2014 Toyota Tundra Sr5 on 2040-cars

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Toyota recalling 1.67 million vehicles worldwide in 3 campaigns

Toyota is issuing three separate recalls covering 1.67 million vehicles worldwide with most of those models in Japan. It looks like the campaigns' impact on the US may be smaller, though. According to Reuters, Toyota isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or fatalities affecting the models. Some yet-unnamed Lexus models might also be affected.
The largest of the campaigns does not currently affect any US-market vehicles. About 802,000 units of the Toyota Crown Majesta, Crown, Noah and Voxy in Japan are being repaired to replace a seal that could leak in the brake master cylinder. Those already leaking get a new brake booster, as well, according to Reuters.
The only recall currently believed to affect the US is due to a problem covering approximately 759,000 vehicles with 423,000 of them here. The repair is to fix a faulty fuel delivery pipe that could cause a fire if the fuel leaks out. Unfortunately, we don't know which models it covers. Autoblog spoke to Toyota spokesperson Mona Richard and was told the information was still "under embargo." When exactly that embargo will lift isn't yet known, but we're on the case.

Lexus planning a hydrogen fuel-cell LS by 2017

Toyota's Fuel Cell System will certainly migrate to other vehicles in the carmaker's lineup, but Australian car site Motoring reports that one of the models at the head of the queue is the Lexus LS. According to its sources, the executive barge powered by hydrogen will be released by 2017 and take the top spot in the range, rolling in above the LS Hybrid. We're told that Toyota engineers will find a way to slide two hydrogen tanks into its bodywork with the same general setup as on the Mirai – one under the rear seats and another under the rear parcel shelf. The 150-kW fuel cell stack will be placed under the front seats. Motoring says the resulting sedan and its 220-kW electric motor would come in "at around 2,100 kg," which is 4,620 pounds; that's a ginormous 539 pounds less than the listed curb weight of the current LS Hybrid, and 387 pounds more than the standard LS. Assuming all goes as planned, it would have a range of roughly 238 miles, a few dozens less than the Mirai's range of about 300 miles. It would look slightly different, too, the front end getting larger intakes to cool the power unit. It wouldn't surprise us if Lexus does have a hydrogen LS planned – it would be a statement car, and the company likes making statements, even if few heed them; it has stuck with its LS 600h for the past seven years, yet of the 7,539 LS models sold through the end of November this year, only 61 of them were hybrids. The timing would be intriguing, however; by the time the LS hybrid came out, Lexus had already worked over its filet-and-potatoes models. And if the hydrogen version is going to come in above the $120,440 hybrid, well, that will be a statement indeed.

Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche Mission E charging for Tesla, net zero energy Toyota dealership

Porsche has confirmed that its Mission E charging infrastructure will also work with Tesla vehicles. The ultra-fast, 800-volt charging system will recharge the Mission E to 80 percent in about 15 minutes, and will also service new EVs from Volkswagen and Audi. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told Top Gear that development of the charging infrastructure "sounds easy but getting the details agreed is hard. We already have the clear technical concept. It can even work with Teslas, with an adapter." Dieter Zetsche, Head of Mercedes-Benz, also tells Top Gear that they are "in talks" with Porsche regarding charging infrastructure. Read more at Top Gear, or from Electrek. An Oregon Toyota dealership is set to be the world's first net zero energy automotive dealership. The newly constructed, LEED Platinum certified Toyota of Corvallis produces more energy than it consumes, for which it is expected to receive Net Zero Energy certification. The 34,800-square-foot building is equipped with enough solar panels to produce as much energy that the dealership will use, with excess being put back into the grid, which will help during hours of peak demand. Toyota Motor Sales regional manager Steve Haag calls Toyota of Corvallis, "a first-of-its-kind template for the auto dealership of the future." Read more from Toyota. Valeo has introduced a new 48-volt hybrid system. The 48V e4Sport, as it is called, uses a 48-volt battery, electric starter-generator, electric supercharger, and eRAD electric rear axle drive for all-wheel drive. It maximizes regenerative braking and stores that energy for increasing torque with the starter-generator, and increasing acceleration with the electric supercharger. The system also supports all-electric driving modes. Valeo says the system is applicable across all vehicle segments, and works with both gasoline and diesel engines. Read more at Green Car Congress. PSA Group has created its own mobility solutions brand, called Free2Move. Free2Move will handle programs like car sharing, connected services, corporate fleet services, and affordable leasing programs for Peugeot, Citroen, DS, and other PSA partners. "For the PSA Group, mobility means not only making and selling excellent cars, but also offering a full range of mobility solutions," says PSA Group VP of Mobility Services Gregoire Olivier.