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NHTSA urges owners of recalled Takata airbag vehicles to take immediate action

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation are taking the unusual step of issuing a followup press release urging owners of certain recalled vehicles "to act immediately" to fix their cars and trucks. The problem in question concerns the repair campaigns for rupturing Takata airbag inflators issued in June and covers a long list of models from Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, Mazda, BMW, Nissan, Infiniti, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Oldsmobile and Pontiac.
While NHSTA doesn't specifically say why the recall is vital in the new release, Toyota's own explanation in its newly announced renotification campaign earlier today sheds some new light on the topic. According to the Japanese automaker, in testing, Takata found a possible link between the rupturing airbag inflators and high humidity. NHTSA is advocating that all owners pursue repairs immediately if they haven't already done so already. This is especially crucial for those drivers especially in Florida, Puerto Rico, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Virgin Islands and Hawaii because of the humid conditions there.
We don't need to tell you how dangerous an inadvertent airbag deployment could be - even in a stationary vehicle - but adding to the Takata issue is fears that the deployment could lead to shrapnel being sprayed into the cabin.

Toyota Mirai officially first hydrogen-powered pace car

In addition to the chance to see bumper-to-bumper racing in a unique atmosphere, the roar of V8 engines is one of the things that compel people to attend NASCAR events, rather than watching them from the couch on TV. The front end of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway was a whole lot quieter, though, because the 2016 Toyota Mirai made its debut as a pace car there. Outfitted with a light bar and a special livery, the Mirai became the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to ever pace a NASCAR race and led the cars to the green flag for Saturday night's Sprint Cup round. The sedan was tested prior to the event to prove it had the performance required to lead the 43-car field. "Bringing the Mirai to Richmond to pace this important race is another way for Toyota to showcase our innovation and environmental leadership," Ed Laukes, company vice president of marketing, performance, and guest experience, said. There's some precedent for Toyota to show off its green credentials to the NASCAR audience. In 2009, a Camry Hybrid paced the Coca-Cola 600. The automaker's fuel cell tech already had a maiden motorsport outing, too. Late last year, the FCV Concept, which previewed the Mirai, was the zero car to check the roads for the Shinshiro Rally in Japan. TOYOTA MIRAI TAKES TO THE TRACK 23/04/15 Mirai Will Pace Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Mirai Is First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle to Pace a NASCAR Race RICHMOND, VA. (April 23, 2015) – Toyota today announced the 2016 Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, will pace the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, April 25. Today's approval allows the Mirai to serve as the first hydrogen-fueled vehicle to pace a NASCAR race. It will lead the Sprint Cup Series field to the green flag at Richmond on Saturday night and emit only water out of its tailpipe along the way. "Having a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle pace the Toyota Owners 400 is a historic moment for both Toyota and NASCAR and we're proud it's the Toyota Mirai," said Ed Laukes, vice president of marketing, performance and guest experience, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.

Jay Leno gets behind the curtain on the design of the Toyota FT-1 concept

Hinting at the future of Toyota performance vehicles, the FT-1 concept was one of the stars of the Detroit Auto Show this year. It even nabbed fourth place in our Editors' Choice list. While he's a few months behind the car's official reveal, Jay Leno managed to get the only existing concept of the sports coupe wheeled into his garage to take a closer look, and he's pretty impressed.
Leno speaks with Alex Shen and William Chergosky, the exterior and interior chief designers of the FT-1 respectively, to get a better idea of the inspirations behind the concept. Jay heaps high praise on it for mixing Italian and Japanese design and says he likes the look even more than the Lexus LFA. The coupe isn't a product of either country, though. It was penned at Toyota's CALTY Design Research center in Newport Beach, CA.
The designers go into the entire history of the FT-1, and Shen even admits that Toyota design lacks an emotional factor at the moment. It's a fascinating interview behind some of the little touches you might miss at first glance. Unfortunately, the model doesn't have the green light for production yet and may never get made. In any case, scroll down to watch Leno swoon over the coupe.