We Finance!!! Limited Sunroof Moonroof Leather Suv 2.5l Awd 4x4 4wd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Nissan, Toyota offering payment deferments to people affected by government shutdown

Two weeks into the budget-related government shutdown and it sounds like some progress is finally being made, but that doesn't really help furloughed government employees pay their bills. To help out a little, Nissan and Toyota are joining Hyundai with offering payment deferments to current owners and lessees.
In a release, a Nissan spokesperson said the company is "sympathetic to any of our customers who find themselves in difficult financial circumstances - many times outside of their control."
Both Japanese automakers are allowing payment extensions of up to 90 days without penalties or fees. Unlike the Hyundai Assurance Plan, though, it doesn't seem like the Nissan or Toyota assistance will be extended to those who are still in the buying process. Scroll down for press releases from both companies about their respective payment deferment programs.

2014 Toyota Aygo is so cross with itself

It almost made it, but images of the redesigned Toyota Aygo have leaked ahead of its official debut at tomorrow's Geneva Motor Show. The new Aygo sports an aggressive look overall with a, um, mark on its face.
That distinguishing design feature aside, we quite like the angular headlights and muscular overall look of this little city car. The gaping trapezoidal air intake make the Aygo look more substantial, while swollen rear wheel arches hint at something sportier than your standard commuter device.
Sportiness, though, isn't likely to be a big part of the Aygo. As it's built on the same platform as the Citroën C1 and Peugeot 108, we should expect the same pair of gas-powered engines, which means at best, the Toyota will come to market with 82 horsepower under hood.

Toyota settles first wrongful death suit related to unintended acceleration

Toyota's sales seem to have rebounded from the unintended acceleration issues from 2009 and 2010, but the automaker is far from done dealing with this situation. Following a settlement worth up to $1.4 billion for economic loss to affected vehicle owners, Toyota has settled rather than going to trial in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from an accident in Utah in 2010 that left two passengers dead. This isn't the first case in which Toyota has settled, but it was the first among a consolidated group of cases being held in Santa Ana, CA.
According to The Detroit News, this case was scheduled to take place next month, and it was for a November 2010 incident in which Paul Van Alfen and Charlene James Lloyd were killed in a Camry when, based on findings by the Utah Highway Patrol, the accelerator got stuck causing the car to speed out of control and hit a wall; the terms of the settlement were not announced.
The article says that while Toyota will settle on some cases, it doesn't plan on settling on all of them as it still wants to be able to "defend [its] product at trial." This will probably be the case in suits claiming that software for the drive-by-wire accelerator was the cause of an accident in a Toyota or Lexus vehicle. The question of whether or not the electronic accelerator played any role in this problem has been a hot-button topic since the beginning. Toyota has issued recalls in the past to attempt to prevent unintended acceleration caused by trapped floor mats and faulty accelerator pedals, but it also says driver error was to blame in some instances.