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Toyota on Monday is celebrating the start of production of its first full hybrid vehicle in Europe at its Derbyshire, England, plant. Full story...

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall 17,000 Lexus HS 250h vehicles from model year 2010 after discovering excess fuel leakage during government rear-impact crash tests. Full story...

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to recall 17,000 Lexus HS 250h vehicles from model year 2010 after discovering excess fuel leakage during government rear-impact crash tests. Full story...

As reported by Toyota Canada Inc. Toyota Canada Inc. today filed a Voluntary Safety Campaign with Transport Canada to recall 2010 model year Lexus HS 250h vehicles to address a compliance issue with Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 301. As part of its annual compliance testing program, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently conducted a test of the 2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 80 km/h. The vehicle is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 per cent overlap. As part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard. During vehicle development, Lexus tested the HS 250h using the same protocol and found the vehicles to comply fully with CMVSS 301. Lexus is currently working to identify the reason for the different test results and the cause of this noncompliance. At the present time, Lexus has not identified a remedy to address this Full story...

During annual government crash testing, the hybrid exhibited fuel spillage that exceeds federal standards. Lexus dealers have also suspended sales of the HS 250h pending a fix for the problem. Full story...

In today's News Brake: We drive the Ferrari 599 GTO, Toyota's top test driver dies in a crash, and Ford puts the V6 Mustang on a fuel-economy run . . . But Wait, There's More! Full story...

Toyota will restart production at its factory in Guangzhou, China, on Monday after a Denso-controlled affiliate partially restarted its local plant on Thursday after a strike, automaker officials said. Full story...

Automotive Air Conditioning History

Baby, it's cold inside.

• The 1940 Packard was the first car to offer factory-installed air-conditioning.
• By 1969, more than half of all new cars sold were equipped with A/C.
• Some brands affixed window decals to promote their air-conditioned automobiles.
• For cars not equipped with factory air, dealer-installed, under-dash units were popular.
• In a 1971 front-page story, the New York Times implicated air-conditioning in the death of the convertible, postulating that: "In the age of air-conditioning, real air has lost its value."
• After the freon used in A/C units was blamed for depleting the ozone layer, automakers were required to switch from R12 to the less harmful R134a refrigerant by 1996.
• Dual-zone automatic climate control allows for separate temperature settings for driver and passenger; some cars have additional zones for rear-seat passengers.
• Volkswagen calls its manual air-conditioning system "Climatic;" automatic A/C is "Climatronic."
• Today, more than 99 percent of all new cars are air-conditioned.
• There's no A/C in base versions of the Chevrolet Aveo; Honda Civic; Hyundai Accent and Elantra; Jeep Wrangler; Kia Forte and Rio; Mazda 3; Mitsubishi Lancer; Nissan Versa; and Toyota Tacoma.
• Testing by Consumer Reports found that using a car's air-conditioner resulted in a more than 3-mpg loss at highway speeds. Driving with the windows open had no measurable effect on fuel economy.

Photo Gallery: Automotive Air Conditioning - History of Automotive A/C - Automobile Magazine

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Bidding to reverse membership losses, Bob King says effort will involve a big public relations campaign and not solely on old-fashioned organizing pushes that have proved unsuccessful in the past. Full story...

Labor strife has forced auto parts makers to raise wages in China, increasing production costs for automakers in a nation that accounted for about a fourth of Toyota's vehicle sales last year. Full story...

Toyota President Akio Toyoda apologized to shareholders for the car maker's recall troubles and promised a fresh start with a growth strategy built on emerging markets and environmental leadership. Full story...

Chairing the automaker's annual meeting, Akio Toyoda opened his remarks today with an apology for what has become the worst quality crisis in Toyota's history involving recalls of more than 10 million cars since late last year, mostly for problems... Full story...

Michael Waltrip Racing announced, in a press release that Canada's Patrick Carpentier will race the No. 00 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota  in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal on Aug. 29. Full story...

Toyota is searching for a new vice president of purchasing for North America to replace Chris Nielsen, who is being transferred to run the automaker's San Antonio, Texas, assembly plant. Full story...

Toyota Motor Corp.'s research and development unit, Hitachi Ltd. and more than 40 other Japanese companies and institutions have joined a national study into algae's potential for producing biofuel and chemicals. Autoparts maker Denso Corp. Full story...

SENIOR EDITOR FOR NEWS BOB GRITZINGER: Having driven this back-to-back with the Ford Fusion hybrid, I am no longer surprised that the Ford won North American Car of the Year. Full story...

Production at a Toyota assembly plant in southern China was to remain idle for the Wednesday (23 June 2010) night shift, the automaker said, while Honda was hit by a strike at another parts supplier. Full story...

Production at a Toyota assembly plant in southern China was to remain idle for the Wednesday (23 June 2010) night shift, the automaker said, while Honda was hit by a strike at another parts supplier. Full story...

SENIOR EDITOR FOR NEWS BOB GRITZINGER: Now's here's an xB that an American could live with--one with an engine big enough for the United States, as opposed to those underpowered buckets Toyota originally brought stateside. Full story...

The UK car market is forecast by Toyota to slow this year, more than offsetting a strong start underpinned by a final boost provided by a temporary scrappage scheme that has now ended. Full story...