Dr. Z. is glad that yesterday’s annual stockholders meeting in Berlin is behind him. To fend of criticism, Zetsche had to set ambitious goals: Daimler’s sales will grow twice as fast as the industry average. Good luck with that. Read More >

That was fast: Two days after Consumer Reports slammed the Lexus GX460  with a “Do Not Buy” rating, and one day after ToMoCo halted the sale of said vehicle, Toyota already has a fix. Today at lunchtime in Tokyo, Toyota said to The Nikkei [sub] that there will be changes to the Lexus GX460. This in an unusually quick response to CR’s assertion that the SUV’s tail can wag too much when the gas pedal is released while turning at high speeds. Read More >

More and more Americans have recently detected that they have a rich uncle in Japan. The uncle’s name is Toyota. From LaHood to a bevy of lawyers, all have a yen for Toyota’s money. Latest (but surely not last) to join the fray: State Farm. You know, that same insurance company that had disclosed all those claims to NHTSA and never received an answer. They went public with the story a few days before the congressional hearings. Now we know why: Like a good neighbor, State Farms wants its money back.

“Armed with reports of accidents for which they’ve already paid claims, State Farm insurance has asked Toyota to repay them for any crashes related to unintended acceleration by its vehicles,” reports USA Today. The request for a little Farm Aid is just the beginning.

Other insurance companies are expected to – make that will follow and ask for money. In the trade, this is called “subrogation.” No, it’s not a kinky sex practice. Read More >

Toyota’s Lexus GX 460 has been taken behind the woodshed by consumer reports. The SUV re-emerged with two black eyes. CR issued a “Don’t Buy” rating and declared the GX 460 a “safety risk.” Said TTAC’s Edward Niedermeyer: “Expect GX460 sales to fall off a cliff until the model is fitted with an electronic straitjacket.” Fall off a cliff? Sales are zero as of this morning. Read More >

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is electrified. They think, next-generation automobiles will make up as much as half of the new passenger cars sold in Japan in 2020, says The Nikkei [sub].

By 2020, the ministry aims to have 2 million household chargers for electric vehicles installed, along with 5,000 fast-charging stations for commercial fleets. The ministry promotes joint development of infrastructure projects between the government, industry and academia to help pave the way for Japan to become the world’s most electrified nation.

People who make cars for a living have a more conservative outlook.  Privately, they think the ministry should lay off the sake. Read More >

Guess who was matchmaker for Daimler’s three-way tie-up with Renault and Nissan? The Nikkei [sub] thinks it was Volkswagen. VW’s alliance with Suzuki “spooks Daimler into thinking small,” says the Tokyo business paper. And that’s quite a change for formerly bigthinking Daimler. Read More >

The Chinese government has been getting serious about controlling the emission and consumption of its rapidly growing fleet. Local manufacturers such as BYD and foreign joint venture partners are quick to rise to the occasion. Toyota’s Chinese joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile launched today a hybrid version of the Camry. The Camry is well liked in China, more than half a million of the non-hybrid version have been sold in China between its launch there in June 2006 and the end of February 2010. The hybrid Camry Hybrid won’t come cheap. Read More >

Toyota is still smarting from a heavy decking it has received from Congress, the NHTSA, lawyers, and the press. Toyota’s answer? Let’s get SMART! Read More >

Usually, it’s the car manufacturers who complain about fake parts coming from China. In the man-bites-dog equivalent of the parts industry, a Chinese government agency accuses Toyota of trafficking in highly illegal auto parts. Toyota is in deep doo-doo. Read More >

Having just sealed the three-way tie-up between Renault, Nissan, and Daimler, Carlos Ghosn already lusts for more. At a press conference in Brussels, Ghosn said the alliance is open to new partners to get in bed with. Muses The Nikkei [sub]: “He may envision a grand coalition of Japanese, European and U.S. automakers.” Read More >

When all this SUA happened to Toyota, many predicted that Toyota was on a downward spiral to assured destruction. Well, turns out rumours of their death were a bit premature. In February, Toyota achieved record sales in Australia and Canada and their decline in the United States, was a lot less than many had predicted. In March, Toyota’s sales (with the help of some incentives, which were below industry average) grew.  Now Toyota can add the UK to the mix. Read More >

Chandler, Arizona, NBC affiliate Channel 12 has the harrowing story of a runaway Toyota that nearly killed a boy.

Driver Chuck Schmeiser pulled his 2008 Prius into a grassy parking lot. A boy helped the driver ease up the car to a berm and park the Prius. Then, says Schmeiser, “The car just accelerated, went over the berm, and at that time we did hit that young man.” Read More >

So today, Renault, Daimler, and Nissan did what we said they would do and announced a three-way tie-up. Which is good, because we are running out of inappropriate pictures. The marriage goes far beyond the exchange of symbolical stock holdings. Read More >

When the all-electric Nissan Leaf will be available in Japan in December, buyers will be faced with a tough decision: Should I buy a Nissan Leaf for $40,000, and deal with range anxiety, or should I go with the $26,000 gasoline equivalent?

To which Nissan will answer: “The Leaf, of course. It will save you huge amounts of money.” How much? Are you sitting down? Read More >

Lighten up, Toyota. You are not alone. Today, Nissan recalled 25,024 cars in Japan because some of their accelerator pedals have caught the stickyness sickness, and may not want to come back to idle once you take the foot off the gas. Read More >