Toyota

Auto leasing deals abound these days, with offers that often seem too good to be true. How about a well-equipped Honda Accord for $250 a month with no down payment or any other drive-off fees? Or better yet, $199 a month for a Chevrolet Malibu? So, what's the catch? There isn't any if you know what you're getting into. There are always details. You need top-tier credit to qualify. You pay a penalty if you turn that Honda in with more than 36,000 miles. And the payment is not $250 a month because of that little matter of tax. It is more like $275, depending on where you live.

It would be impossible to count the number of automotive makes and models that have come and gone since the car was first invented - or the number of books that have been written about them. The inescapable ubiquity of the automobile has made them, for better or worse, a sort of cultural fodder that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Ingrassia inventively exploits in "Engines of Change. " The question at the center of his nonfiction treatise: Do cars shape the culture, or does culture shape the cars?

Federal highway safety inspectors have released new details of a fatal car crash that triggered Toyota Motor Corp.'s largest recall, including a finding that the Lexus ES 350 sedan involved had a gas pedal design that could increase the risk of its being obstructed by a floor mat. Toyota has previously said that the floor mat was improperly installed and may have trapped the accelerator pedal, causing the vehicle to race down Highway 125 in...

After dealing with floods, earthquakes and a super-strong yen, Toyota Motor Corp. is following a fourth quarter in which income quadrupled with a similarly optimistic forecast for 2013. The Japanese car company, which last year relinquished the title of world's largest automaker to General Motors Co., said it earned 121 billion yen, or $1.52 billion, in the quarter ended March 31. That's compared with the 25.4-billion yen profit recorded during the same quarter a year earlier.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s massive recalls for acceleration and braking problems are creating a huge legal liability for the company -- and Toyota owners may share in the pain. The Japanese automaker faces dozens of lawsuits over injuries and deaths attributed to safety problems, with many more suits expected. Lawyers and legal experts said the lawsuits could be particularly expensive for the automaker if plaintiffs prove that Toyota was aware of problems but failed to correct them. On top of that, there are at least 30 lawsuits seeking class-action status to recover damages for the reduced value of the cars and the lost use of vehicles during repairs.

What's affected Toyota said Thursday that it would recall the following vehicles to address what it described as a sticky gas pedal that could lead to unintended acceleration: Avalon, 2005-10 Camry, 2007-10 Corolla, 2009-10 Highlander, 2010 Matrix, 2009-10 RAV4, 2009-10 Sequoia, 2008-10 Tundra, 2007-10 Note: Toyota also said the Pontiac Vibe, which it manufactured in...

The spotlight on sudden-acceleration defects of Toyota vehicles has opened a window on lax enforcement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the serious problems caused by deregulation over the last several decades. As the fatality and injury toll climbs -- and Toyota sales plummet -- it's time to ask why the sleepy Washington safety sentinels at the Department of Transportation aren't doing the job the people expect of them. Part of the problem is the deregulatory mania that has gripped Washington since the Ronald Reagan years.

Off the market Toyota has stopped sales of the following vehicles and model years. Avalon, 2005 to 2010 Camry, 2007 to 2010 Corolla, 2009 to 2010 Highlander, 2010 Rav4, 2009 to 2010 Matrix, 2009 to 2010 Sequoia, 2008 to 2010 Tundra, 2007 to 2010 For these models, vehicles whose VINs begin with J are not included.

Brake with both feet : Step on the brake pedal with both feet, using firm and steady pressure. Do not pump the pedal because that would deplete the vacuum used for the power brake assist. Shift to neutral: While still braking, shift the transmission to the neutral position. Or turn off the engine: If unable to put the vehicle in neutral, turn the engine off. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

Earthquakes, floods, a strong Japanese yen — just about everything has conspired to hold Toyota Motor Corp. back. But with the world's No. 3 automaker recovering from the natural disasters and the North American auto market continuing to strengthen, Toyota on Tuesday raised its earnings forecast for its current fiscal year. Toyota manufactures the Camry, the bestselling passenger car in America, as well as the Prius hybrid and other models. It also owns the Lexus brand. The automaker is now forecasting a profit of 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion)

Toyota Motor Corp.and Volkswagen are leading a charge of import brands in U.S. auto sales, eating into market-share gains made by the Detroit automakers over the last year. The domestic automakers sold 530,000 vehicles in April, accounting for 44.8% of the market. That share was down from 46.5% in the same month last year, according to Autodata Corp. Asian brands sold 536,000 vehicles in April, accounting for 45.3% of the market. That's up from a share of 44.9% a year earlier.

In one of the more bizarre instances of auto advertising, a YouTube video that shows an elderly Florida woman crashing her 2004 Toyota Camry through a Publix supermarket, injuring 10 people, is sponsored by Toyota. The video of Saturday's incident was posted earlier this week by Russia Today.  As the Camry shatters the glass door and plows into a baby carriage and shoppers, an advertisement pops up saying, “The following presentation is brought to you by: Toyota moving forward”  with the distinctive Toyota logo inserted into the advertisement.

Google said it has removed a Toyota advertisement sponsoring a horrific YouTube video of an elderly Florida women losing control of her Camry and blowing through shoppers at a Publix supermarket, injuring 10 people. Through a quirk of Internet advertising that automatically links ads for companies to content about their products, a Toyota banner at the bottom of the video pitched the company and its Prius c hybrid. Crystal Dahlen, a Google spokeswoman, said the YouTube owner removed the advertisement after learning of the situation earlier today.  There is no longer any advertising on the video . The accident took place earlier this week and the video was posted on multiple news websites after it was released by the Florida Highway Patrol.

This year's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach perhaps was best summed up by James Hinchcliffe, who finished third, when the driver was asked to describe the IndyCar race: "I don't know where to start," he said. Indeed, in a race that at times bordered on chaotic because various pit-stop strategies, penalties and accidents kept shuffling the leaderboard, Australian Will Power emerged with his second Long Beach victory. Power, who won the race on the city's ocean-side streets in 2008, was running low on fuel and had to slow slightly in the closing laps Sunday but held off a charging Simon Pagenaud.

A scary crash in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach made it clear that despite a new, safer car in the Izod IndyCar Series, certain dangers remain inherent in the sport. The new car, which includes extra body work around the rear wheels, was rolled out this season after Dan Wheldon was killed in October in a multicar wreck in Las Vegas, one in which Wheldon's car and others got airborne after hitting cars around them. Yet in Sunday's Long Beach race, Marco Andretti's car briefly got airborne after he slammed into the rear of Graham Rahal's car as they approached a corner.

Simona De Silvestro was among the most promising young drivers in IndyCar racing a year ago. Then she went to Indianapolis. As she made a practice lap for the Indianapolis 500 in May, the suspension on De Silvestro's car broke while she was traveling 220 mph. The car slammed into the wall and slid down the track, upside down and on fire. The Swiss driver was lucky to escape with only serious burns on her hands, and she later managed to qualify for the big race. But De Silvestro, who finished 31st in the 500, had sustained another injury: a crisis of confidence.

President Obama mentioned "jobs" 23 times in his State of the Union address, underscoring the fact that the fragile recovery is bypassing millions of Americans. About the last thing the economy needs is a major plant closing. Nonetheless, Toyota is going ahead with plans to close the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. assembly plant -- a joint venture started in 1984 with General Motors -- in Fremont, Calif., on April 1. Nearly 5,000 NUMMI jobs will evaporate and up to 50,000 jobs are at risk, including those at 1,000 suppliers throughout the state, according to the company's own numbers.

Friday in Long Beach was a day better suited for ducks than drivers. That was not a good thing, because this is the weekend of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Plenty of drivers are on hand, all itching to exercise their right foot, none seeing much positive in the rain. Except for one, the driver with the surname so famous that his every touch of the clutch is scrutinized. In sports, it is one thing being "the son of," but try being "the son of and the grandson of. " Marco Andretti is 25. He drives for Andretti Autosport, owned by his father, Michael Andretti, 49, a highly successful IndyCar driver, who started in 1984 and drove his last race in 2007.

Toyota Motor Corp. is raising prices on six models starting with vehicles produced in May. Depending on the model, the increase of $90 to $250 represents a hike of 0.3% to 1.5%. The models receiving price increases include the 2012 Toyota Prius v, Camry and Camry Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, Tacoma pickup truck and the 2013 Scion tC. They are all fuel-efficient vehicles, which so far this year have been the hottest segment of the U.S. auto market, a reflection of how higher gas prices have shifted consumer preferences.