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First live photos and impressions of Toyota's 2014 Corolla

After releasing official pictures and a press release about an hour earlier, Toyota chose an aircraft hanger at the Santa Monica airport as the venue for the global introduction of its highly anticipated 2014 Corolla. Following an extended aerial acrobat show, which included performers running along the walls, swimmers romping in a massive overhead clear plastic pool and angry dancers destroying their cardboard stage in a glittery fit... the all-new C-segment star of the show was lowered on cables from the ceiling. (After the strobe lights and pounding sound that preceded it, the final vehicle reveal was almost anticlimactic.)
Face-to-face with the eleventh-generation sedan, we liked what we saw. Compared to last year's Corolla, the new model appears smaller in person - yet that is mostly an optical illusion. By the tape, it is four inches longer and slightly wider than its predecessor, but a bit shorter. The wheelbase has been stretched nearly four inches, yet the front and rear overhangs only give or take about an inch in the conversion. With the exception of the enormous wheel/fender gap (the new Corolla seems to ride too high), its overall proportions are very pleasing.
The fresh styling is modern and stylish, with sculpted lines that add character to a formerly bland sedan

Toyota recalling 1.9M Prius models globally for software update

Toyota has announced a set of voluntary recalls covering 960,000 Prius, RAV4, Tacoma and Lexus RX350 models in the United States to address two separate issues. Worldwide, Toyota will have to recall a total of 1.9 million Prius cars.
The Prius recall affects about 700,000 2010-2014 models in the US, due to a fault in the motor/generator control ECU and hybrid control ECU software. It says that the current software could result in high temperatures on certain transistors and possibly damage them. When it fails, the error forces the car into failsafe mode. Toyota says that in rare circumstances, it could even shut the hybrid system down while the car is being driven.
Toyota spokeswoman Shino Yamada told Automotive News that the software update should take about 40 minutes, and dealers would start to be notified about affected vehicles today. She also told them that the first reported glitch occurred in May 2011 in the US when the system overheated and the car entered failsafe mode. The affected cars were built between March 2009 and Feb. 5, 2014, according to Automotive News. Toyota says that it has received no reports of accidents or injuries caused by either fault.

Scion pondering move upmarket?

Scion is simultaneously celebrating its ten-year anniversary with the 10 Series models and trying to figure out what to do with itself over the next ten years. Once a go-to consideration for young, first-time buyers who wanted something cool and different, in 2013 it has a model everyone is still talking about in the FR-S, a model few are still talking about in the iQ, and three models in between in the tC, xB and xD that make everyone wonder, "What happened?"
Automotive News spoke to Toyota's North American CEO, Jim Lentz - he was the VP in charge of Scion when it launched - about the options, and Lentz said one of them could be a move upmarket to challenge the established luxury brands that are moving downmarket. "There's going to be a big need in the $25,000 range for a fun-to-drive, nice-looking, value-oriented product," he said, and the FR-S, which starts at $25,255, could provide the platform for Scion to climb up a notch or two in price and perception. An idea like this could conceivably work in tandem with a proposal to move entry-level Scion products over to the Toyota brand - but remember, this is all just ideas on a whiteboard at the moment.
As opposed to an "entry-luxury fighter," the brand could swing back to the other option that was considered when it was formed, directly challenging the Korean makes that have usurped its cachet with first-time buyers. Lentz said Scion could go either way, and the tone of the piece seems to indicate that the final direction is still a ways away from being resolved.