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Feds look at Toyota electronics as source of accelerator defects

The U.S. Department of Transportation is looking into whether Toyota Motor Corp.'s problems with unintended acceleration can be traced to defects in the electrical controls rather than just the mechanical problems cited by the automaker, a Transportation official said Tuesday. “We're not finished with Toyota and are continuing to review possible defects and monitor the implementation of the recalls,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

Toyota FT-86 and Subaru BRZ to launch next month

Toyota FT-86 (pictured) & Subaru BRZ to debut at Tokyo The road from concept to reality has been a long one for the Toyota FT-86 and Subaru BRZ. But the wait is almost over for the Toyota/Subaru joint development, with production-ready versions of the FT-86 and BRZ planned for the Tokyo Motor Show next month. The aim was to produce a sporty, fun coupe for under £20k, and although that still seems to be the general consensus we wouldn’t be surprised to see the FT-86 come in at around £25k and the more powerful BRZ getting close to £30k when they actually arrive in 2012.

It looks like Aston Martin could be getting AMG/Mercedes platforms too

Mercedes/AMG platforms would make the Lagonda SUV a reality We’d been expecting Aston Martin to get access to Mercedes platforms ever since the Lagonda SUV – based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes GL - arrived in all its ‘beauty’ in 2009. The Lagonda SUV was met with wails of anguish from lovers of Aston Martin’s timeless beauty but, despite the horror at the looks of the SUV, the prospect that Aston Martin could be heading down a collaboration route with Mercedes was welcome. It was welcome because without the support of a major car maker – and access to its technology – Aston Martin would have little chance of a bright future; there is no way a minnow like Aston Martin could afford the development cost of new engines and platforms.