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Hyundai tops Toyota in annual CarMD Vehicle Health Index

CarMD has released its third annual Vehicle Health Index, which for the 2013 tracked the frequency and cost of repairs for "check engine" problems of 119-million vehicles built between the 2003 and 2013 model years. For the first two years of the index, Toyota ranked at the top of the list, but this year's results see Hyundai moved to number one, pushing Toyota down a spot.
The Korean automaker's rise to the top has been "fueled by its low repair frequency," according to CarMD. Toyota is second to Hyundai in lowest repair frequency, but Toyotas also have the highest average cost of repair. (Interestingly, General Motors vehicles have the lowest average.) Both Toyota's and Hyundai's manufacturer "health" ratings suffered this year, but Toyota took a bigger hit, which also is what helped Hyundai achieve the top ranking.
While Hyundai is the top manufacturer in the index, the 2012 Toyota Camry is the top vehicle. The best-ranking Hyundai was the 2010 Elantra (behind three Nissan models and four Toyotas), which took the number eight spot. Hyundai has six other vehicles in the top 100.

Lexus: No plans for LFA replacement anytime soon

Supercars are fantastic in terms of their raw performance, sound and ability to inspire interest in an automaker. They aren't so good at actually making money, even for giant, global automakers like Toyota. And if you are holding out hope that Lexus might be fibbing about there being no plans for an LFA successor, we have some bad news. "I think you will see us do some incredible things in the future, but probably not a $375,000 supercar anytime soon," Lexus Executive Vice President Mark Templin told Automotive News. The issue comes down to the LFA's cost to develop and massive price. Lexus built just 500 of the V10 supercars from 2010 through 2012. Templin said that the plan was originally for a much more modest vehicle with a steel body. However, that intention changed to plans for an aluminum exterior and eventually evolved further to carbon fiber during the course of its engineering. Templin is clear that Lexus isn't giving up on more accessible performance with its F sub-brand models, but more supercars aren't coming, at least not anytime soon. He previously suggested that the LFA was a generational model with a 30-year wait for the next one. These days, the workshop that built the LFA has been converted for a much less powerful but perhaps more important vehicle. Toyota now uses it to build the Mirai with the company's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Lexus LFA: Review View 30 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Plants/Manufacturing Lexus Toyota Coupe Performance Supercars supercar lexus lfa

Toyota increasing Yaris Hybrid production to 222,000 this year in France

More fuel economy means more factory workers and more production for Toyota's most popular model in Europe. That simple equation explains why the Japanese automaker is boosting annual production of its gas- and hybrid-powered Yaris compact vehicles at its French factory. The new number will be about 222,000, a 15 percent increase. To do that, Toyota will need to add about 500 workers to bring its total there to more than 4,000, UK's The Green Car Website says. Vive le Toyota! Toyota updated the European Yaris in the middle of 2011 and added a hybrid version later that year, the model has many fans across the pond. It helps that they hybrid is rated (using the friendlier European standards) at a whopping 81 miles per gallon, a tremendous number for a car that costs approximately $26,000. Toyota could soon have a bit more room in the small hybrid segment, since it was reported recently that Honda would discontinue European sales of its Insight and CR-Z hybrids soon. That decision was made easier because of increasing competition from Toyota, which boosted hybrid sales in Europe last year by 43 percent. In contrast, both the CR-Z and Insight experienced more than a 60-percent plunge in European sales in 2013.