Feds Expand Investigation of Toyota Models Over Fire Risk to 1.4 Million Vehicles

The U.S. government has added approximately 570,000 vehicles to an ongoing probe of a power window master switch located on the driver's door on certain Toyota models that could pose a fire risk, increasing the total number of vehicles investigated to a little over 1.4 million units.

In addition to the 830,000 Toyota Camry sedans, Camry Solara coupes and cabriolets and RAV4 SUVs from the 2007 model year, the probe now includes the 2007-2009MY Camry and Camry Hybrid, RAV4 and Yaris vehicles built from around September 2006 through August 2008, as well as all MY 2008 Highlander Hybrid vehicles.

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Toyota Unveils its NASCAR Racer that Pretends to be a 2013 Camry

All NASCAR racecars are rear-wheel drive vehicles based on a tube frame with power coming from a V8 engine. That said, aside from some styling similarities and their names, they have nothing else in common with their production counterparts. Read more »

Toyota Unveils its NASCAR Racer that Pretends to be a 2013 Camry

All NASCAR racecars are rear-wheel drive vehicles based on a tube frame with power coming from a V8 engine. That said, aside from some styling similarities and their names, they have nothing else in common with their production counterparts. Read more »

Taxi Driver Runs Over a Man After Being Attacked in Montreal [Warning Graphic Content]

What started out as a war of words between a 47-year old taxi driver and a 23-year old passenger quickly escalated to a hit-and-run incident that took place in Montreal, Canada, around 4 am this past Sunday, April 29.

Canada's Ottawacitizen identified the cab driver as Guercy Edmond, 47, of Laval, and the young man as Benoit Kapelli, 23.

The police have yet to determine what caused the conflict though at least two separate eyewitnesses recorded the incident on film. According to the first person that videotaped the scene, it all started when for unknown reasons a passenger slammed the door of the Toyota Camry cab.

"It began with one of the passengers slamming the door to the cab too hard on exiting the cab," wrote YouTube user Ilaneloc.

"Cab driver jumped out and confronted him on the sidewalk while the other passengers remained inside to pay. I left the scene as the verbal conflict escalated, presuming it would run itself out... I returned home to hear the commotion outside, where the conflict had escalated and the cab driver was aiming his cab in the wrong direction down St-Laurent towards the former passengers," explained Ilaneloc.

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Taxi Driver Runs Over a Man After Being Attacked in Montreal [Warning Graphic Content]

What started out as a war of words between a 47-year old taxi driver and a 23-year old passenger quickly escalated to a hit-and-run incident that took place in Montreal, Canada, around 4 am this past Sunday, April 29.

Canada's Ottawacitizen identified the cab driver as Guercy Edmond, 47, of Laval, and the young man as Benoit Kapelli, 23.

The police have yet to determine what caused the conflict though at least two separate eyewitnesses recorded the incident on film. According to the first person that videotaped the scene, it all started when for unknown reasons a passenger slammed the door of the Toyota Camry cab.

"It began with one of the passengers slamming the door to the cab too hard on exiting the cab," wrote YouTube user Ilaneloc.

"Cab driver jumped out and confronted him on the sidewalk while the other passengers remained inside to pay. I left the scene as the verbal conflict escalated, presuming it would run itself out... I returned home to hear the commotion outside, where the conflict had escalated and the cab driver was aiming his cab in the wrong direction down St-Laurent towards the former passengers," explained Ilaneloc.

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Gone with the Wind: Scooter Rider Edition

The vast majority of bikers involved in an accident, no matter how small it may appear to be, will at least sit down to take a breath even if they are not hurt, but not this scooter rider who crashed into the side of a Toyota Camry while attempting to cross through a road without paying attention.

The man literally spun around himself almost touching the ground and immediately left the scene running towards the same direction he was heading with the scooter!

If you have any idea what just went on here, feel free to enlighten (or humor) us in the comments section that follows below the video.

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Gone with the Wind: Scooter Rider Edition

The vast majority of bikers involved in an accident, no matter how small it may appear to be, will at least sit down to take a breath even if they are not hurt, but not this scooter rider who crashed into the side of a Toyota Camry while attempting to cross through a road without paying attention.

The man literally spun around himself almost touching the ground and immediately left the scene running towards the same direction he was heading with the scooter!

If you have any idea what just went on here, feel free to enlighten (or humor) us in the comments section that follows below the video.

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Tool of the Month: We Have a Winner!

As if it wasn't bad enough that the owner of this Toyota Camry sedan parked the car illegally at the end of a crosswalk, thus forcing pedestrians to stand inside the road, the driver proves to be an even bigger tool by backing into a kid returning from school who was waiting to cross the street!

Head past the break to watch the video.

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Tool of the Month: We Have a Winner!

As if it wasn't bad enough that the owner of this Toyota Camry sedan parked the car illegally at the end of a crosswalk, thus forcing pedestrians to stand inside the road, the driver proves to be an even bigger tool by backing into a kid returning from school who was waiting to cross the street!

Head past the break to watch the video.

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Toyota to Add Second Shift at its St. Petersburg Plant as Russian Sales Rise

Toyota will add a second shift at its vehicle production facility in St. Petersburg, Russia, starting from this September and for this reason, it has hired 600 new workers, which bring the total headcount to 1,750 employees.

The Japanese company began production of the Camry in Russia in November 2011 with sales of the mid-size sedan having surged 66 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, while overall, Toyota recorded a 22 per cent increase to 32,859 units during the same period.

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Toyota Camry Sells More Than 100,000 Cars in First Quarter, Could Surpass 400,000 Mark this Year

Automotive enthusiasts were not exactly thrilled with the new Camry, but for mainstream America, Toyota's bread-and-butter sedan model remains the first choice for a large number of buyers.

In fact, with first-quarter sales of 105,405 units, the Camry is not only leading the pack in the passenger car segment with some 9,000 sales more than the second Nissan Altima, but if it continues at the current pace, it could very well break the 400,000-unit barrier for the first time since 2008.

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Toyota Recalling Close to 700,000 Camry, Venza and Tacoma Vehicles

Another quality bug has hit Toyota as the Japanese automaker has issued two separate recalls that combined cover approximately 681,500 vehicles.

The first safety recall involves 70,500 Camry sedans from 2009 and 116,000 Venza crossovers from 2009 to 2011 to replace a stop lamp switch.

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NHTSA Investigating 830,000 Toyota Camrys and RAV4s Over Door Fires

Federal safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into a possible fire risk in approximately 830,000 Toyota Camry sedans, Camry Solara coupes and cabriolets and RAV4 SUVs from the 2007 model year.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it has received six consumer complaints, and other manufacturer reports supplied through Early Warning Reporting data submissions, all of which allege a fire in the driver's side door.

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Toyota's "Connections" Super Bowl Ad will Take you from Zero to Snooze in 61 Seconds

Toyota has a secret weapon against its rivals in this year's Super Bowl (well, at least those that have scheduled to air their commercials after the Japanese company): it's called "Connections" and it's one of two spots that it will run during the big game.

Provided you haven't already fallen asleep from the soft voiceover heard in the background, the only vaguely interesting part of the commercial is the appearance of a jacked up older generation Camry riding on massive alloy wheels at around 40 seconds into the clip.

Now that you've been warned, feel free to hop over the break to watch Toyota's second Super Bowl XLVI spot.

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Toyota Taxi Driver has Some Really Bad Karma

Did you ever have one of those days that everything seems to go wrong? We don't know how the rest of the day went for the Toyota Camry taxi cab driver seen in the video but in this act everything that could go wrong did.

It all started when he abruptly stopped to let a pedestrian cross the road. We don't know who said what first but the short story is that the pedestrian punched the cab driver a couple of times in the face as he exited the taxi.

However, before he could do anything, his Camry started rolling by itself and hit the SUV that was in front of him! Watch the incident in the video that follows.

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Toyota Reinvents its 2012 Camry Super Bowl Commercial

It has been a while since we last saw Toyota advertising at the Super Bowl game, but the Japanese carmaker is back after a three-year hiatus with a new commercial for its redesigned 2012 Camry sedan.

The brand's 60-second long spot is called “Reinvented” and continues the same theme as the first ads of the 2012 Camry last year, albeit with a more cheeky and humorous tone.

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Toyota Cutting 350 Jobs in Australia Due to Slowing Demand

In a rare move for Toyota, the Japanese automaker announced today that it is axing 350 jobs at its Australian plant in Altona, Victoria, due to what the company describes as "unprecedented operating conditions".

The job cuts will affect manufacturing and production workers as well as the firm's management.

Toyota Australia President and CEO, Max Yasuda, said the extremely strong Australian dollar, which has risen to its highest position in six weeks against the US dollar, along with the global economic crisis that saw reduced demand from the local division's main export markets such as the Middle East, are to blame.

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New Toyota Camry Excels in Consumer Reports’ Tests, VW Passat Not So Much

Consumer Reports has just announced its latest test results. This time, the nonprofit organization put two brand-new, family sedans under its microscope – and while the one came up trumps, the other was a mixed bag.

Starting with the new 2012 Toyota Camry, Consumer Reports tested three different models with a four-cylinder, a V6 and a Hybrid engine, all of which ranked amongst the best in their class.

As the magazines notes, compared to the model it replaces, the new Camry has a plusher interior, more responsive handling, improved ride and better fuel economy, with only the increased road noise and some cheap details tainting the overall picture.

In fact, while the 173HP 2.5-liter four-cylinder version ties with the Hyundai Sonata for best-in-class fuel consumption delivering 27 mpg (8.7 lt/100 km), the more powerful 268HP 3.5-liter V6 is just a smidgen more thirsty and, at 26 mpg (9.0 lt/100 km), beats most four-cylinder rivals.

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Santa's Candy Cane Toyota Camry Packs 900-Candlepower, it Could be Yours for $1.7 Million…

It sounds and looks like an April Fool's Day joke, but the Candy Cane car is real and it's up for grabs on eBay.

But there's a small problem with this odd creation that's based on a 1991 Toyota Camry LE. It has a 'Buy it Now' price of...US$1.7 million or about €1.3 million if you live on the other side of the pond and it tickles your fancy instead of let's say, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari FF, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a Rolls Royce Phantom and then some for a condo.

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Video: Back and Forth Parking Job New York City Style

If you have ever lived in or at least visited a large city like New York, you'll know that, sometimes, finding a parking space can be than harder than searching for a needle in a haystack.

And the worst thing is when you're driving in circles for hours and finally find a free space only to discover that you can't fit in.

Not surprisingly, some drivers are so desperate that they don't care if they have to bump their way to squeeze in, like this owner of an older generation Toyota Camry that just had to park no matter what. A time-lapse video is waiting for you just after the break.

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