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California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda held a joint press in Palo Alto, California to announce that the two companies would be collaborating on electric vehicle development and production, with Tesla will taking over the recently closed NUMMI factory in Fremont, CA to produce the Model S sedan.

Toyota will invest $50 million for a private placement of Tesla common stock and the state of California will provide a sales tax abatement to Tesla for capital equipment expenditures to tool up the plant. Musk estimated that the abatement will amount to about $20 million over the next several years.

According to Musk, production of the Model S will bring about 1,000 employees back to the NUMMI plant to produce about 20,000 cars a year at first, and as the facility expands – possibly to include the production of more models – it could employ up to 10,000 workers. Musk revealed that some employees have already been rehired, but was non-committal on the subject of union representation. NUMMI was the only Toyota plant in North America that was unionized.

An additional benefit to Tesla from this deal is that it will be able to take advantage of the Toyota production system and possibly some of Toyota’s suppliers. That’s sure to help Tesla avoid many of the logistical problems that hampered early Roadster production and costs.

Production of the Model S is still planned to start in 2012 and Musk said more advanced prototypes would be revealed later this year. No decisions have been made yet about additional vehicles to be produced at the plant which previously had a capacity of more than 300,000 vehicles a year.

The deal for the NUMMI plant leaves Downey, CA jilted at the altar with the city’s mayor “feeling stabbed in the back by Tesla.” The Toyota deal apparently came together very quickly and Musk acknowledged that he would still like to work with Downey, perhaps for a future Space-X facility. Hit the jump for all the details.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading BREAKING: Toyota and Tesla to partner on EV production in California

BREAKING: Toyota and Tesla to partner on EV production in California

It might seem redundant to call a racing series that bills itself as the pinnacle of motorsports “elitist” but that’s precisely what Toyota’s Senior Managing Director for motorsports, Tadashi Yamashina, said during this weekend’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring. Toyota withdrew from Formula one at the end of the 2009 season and according to Yamashina the automaker isn’t likely to ever return.

According to Yamashina, Formula One has become so disconnected from mainstream fans over the past two decades that it makes no sense for the company to be involved in the sport. When Akio Toyoda took over as CEO last year he decided that Toyota’s racing activities should be in series where the average fan is more directly involved. That means we’ll see Toyotas running in venues like NASCAR and GT racing. Perhaps we’ll see Toyota in the American Le Mans Series one day. We know the series would certainly welcome more hybrid racers.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Report: Toyota exec calls F1 “elitest,” vows not to return

Akio Toyoda, still working the shovel to extricate Toyota from the hole it’s dug, invited U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for a factory visit. When he returned, LaHood said that the Toyota CEO didn’t realize how much damage the company’s reputation was taking until Toyoda actually came to America and saw for himself.

On the matter of further fines, LaHood would only say that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to finish sifting through 500,000 documents concerning the unintended acceleration recall. Until that’s done, in “a couple months,” he won’t know if more fines should be recommended.

Toyota paid a $16.4 million fine last month and LaHood said that meant the company accepted responsibility. Toyota quickly replied that wasn’t the case; rather, it paid the fine to put the issue to bed, which was the company’s position from the beginning. Now, while the NHTSA keeps its head down reading memos and emails, Toyota has a couple of months to get consumers’ attentions again and begin to deal with the nearly 200 lawsuits being brought against it.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub Req'd]

LaHood visits Toyota in Japan, won’t discuss likelihood of more fines

Conventional wisdom might tell you that Toyota should have lost loads of money last quarter in the wake of the company’s largest-ever global recall and safety scandal. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise us too much to hear that conventional wisdom would be all wrong. In reality, Toyota reported a profit between January and March of this year of $1.2 billion.

This profit comes despite the fact that Toyota reports expenditures related to the recall mess at a little over a billion dollars (or, 100 billion yen) and surely took a monetary hit compared to previous years due to the unprecedented spate of incentives to keep sales rolling. The gurus at Edmunds estimate that Toyota’s incentive spending is up by over half (an average of $2,498 per vehicle) compared to the previous year.

According to company head Akio Toyoda, the automaker plans to continue boosting profits by “[offering] high quality, reasonably priced vehicles.” That certainly sounds reasonable, no? Executing on that promise, though, is the hard part. Click on past the break for a complete rundown of Toyota’s latest financial report.

[Source: The Detroit News, Toyota Image: David McNew/Getty]

Continue reading Toyota earns $1.2B in Q1 amidst recall mess

Toyota earns $1.2B in Q1 amidst recall mess

When news of Toyota’s recent recall woes began spreading across the U.S., many loyal customers were shocked at what they were hearing. But some customers that were experiencing the very issues that lead to those recalls were likely less surprised, as tales of poor and frustrating customer service showed that Toyota may not have always acted in the best interests of its customers. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is looking to eliminate the bad behaviors and inefficient processes that put Toyota in this uncharacteristically poor situation, starting with giving U.S. executives the authority to act upon safety issues.

A report by Automotive News reveals that Toyota is well on its way to establishing the Quality Task Force that Toyoda promised in his many apologies to U.S. customers. The Quality Task Force will work more closely with U.S. customers to catch problems that could lead to recalls before they go viral. Steve St. Angelo, vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, will reportedly lead the Quality Task Force in the U.S., while Quality VP Dino Triantafyllos has been tasked with improving management of product safety issues and expediting safety discussions. St. Angelo claims the task force will “open the lines of communication globally and enable us to respond faster here in North America to any concerns about our vehicles.”

The VPs will also work with other Toyota executives from around the world to improve global quality, while also interacting with former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, who is leading the independently operated North American Quality Advisory Panel.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req. Image: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty]

Toyota names leader of North American Quality Task Force

There Will Be Mud: An express course in ice racing with Subaru

We spend a day flogging the WRX and STI around an ice course and come away with a new appreciation for our left foot.

If you’re green, are you more likely to be mean? A new study suggests you are…

A study in Psychological Science contends that eco-conscious consumers have a penchant for overt righteousness and a general feeling of superiority. You don’t say?

Charting the Five-Ohs: Next-gen Cop Car Comparo

With both GM and Ford providing all-new police-specific vehicles next year, we take a look at the old stalwarts and their black-and-white successors.

Also of interest:

• Mazda considers offering diesel CX-7 in the States
• Akio Toyoda sitting out this year’s Nurburgring 24
• Rolls-Royce Phantom to undergo major overhaul in 2016
• Next generation Volkswagen Beetle coming next year
• McLaren could develop racing version of MP4-12C for privateers

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 3.19.10

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has his hands full. In addition to the day-to-day rigors of running the largest automaker in the world, Toyoda is busy combating the negative press and apologizing profusely for the massive amount of recalls customers are enduring. He’s also an avid blogger and race driver, and in his most recent entry has announced that he will not, after all, be returning to the wheel of the Lexus LFA for this year’s Nurburgring 24.

The embattled auto executive was one of the drivers in last year’s event, where Toyota and Gazoo Racing campaigned an LFA prototype to great effect. He was even reported to have brokered the deal with Aston Martin for the iQ-based Cygnet city car at the event last year.

With the announcement that Lexus would be returning with a new LFA racer based on the production model, speculation (fueled by the official announcement) was rampant that Toyoda would return to the cockpit. But Toyoda himself has now dispelled the rumors, leaving the roster of Japanese and German drivers to pilot the car without him this year.

[Source: Gazoo.com (translated) via The Truth About Cars]

Report: Akio Toyoda sitting out this year’s Nurburgring 24

Toyota has announced its racing activities for 2010. And while Formula One has already been removed from the program, the Japanese automaker has plenty going on in other disciplines, including the domestic Super GT series, Formula Nippon, NASCAR and…what’s that? The Nürburgring 24 Hours.

As you may recall, Toyota’s Lexus division took LFA prototypes to the ‘Ring in both 2008 and 2009 for the round-the-clock race to help drum up some excitement and give the prototypes some competition testing. Since then, the LFA has gone from concept car to race car to production car and is now going back to endurance racer for this year’s event.

The pair of cars, now based on the production LFA, will be fielded once again by Gazoo Racing, piloted by a roster of Japanese and German drivers with a wealth of experience between them in sportscar racing. They’ll be supported by Toyota factory personnel, potentially to include once again company president Akio Toyoda.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of the similar news regarding a track-oriented LFA special edition, reportedly bearing the Nürburgring name as well. The race takes place in May, but in the meantime, you can check out the press release after the jump and the fresh images in the gallery below.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading ‘Ring Leader: Lexus announces return to Nürburgring 24 with new LFA racer

‘Ring Leader: Lexus announces return to Nürburgring 24 with new LFA racer

Toyota FT-86 Sports Concept – click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota Motor Co. president Akio Toyoda has stressed that his family’s company must work to create more emotionally engaging products as part of its bid to reinvent its now-battered image. Central to that effort will be the production version of its well-received FT-86 Sports Concept, the two-door rear-driver that made its European debut at this week’s Geneva Motor Show, where it drew quite a crowd.

Toyota now appears to be pushing its brand’s enthusiast heritage, something it hasn’t truly done with fresh products in some time – at least not outside of its Lexus brand. In any case, the Japanese automaker has just released a series of new photos, including a family portrait of sorts that places the FT-86 in the context of the Corolla AE86 (its most obvious spiritual predecessor) as well as the Celica and Supra. Although the press release available after the jump pays lip service to the MR2, none is pictured.

While there is no substantive new information about a production timetable for the comely coupe, Toyota has released a series of images of the FT-86 that are certainly worth perusing. You can check them out below while you’re waiting for more info about the car’s future.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota FT-86 concept gets a family-style welcome

Toyota FT-86 concept gets a family-style welcome

An independent advisory panel has been formed to help Toyota get a handle on its quality issues. With all of the current headlines relating to Toyota recalls and defects, the independent North American Quality Advisory Panel has been convened to study and give the automaker advice on quality and safety issues affecting its North American operations. Besides working closely with the North American leadership team, the panel has been promised direct access to the head honcho, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda. Heading the group will be former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Rodney E. Slater, who worked under President Bill Clinton to pass safety legislation for the automotive and aviation industries.

Among the many things this group of experts will be looking at will be the electronic throttle control system (ECTS-i) found throughout the Toyota and Lexus lineup. The group has pledged transparency and says they will make their findings public, although it seems they will be relying mainly on an analysis of Toyota’s own investigations and those of another independent consulting group, Exponent, of Palo Alto, California. But Toyota has given the panel “an unlimited budget to pursue its mandate” and “will be able to commission any additional outside reviews it deems necessary,” according to the press release you’ll find after the jump.

[Source: Toyota Motor North America]

Continue reading Former U.S. Sec. of Transportation to lead Toyota Quality Advisory Panel

Former U.S. Sec. of Transportation to lead Toyota Quality Advisory Panel

When seasoned executive Jim Press surprisingly jumped ship at Toyota to work at Cerberus-controlled Chrysler, we were half expecting the 36 year veteran of the Japanese automaker to dish some dirt on his ex-employer. After all, Press was the highest-ranking U.S.-born executive Toyota ever had, and if anyone had the scoop on the company he would. In the end, other than a couple of jabs at the Prius, Press took the high road, leaving his post at Toyota with his dignity intact.

But after watching Toyota knee-deep in recalls and with the government breathing down the company’s collective neck, Press appears to have had enough. The Detroit Free Press reports the typically positive-tongued Press released a statement saying that “the root cause of their problems is that the company was hijacked, some years ago, by anti-family, financially oriented pirates.” Shiver our timbers, that doesn’t sound good. Press adds that the negative forces that led Toyota astray didn’t “have the character necessary to maintain a customer first focus.”

But while Press is very much down on some of the plank walkers that helped lead Toyota into its current morass, he has a decidedly rosier take on the new top boss. Press reportedly said in his press release that Akio Toyoda is the only person who has what it takes to save the Japanese automaker from its current predicament, adding “he is very capable, and he embodies the virtues and character that built this great company.”

Is Press finally speaking out against the forces who pushed Toyota to become too big, too soon, or is he angling to get his old job back? We’re guessing the former is likely the case, as Press already has 40 years of automotive experience under his belt and the next couple years at Toyota are likely to be challenging ones. Top tip, Keerthi!

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Jim Press: Akio Toyoda only person to save Toyota from “anti-family, financially oriented pirates”

The second day of Congressional hearings on the “Response by Toyota and NHTSA to Incidents of Sudden Unintended Acceleration” has been underway since 11 am this morning, with an animated NHTSA Secretary Ray LaHood juking and jiving around Congress’ questions. But the big showing today is Toyota President Akio Toyoda, who’s on the stand now to discuss the automaker’s handing of the 8.5 million vehicles being recalled for accelerator defects. You can read his official statement here, but understand the real fireworks will take place during the questioning. If you want to get in on the hot Congressional action, here’s a live video stream of the proceedings, or if just want the choice quotes, follow along as we live-Tweet Toyoda’s remarks.

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

Mr. Toyoda comes to Washington

The Congressional hearings entitled “Response by Toyota and NHTSA to Incidents of Sudden Unintended Acceleration” may have started today, but the actual response by Toyoda – that’s Akio Toyoda with a “D,” head of the Japanese automaker – will come tomorrow.

If you plan on tuning in to see what interesting new information comes out in Toyoda’s testimony, please allow us to direct you to his prepared testimony after the break. There you’ll read about three separate topics, according to Toyoda: “Toyota’s basic philosophy regarding quality control, the cause of the recalls, and how we will manage quality control going forward.”

Perhaps the most telling part of Toyoda’s testimony comes at the very end:

My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers.

Remember too that Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President Jim Lentz will also go before the committee, where he’s expected to reiterate that electronic problems are not the cause of the automaker’s unintended acceleration woes.

Both Toyoda and Yoshimi Inaba’s (Chairman and CEO of Toyota Motor Sales) comments are available after the jump. Both are suscint and to-the-point, but the real fireworks will happen during the questioning period at tomorrow’s hearing.

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

[Source: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Image: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty]

Continue reading House committee releases Toyota execs’ opening statements for tomorrow’s hearing

House committee releases Toyota execs’ opening statements for tomorrow’s hearing

If morbid curiosity and political grand-standing is your think, C-SPAN is streaming the Congressional hearings on the Toyota Recall live on its site. The official title is “Response by Toyota and NHTSA to Incidents of Sudden Unintended Acceleration” and the cast of characters include Ray LaHood, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, David Strickland, Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp. along with a handful of legislators, consumer advocacy groups and family members who’ve lost love ones due to the unintended acceleration issue. Click these oddly colored words to watch it live.

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

Watch the Congressional Toyota Recall hearings live

This Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on Toyota’s recent recall woes entitled “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?” The committee released a full witness list today, which includes a number of people we were expecting to testify like Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland, President and CEO of Toyota Motor North America Yoshimi Inaba and his boss, the President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, Akio Toyoda.

Along with representatives from a couple of consumer safety groups, there’s one witness on the list who took us by surprise: Mrs. Fe Lastrella, a relative of four family members who perished late last August when off-duty California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor lost control of a loaner Lexus ES350 when it experienced sudden unintended acceleration. Mrs. Lastrella is the mother of Saylor’s wife, Cleofe, and brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, who were both killed in the accident. Lastrella’s 13-year-old granddaughter Mahala also died in the accident.

The fatal crash was arguably the catalyst for Toyota’s recent fall from grace, as it led to the first recall last October of 3.8 million vehicles for defective floor mats that could entrap accelerator pedals on certain models. That recall has since been expanded to 4.9 million vehicles and was followed by another recall in late January of 2.3 million Toyota vehicles with pedals that could also experience unintended acceleration in certain situations.

What effect will Mrs. Lastrella’s testimony on Wednesday have on the hearing’s outcome? The presence of a family member, a mother no less, who has been so devastatingly impacted by an accident involving a Toyota, will serve to put a human face on the question of whether or not the tragedy could have been prevented – and equally important, whether Toyota, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – or both – are to blame.

[Source: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Image: John Neff]

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

Congress: Mother of Lexus crash victims to testify at Toyota hearing

If you saved your company $1 million, you’d brag about it, right? How about $100 million? Certainly you’d be looking for a few pats on the back for such a massive sum of loot. A report in The Detroit Free Press reveals that Yoshimi Inaba, chairman and CEO of Toyota Motors Sales in the U.S., allegedly did such bragging back on July 6, 2010, but the topic was “Wins for Toyota” and the subject was safety.

The Freep obtained the internal presentation on Sunday as Toyota handed over thousands of documents to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in advance of its February 24 hearing. The over $100 million in savings was spread across nine points outlined by Inaba in the presentation, which outlined savings obtained by delaying safety regulations and avoiding investigations.

Inaba’s presentation states that the company saved $124 million with “added lead-time and phase in” for a side-impact airbag standard. There is also a bullet under the defects subheading that says the company saved $100 million by negotiating an equipment recall on the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES. Yahoo expands on that bullet in a recent report, saying that the automaker limited the amount of vehicles affected by the 2007 recall to 55,000, saving 50,000 man-hours of labor. Other items mentioned in the internal presentation are the avoidance of an investigation for the Tacoma rust issue and $11 million in savings by delaying a rule for tougher door locks on the Sienna.

While it’s likely that there are similar documents floating around the halls of every major automaker, Toyota is under more scrutiny than normal after three high-profile recalls have severely damaged its once sterling reputation for quality and reliability. The company’s official response to the discovery of this document is after the jump, we’re likely to hear more about it when company CEO Akio Toyoda visits Washington to answer questions from the Fed.

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Continue reading Report: Toyota bragged about saving $100M by avoiding, limiting recalls

Report: Toyota bragged about saving $100M by avoiding, limiting recalls

According to a report by Automotive News, the House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to former Toyota lawyer Dimitrios Biller requiring him to submit secret documents to Congress in advance of a February 24 hearing about the Japanese automaker’s unintended acceleration issues. Biller is required to submit the reported four 18-inch bank boxes of documents to Congress by February 23. Biller filed a federal racketeering suit against his former employer over the summer.

Just one week ago Toyota won a temporary injunction against Biller barring the lawyer from releasing any of the secret documents. Biller’s lawyer, Jeffrey Allen, says the congressional subpoena supersedes the injunction and that Biller intends to supply the documents by the February 23 deadline. Biller contends that Toyota destroyed multiple documents that could have implicated the automaker in SUV rollover cases. In late September, Texas Judge T. John Ward ordered Toyota not to destroy any crash informaton.

Toyota is suing Biller for $33.5 million for divulging confidential information and Biller’s lawyer contends that Toyota’s ex-lawyer flew to Japan and tried for four days to get executives to air his concerns over the handling of the information. Biller was then reportedly asked to resign and given a severance.

The February 24 House Oversight meeting has still more drama due to the fact that Toyota President Akio Toyoda will testify before the committee. Toyoda originally planned to leave the testifying to Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota’s operations in North America. That changed when committee chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) sent a formal letter to the Toyota president requesting his presence.

We’re not sure how the alleged SUV rollover info is relevant to unintended acceleration, but the bigger picture may be that congress is looking into whether Toyota has a history of hiding evidence that could potentially paint the company in a bad light.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req. Image: Junko Kimura/Getty Images]

Report: House subcommittee petitions Toyota for secret documents