2013 Toyota Camry Le on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota Supra, Rolls-Royces, dozens of BMWs recalled for backup camera issue

Weeks after Nissan and Infiniti recalled more than 1.2 million vehicles for a potentially dangerous programming oversight in the backup camera settings, BMW has issued a recall for similar problems. The recall, which covers 257,481 vehicles, includes numerous BMWs, as well as two Rolls-Royce models, and the 2020 Toyota Supra.  In total, the recall potentially affects 51 different products. This includes the 2018 BMW 540D, 2018–2019 BMW 640I, Rolls-Royce Phantom, 2018–2020 BMW 530e, 530i, 540i, M5, M550i, X3, 2019 Rolls-Royce Cullinan, 2019–2020 BMW 330I, 740Le, 740Li, 745Le, 750Li, 840i, M340i, M850i, X4, X5, X6, X7, Z4, and 2020 Toyota Supra. On certain BMW models, xDrive variants are also included. According to NHTSA campaign No. 19V684000, "The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rearview image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse." If there is no display image when backing up, drivers can't properly see, and the car no longer meets modern safety regulations. Specifically, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rearview Mirrors."  The recall was filed on September 27, 2019, and BMW plans to begin notifying affected owners in November. BMW, Toyota, and Rolls-Royce dealers will update the vehicles' software, which should fix the problem. 

Toyota RAV4 "Adventure" brings the butch

Just last week, your humble author had a 2013 Toyota RAV4 in his garage, and he couldn't help noting that even in mid-level XLE trim, its aesthetics lacked oomph, due in large part to its cheap-looking black bumpers and airy-looking wheel wells. Judging by the RAV4 "Adventure" on display at the Geneva Motor Show, someone at Toyota must've been thinking the same thing.
With Japan's biggest automaker understandably focused on bigger reveals, information on this butched-up softroader has proven to be hard to come by, with no press materials whatsoever. We don't even know if this is a pure concept or if it's actually being considered for production. Either way, we approve. The 20-inch dark-finish alloys probably don't do much for ride quality, but they certainly look nicely aggressive, as does the new lower fascia with its prominent lower lip. Other changes include beefier wheel arches, side rails, headlamps with integrated LEDs, twin-element fog lamps and mesh grille inserts. All of the changes are quite well integrated - enough so that the Adventure largely avoids looking like a SEMA refugee in person.

How Toyota's Le Mans racer may make its next Prius even better

The supercapacitor technology in the Toyota TS040 "offers great possibility for production car use." – Amanda Rice, Toyota Pop-culture junkies familiar with 1980s touchstone movies will hear the word "capacitor" and think Back to the Future. But the concept of supercapacitors being used in upcoming production models is being pushed by Toyota, not DeLorean. And because of that push, the future might look a little brighter for the Prius. The Japanese automaker will likely apply electric-motor technology used in Toyota's 24 Hours of Le Mans entry – the TS040 – in future versions of the world's best-selling hybrid, Australian publication Drive.com.au says, citing an interview with Toyota Motor Sports' Yoshiaki Kinoshita. Specifically, the racecar uses supercapacitors because they're effective at storing energy created when the vehicle is under braking, only to quickly redistribute it on demand for rapid acceleration. Kinoshita said Toyota may apply this technology to the Prius within the next five years. While declining to comment on specifics, Toyota spokeswoman Amanda Rice tells AutoblogGreen that the Le Mans vehicle "represents an advanced vehicle laboratory for hybrid vehicle and component development. The supercapacitor technology used in this vehicle with its fast charge and discharge capability offers great possibility for production car use." In her email, Rice added that the next-generation Prius will have smaller electric motors with greater power density and thermal efficiency, so let's add that to what we know or think we know about the fourth-generation model. Toyota entered two vehicles in this year's Le Mans race, and one of them had secured the pole-position and was leading much of the race before calling it quits 15 hours in because of electrical issues. Audi ended up winning the race, marking its 13th victory in the history of the French endurance contest.