2009 Scion Xb Base Wagon 5-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Toyota adds 1.6m cars to Takata inflator recall list

As part of the Takata airbag inflator recall expansion announced by NHTSA earlier this month, Toyota has listed an additional 1.6 million cars that will need to have inflators or airbag assemblies replaced. This brings the total of recalled Toyota, Scion, and Lexus vehicles to 4.73 million. Other automakers will announce their expanded recall lists this week as well. This round of recalls affects some but not all vehicles with the following model names and years: 2009–2011 Toyota Corolla and Matrix 2006–2011 Toyota Yaris 2010–2011 Toyota 4Runner 2011 Toyota Sienna 2008–2011 Scion xB 2007–2011 Lexus ES 2010–2011 Lexus GX 2006–2011 Lexus IS To see if your specific vehicle falls under recall, write down your VIN and go to toyota.com/recall; you can also check any recalls, Takata or otherwise, at safercar.gov/vin. Toyota will inform owners of affected vehicles by mail. Depending on the model, either the inflator or the entire airbag assembly will have to be replaced. Due to the number of vehicles that have already been recalled, it may take some time for the necessary parts to be available. A total of 11 deaths have been attributed to the faulty Takata inflators, and federal investigators now know why the parts are prone to failure. The state of Hawaii was the first to sue the auto supplier, with more states expected to follow. The 17 other automakers are required to announce their additions resulting from the May 4 expansion this week, so expect more of the 35 to 40 million vehicles to be listed soon. Related Video: Image Credit: Reuters Recalls Lexus Scion Toyota Takata airbag recall lexus is toyota sienna toyota 4runner toyota matrix lexus es lexus gx

Toyota CEO Lentz still envisions Scion as a small premium brand

Ward's Auto has published a piece on Scion that further confirms that we really have no idea what to expect from the brand. In speaking with Toyota USA CEO Jim Lentz about what was once firmly intended to be a hip, experimental youth brand, Lentz said, "I still personally believe small-premium is the direction we should be going." We'll walk right on by Lentz's use of the word "still" and focus on "small-premium" with the question: How? As much as we dig the FR-S, nothing in the brand's lineup can get within a whiff of the word "premium." It's even further away from being able to sniff the lifestyle-powered exhaust of a Mini or Fiat 500, and the production version of the forthcoming IM Concept (inset) will only draw it closer to its plain vanilla parent. Of course, Scion could head the premium way, but the amount of time and money needed to make it work would seem to go against everything the brand currently stands for. The murk stays just as murky when Lentz's words are placed next to those of Scion brand VP Doug Murtha, who spoke to Ward's at a different time. Murtha's response to the "small-premium" note was, "He may be having discussions at levels I'm not," and that such intent is "probably a longer-term proposition than we're looking at right now," with planning under way out to 2025. We're already being prepared for the iM to come in under $20,000, which will ensure the "attainability factor" of the "younger audience" that Murtha still views as Scion's base. And at the moment, Murtha is probably focused on adding desirability to the current lineup, halting the 14-percent year-over-year sales slide to a point that's just over half the annual volume necessary for profitability, and making sure he and his dealers have the support necessary to make the required splash with new product. Aside from all that, what might we expect? We know there'll be another product shown along with the production IM at the 2015 New York Auto Show, and Murtha isn't against a small crossover if they can come up with "something appropriately Scion-esque." So... there's that.

FR-S with Targa-style top leads Scion's SEMA brigade

The Scion brand seems to be a bit rudderless in the auto industry at the moment. The company just doesn't seem to know what audience it wants to appeal to. For this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the automakers is kind of just going wild with bizarre customs like a turbocharged FR-S with a targa top (pictured above).
Taking the roof off of a FR-S isn't an entirely new idea, but this targa-top version at SEMA is certainly a new take. In addition to just chopping a panel out of the roof, the custom also adds a louvered rear window in an especially cool touch that lends an '80s coupe vibe. To take the wild look even further, the car wears a bespoke wide body kit with an integrated rear spoiler and center-mount exhaust, and all of the bodywork is done in metal. Being for the premiere aftermarket show, performance also has to play a role, and the upgrades include a Greddy turbo kit, coil-over suspension from KW and big brakes from Wilwood.
If the FR-S seemed just slightly inspired by the '80s, the xB for the show goes for a look that's a decade older with inspiration from '70s conversion vans and skateboarding. With design help from skateboarder Riley Hawk, the custom is painted in shades of groovy earth tones with bubble windows in the rear, and the cargo box on the roof stores skateboards. The interior features touchstones of the time with a mix of wood-grain trim, shag carpet and comfy brown leather.