. To help combat the inconvenience many Toyota Dealerships are offering rental cars to customers affected by the recall.
The official Toyota website offers more information about the Toyota/Lexus recall including overall safety of both Toyota and Lexus vehicles. For further information Toyota customers can contact the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Assistance at 1-800-255-3987.
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The horsepower wars in the truck sector have been raging off and on over the past few years. We have seen 2 generations of the Ford F-150 Lighting which put down a mere 380-hp thanks to a supercharger. There was the GM Syclone which was a small pick-up that had 280-hp of turbocharged fury. And what I thought would be the pinnacle of trucks; the Dodge Ram SRT-10 which had the drive train from the Viper including the huge V-10 engine that roasted tires with 500 all-motor horsepower. Well Toyota has one-upped Dodge with the release of the TRD Tundra.
So how do you get 504-hp and 550lb.-ft of torque? Slap a TRD Supercharger and Intercooler on an already 
potent 5.7 liter 381-hp engine and you get ridiculous results. A TRD Dual Exhaust system frees up those spent exhaust gasses. 22-inch TRD Wheels hide the 16-inch cross-drilled rotors with six piston calipers. Wow! The suspension pieces are also TRD and lower the new Tundra about 2 inches.
Do you need a 504-hp truck? Probably not; but at $40k that’s not too far out of range for real horsepower lovers. And it sprints to 60 MPH in 4.6 seconds with a ¼ mile time of 13.5 seconds. I’m definitely going for a test drive!
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Scion recently debuted a new Release Series auto; the latest limited-edition Scion was newly revealed on Feb. 11th2009 at the Chicago Auto Show. Ironically the 5.0 Series tC was unveiled one year after the debut of its predecessor, the tC RS 4.0, but caught much more attention. In comparison to the tC RS 4.0, Scion has made significant modifications that go beyond the new flashy exterior.
The Scion tC RS 5.0 still has the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) theme but nearly everything in the TRD parts catalog has been added to the car. This limited-edition Scion has custom 18-inch wheels in matte black, a rear sway bar, a sport muffler, lowering springs, and an optional lip spoiler.
The tC RS 5.0’s interior also includes black cloth seats with red accents to contrast how dark it is, black leather steering wheel with matching red stitching and special TRD- emblem floor mats. To mirror its limited-edition status, the Scion tC 5.0 is also individually numbered. Expect to see the new tC arriving in style. Best of all these details is that this TRD-infused car will only be an additional $2,300 to the base price of the typical tC. Manual five- speed transmission will have a retailing starting price at $17,000 and a no-hassle automatic transmission will retail at $17,800.
See the new Scion at the Palm Spings Auto Mall
Source:
http://www.nextautos.com/chicago-2009-scion-tc-release-series-50-rolls-out
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/11/chicago-2009-scion-tc-release-series-5-0-is-errr-i-releas/
http://www.motorauthority.com/scion-announces-tc-release-series-50-pricing.html
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