Toyota outlines quality reforms; chief bows out of U.S. hearings

Conceding that breakneck expansion led to Toyota Motor Corp.'s current recall crisis, president Akio Toyoda outlined reforms meant to get quality back on track, including more active use of the car's so-called black box crash data recorder. Toyoda, grandson of the carmaker's founder, also indicated he won't sit before Congressional hearings into the quality lapses that have triggered recalls of more than 8.5 million vehicles since last fall. Yoshimi Inaba, the head of Toyota's U.S.

Pagani Zonda R Evo revealed ahead of Goodwood FoS Debut (video)

Pagani appears ready to reveal an ‘Evo’ upgrade for the track only Zonda R at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 2012. If you thought the ‘launch’ of the Pagani Huayra meant the end of the Pagani Zonda, you’d be mistake. The Huayra is fraught with ongoing problems for Pagani – most of them legislative – which means very few have found their way in to the wild (perhaps, and only perhaps, just one customer car is in existence).

BASF annual color trend report

Materials giant BASF has presented the findings of its annual color trend report, created by a team of designers scouting out global textile and furniture trade shows for information. And while some may think color trends are simply at the whim of designers, BASF's report identifies influences such as socio-political climate, interior design, architecture, technology and pop culture. 'Green luxury' is not an oxymoron The trend towards blues is continuing, while earthy tones and colors also reflect ecological awareness.