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Toyota settles complaints with states Attorneys General for $29 million

Toyota announced today that it has reached a settlement with the Attorneys General of 29 states and one US territory that will resolve their complaints relating to recalls performed by the automaker from 2005-2010, including those related to sticky accelerators and malfunctioning floor mats that may have contributed to cases of unintended acceleration.
The settlement includes a payout of $29 million to be divided among the states and US territory, as well as a commitment from Toyota "to take steps to make vehicle information more easily accessible to consumers to help them operate their vehicles safely and make more informed choices." The settlement also has Toyota continuing its rapid-response service teams and quality field offices that were put in place shortly after the largest of the recalls from 2010, as well as a "range of customer care amenities for owners of vehicles subject to certain recalls," though the press release below isn't specific about what those amenities might be.
This settlement marks the second major step in the last few months that Toyota has taken to settle legal disputes surrounding the unintended acceleration recalls, the first being a $1.4 billion settlement to address economic loss suffered by owners of current and past Toyota vehicles that may have lost value on account of these recalls.

Toyota, Lexus will offer low-cost automated braking system

First, a technology gets better, then it gets a lot better, then it gets less expensive, then it gets a lot less expensive. Advanced driver safety and convenience systems are about to make that last step thanks to Toyota. Centered around a pre-collision braking system, there will be three suites of driver aids known as Toyota Safety Sense C (TSS C) for compact cars, Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS P) for midsized and premium cars, and Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+) for the luxury brand. TSS C pairs a camera with laser radar to provide a pre-collision system that prompts the driver to brake if it detects an impending accident, and can supply additional braking force and automatically brake between seven and fifty miles per hour. There are also Lane Departure Alert and Automatic High Beam. TSS P pairs a camera with more precise millimeter-wave radar. Starting with the three functions in TSS C, it adds pedestrian pre-collision capability and adaptive cruise control. This one will be available first, coming on the new RAV4 Hybrid and Avalon. TSS - either C or P - will expand to three more vehicles by the end of the year. The wallop is in the price: TSS C will be a $300 option, TSS P will cost $500. Compare the Ford Fusion SE, for instance - it's Driver Assistance Package comes with Lane Departure Warning, Automatic High Beams, it has Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot and Cross Traffic Detection that neither TSS has, but doesn't have any autonomous braking feature. It costs $1,200, but requires you to add the Technology and Luxury Packages for a total price of $3,165. If you want Autonomous Cruise Control, that's another $995, for $4,160 in total. Instead of $300 or $500 on the Toyota. Lexus' LSS+ will come first on the new RX then spread to four more models by the end of this year, and cost between $500 and $635 to add as an option. It also uses a camera and millimeter-wave radar for its vehicle and pedestrian pre-collision system, lane departure warning and lane keep assist, automatic high beam, and auto cruise control. The similar package on a BMW X5, with no pedestrian component, is $1,200. Toyota says both safety suites will eventually be on "nearly all" of it products and all trim levels by the end of 2017.

Toyota, Ford decide to end hybrid collaboration before it starts

Not all so-called Memorandum of Understanding pacts end in actual collaborations. For instance, after a two-year "feasibility study," Toyota and Ford have just announced that they will not be developing hybrid systems for use in light trucks and SUVs as previously planned, and the two automakers will instead continue to develop their own hybrid technology independently.
The would-be collaboration was first announced in August of 2011, and would have seen a rear-wheel-drive hybrid platform that would "improve the efficiency of trucks and SUVs while still allowing them to be driven in the way customers expect," according to our initial post on the topic.
Keep in mind that this announcement isn't to say we shouldn't expect hybrid pickups and SUVs from the two automakers, but that they probably aren't coming very soon - Ford says it will have a system "before the end of this decade" and we haven't heard much from Toyota on the hybrid truck front since the 2008 A-BAT Concept (pictured above) - and that they will not share any components between them (and they never have, for what it's worth).