2010 Toyota Corolla S Sedan 4-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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April Fools' Day brings Jeep Sedan, Hyundai N Roadster, Toyota Yaris pickup and more

There is one day out of the year when public relations professionals have permission to lie to journalists and to the public: April Fools' Day. Manufacturers release details about wild, weird and wacky new technology, concept vehicles and services. Some take it to obvious outlandish extremes (Jeep Sedan anybody?), while others plot to mislead with products that are just outside the realm of possibility. Check out all the "jokes" below. BMW Motorrad BMW doesn't want to exclude anybody from experiencing the thrill of high-level racing, so it is introducing 'iRace" autonomous programming on its S 1000 RR sport bike. It includes beginner, sportsman, advanced and unlimited driving modes, and stores GPS information for all Superbike world championship tracks. Hyundai Hyundai is wrong for this. The Hyundai N Roadster is the work of South Korean designer Yeonjoon Park and features a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, rear-wheel drive and a hard convertible top. Hyundai says this is a "concept (for now)," but we think it'd make a seriously great Mazda Miata competitor. Honda Honda wins the award for the best interactive gimmick, as its press release for the '90s-inspired special-edition Pastport includes a live hotline number with a message from Fred Savage. Call 1-833-PASTPORT for more information. Jeep Put the Jeep Cherokee face on the Chrysler 300's body, and voila! The 2019 Jeep Sedan is born. We can't decide if the name or the rendering is better. Land Rover Accessibility to charging ports is of major concern to anybody with a plug-in vehicle. So, with the recent launch of the Range Rover P400e and Range Rover Sport P400e, Land Rover is putting forth an effort to install more stations around the globe. First up is Scotland's Isle of Skye. Adventurers need juice too! Lexus Australia Lexus expands its Encore service to include doggos. The new service, called Enpaw, will take pups to luxury boarding kennels in style. Toyota U.S. Toyota created the Yaris Adventure pickup for "those who want to tell their friends they own a truck but never veer off pavement." It's part Mazda 2, part RAV4, 100 percent ute and it looks ... great? Creating a new segment might be all fun and games to Toyota, but Ford is reportedly considering a Focus-based ute in a similar, albeit larger, style. Toyota Australia Toyota is launching a new HiAce van, and it's already getting a limited-edition variant called the PieAce.

Toyota recalls 690,000 Tacoma trucks for rusty leaf springs, fire risk

Toyota has announced that it will be issuing a recall of 690,000 Tacoma pickups from model years 2005 through 2011. The affected vehicles include both the four-wheel-drive model and the two-wheel-drive PreRunner (but not the standard 4x2 pickups), which may have a rather serious problem with their rear suspensions.
In some cases, corrosion and stress could cause one of the three or four leaves in the rear suspension's leaf springs to fracture. While the trucks can still be driven with a broken leaf, Toyota is concerned that it could move out of position and impact other components in the rear of the truck, with a particular focus on the fuel tank. Needless to say, but a piece of metal continuously impacting anything, let alone the fuel tank, is cause for concern.
As of this writing, there have been no reports of crashes, injuries, fires or deaths due to this problem, although that won't stop Toyota from informing all affected customers of the issue. Those 690,000 owners will need to report in to dealers for inspections and, if necessary, repairs.

Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota i-Road and COMS in France, Tesla tours Northeast, EV attitudes in UK

Toyota's i-ROAD and COMS teeny, tiny, city EVs are joining the Citelib carsharing fleet in Grenoble, France. The ultra-compact EVs, which will become available in October, are meant to supplement the Grenoble metropolitan area's existing public transit infrastructure, which includes trams, buses and trains. Toyota's i-ROAD and COMS will be connected to the transit systems IT infrastructure, allowing users to visualize their route on their smartphone or computer, and reserve and pay for their car before they get dropped off near the charging station (or the other way around). Then, the user finishes (or begins) their trip with one of the EVs. Surveys show that use of public transport is increasing in Europe, but most users still have to walk 15 minutes or so to reach their destination. Adding the i-ROAD and COMS carsharing service to their commute makes the trip into the city center quicker and more flexible, while keeping the air clean. See more below. Toyota is providing 70 vehicles to the Citelib program as part of a three-year test, while French energy company EDF is contributing 30 charging stations to the project. The i-ROAD is a three-wheeled EV that seats two people, and it features Active Lean technology for stability and comfort in the corners. Its footprint is about one-fourth that of a regular car. The four-wheeled COMS EV seats one, but also features a small storage compartment in the rear. The Tesla Model S is going on tour throughout the Northeastern US to give test drives to the public. Beginning July 4 in Montauk, NY, and ending August 30 in Vergennes, VT, people will get the chance to take a 15-minute spin in what many consider to be the best electric car available as part of Tesla's Fully Charged tour. If you live in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire or Vermont, the Model S may be coming to a town near you (check the schedule here) and you'll get the chance to drive the car with a product specialist in the passenger seat to answer your questions. You can even bring up to three guests in the back seat. So if you live in one of the states where Tesla can't sell cars or doesn't have a store, this is your chance to get to know the vehicle and decide if you want to buy one. Or you can just see what it feels like to silently go from 0-60 in 4.2 seconds (hint: it's pretty cool). A UK Survey shows five percent of people there are considering buying an electric vehicle.