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The Toyota GT86 Shooting Brake Concept is real

As a two-door wagon the shooting brake exists at the unusual but captivating intersection between practicality and sportiness. This Toyota GT86 Shooting Brake Concept is no different – it's a standard GT86, with no mechanical alterations save the grafted-on wagonette roof and hatch. It's fully functional, too, having turned some laps on Toyota's test tracks. It even has the blessing of Tetsuya Tada, the father of the Toyota 86 and its Subaru BRZ and (now rebadged) Scion FR-S, who's been protective of the original GT86 concept to the point of strenuously resisting any serious power upgrades. This isn't the first shooting brake concept we've seen from the Toyobaru twins, but it's the first Toyota-badged one. Subaru brought the Cross Sport Design Concept to the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. So how did the GT86 Shooting Brake Concept happen? The story, as Toyota tells it, involves the company's Australian design team. They created a 1/4-scale clay model of the shooting brake, and showed it to Tada when he visited in late 2014. He was so impressed, Toyota says, that he had his hand-picked craftsman in Japan bring the idea to full-scale fruition. The Australian design team, in the outdoor-loving spirit of their country, immediately thought that the longer roof would be perfect for carrying surfboards and other unwieldy sports equipment. And it would be. Meanwhile, Tada and the rest of the Toyota corporation want to tamp down expectations. It's a design study, the company says, and it's just "testing the waters." Toyota won't rule anything out, and Mazda recently surprised everyone with the MX-5 RF's unusual and attractive targa model. Maybe in a world where Mazda felt confident enough to introduce the RF, Toyota can be daring enough to bring a sporty wagon to the masses. We can hope, and maybe if we all make enough noise together Toyota will make it a reality. Related Video: Featured Gallery Toyota GT86 Shooting Brake Concept Scion Subaru Toyota Coupe Hatchback Wagon Concept Cars Performance shooting brake toyota gt86 gt86

Takata air bag recall list

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed yesterday that 33.8 million vehicles with Takata airbags are going to be recalled. It's the largest recall in automotive history. The already record-breaking rate of automotive recalls this year shows no signs of slowing down, especially since millions of cars with defective airbags made by global supplier Takata are under ongoing scrutiny. The federal government is warning owners that inflator mechanisms in the air bags can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when the bags are deployed. The faulty air bags have already been blamed for multiple deaths. How do you know if your vehicle is safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released an updated list of vehicles under recall. Sometimes however, the government's website will crash and the list may not be complete. Check your VIN at the NHTSA website to make sure. The list of cars affected by the recall has not been released, but seem to span multiple models over the years for many of the automakers.

Ford tumbles to second worst in Consumer Reports reliability survey, list dominated by Japanese [w/video]

It's no secret that MyFord Touch has had its share of problems since being introduced, but the most recent reliability survey from Consumer Reports shows just how much this infotainment system has affected Ford. Just two years ago, the automaker was in the top 10 for the institute's reliability rankings, but since then, it has tumbled to the second-lowest rung just above dead-last Jaguar. In addition to MyFord Touch, CR also attributes a handful of new products that have had issues right out of the gate.
Compiled from 1.2 million subscriber surveys, this year's auto reliability survey heavily favors Japanese automakers, with eight of the 10 spots hailing from Japan. Toyota brands grabbed the top three spots (Scion, Toyota and Lexus - in that order) with Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura filling the next four spots. The only non-Asian automaker cracking the top 10 was Audi at number eight.
Audi climbed a total of 18 spots from last year, and Cadillac and GMC round out this year's top gainers breaking into the top 15. Helping Cadillac's upward movement, the CTS Coupe was named the most reliable domestic car. Lincoln, Volvo and Chrysler join Ford on this year's biggest loser list.