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Toyota unintended acceleration lawsuit settled for $16M

Slowly, the many loose threads still dangling after the unintended acceleration issue Toyota faced a few years ago are being resolved. The Orange County District Attorney's office was believed to be the first DA's office to take Toyota to court, its suit alleging that Toyota knew its cars had defects and continued to sell them. The suit sought to "permanently enjoin Toyota from continued unlawful, unfair, deceptive, and fraudulent business practices as it pertains to both consumers and competitors" and asked for $2,500 "for every violation of the Unfair Business Practices Act," plus costs.
That suit has now been settled, Toyota - without admitting fault or wrongdoing - agreeing to pay $16 million to the county. Half of the money will go to the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership, another four million dollars to the OC DA's office to investigate economic crime, the remaining four million being used to pay for the case.

Toyota Aygo, Citro?n C1 to join Peugeot 108 in Geneva

Just the other day, Peugeot took the wraps off the new 108. But its new city car, like the 107 it replaces, doesn't stand on its own. The 107 was a sister vehicle to not only the Citroën C1 but also the Toyota Aygo. So it should come as little surprise that, while Peugeot was the first to release photos and details on its version, Citroën and Toyota will also be on hand with their own versions when the veils lift on all three at the Geneva Motor Show.
We're expecting the new trio of budget-oriented hatchbacks to bear the fruits of individual efforts to distinguish themselves one from another more than their predecessors, which essentially looked the same save for different badges. But from the teaser image above, we'd venture that the Toyota version will be a further departure from the 108 than the C1 will be.
One way or another we'll have to wait and see, but for now you can view Toyota's teaser clip below, along with the press releases confirming the debut of both in Geneva next month.

NHTSA investigating 561k Toyota Prius hybrids for possible steering shaft defect

The Detroit News is reporting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will investigate some 561,000 Toyota Prius models for potentially defective steering shafts. The affected hybrid models are from the 2004-2009 model years. The story indicates that NHTSA is weighing whether or not to grant a defect petition, which claims that Toyota incorrectly assembled the hatchback's steering linkage.
As of this writing, there is no recall. However, a recall based on the Prius steering shaft would be the third related to steering issues for the model since 2006. Seven years ago, Toyota recalled 170K Prius models for potential cracking of the intermediate shafts, and in November of 2012, the automaker recalled 670K units to replace the steering shaft extension assembly.
We'll be monitoring NHTSA's signals to see if this investigation turns into a full-fledged recall. For now, stay tuned.