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An Irondale man was taken into custody Wednesday on a federal indictment accusing him of detonating an explosive device outside the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert, 26, is charged with malicious use of an explosive and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Charging documents against him say he also placed stickers on state buildings at the same time of the bombing depicting different graphics advocating for various political ideologies. Some included the phrase “Support your local antifa.” Antifa, short for Anti-Fascist, does not describe a particular group, but rather describes individuals who adhere to what they consider...

Battery electric vehicles like Teslas are fast, sleek, jewelrylike cars that capture the imagination. Hybrid cars, at least in the U.S., often bring to mind the Toyota Prius, long seen as a dawdling, egg-shaped vehicle for shuttling back and forth to Trader Joe's. But quietly amid all the BEV hype, automakers' hybrid fleets took broad strides forward. Car buyers flinched at the challenges of EV ownership. And sales of hybrid cars, led by Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC), ramped up to outpace those of the flashier electric vehicles. Now carmakers are in overdrive to respond as analysts take...

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The latest dependability study results from J.D. Power make for grim reading if you’re in the market for a new car. The longer-term reliability of two thirds of all brands has decreased, and industry-wide, drivers are experiencing 190 problems per 100 vehicles. That’s 4 more problems per 100 vehicles than the study found 12 months ago. Worse still, the rate at which problems present themselves has increased. A year ago, 12 percent of people experienced an issue in the first 90 days to three years of ownership. Now, the rate is up to 17 percent. It should be noted here...

Toyota Motor (7203.T), opens new tab said on Monday it is urging the owners of 50,000 older U.S. vehicles to get immediate recall repairs because an air bag inflator could explode and potentially kill motorists. The Japanese automaker said the "Do Not Drive" advisory covers some 2003-2004 model year Corolla, 2003-2004 Corolla Matrix, and 2004-2005 RAV4s with Takata air bag inflators. More than 30 deaths worldwide, including 26 U.S. deaths, and hundreds of injuries in various automakers' vehicles since 2009 are linked to Takata air bag inflators that can explode, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks. Over the last...

Most people are already aware that electric vehicles (EVs) cost more to buy, have a more limited range, are expensive to repair, and that charging stations in rural areas are few and far between. This winter we learned that many EVs are incapacitated by cold weather. Now that the EVs have been on the road awhile owners are having pay $1,500 to replace all the tires after about 8,000-10,000 miles of driving. Not only is this more expensive than for gasoline-powered cars whose tires typically last four times as long. It is also highly polluting. Breathing in the four-times as...

A hydrogen combustion engine would be ideal for a Toyota GR branded sports car, if only drivers could fill up Toyota remains adamant that a variety of emissions-reducing technologies will be important for the automotive industry. One, in particular, will be helpful for people who like to drive fast: hydrogen combustion engines. The automaker believes that the technology could help keep internal combustion engine sports cars alive in an electric world. In fact, Masahito Watanabe, the head of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division, says that complete electrification is not a priority for the sub-brand at this time. “We still think the...

Carmaker Toyota on Wednesday announced a safety recall covering more than 1.8 million RAV4 vehicles in the U.S. due to a potential fire risk. The recall involves some 2013 to 2018 model year RAV4s. According to Toyota, some replacement 12-volt batteries of the size specified for the affected vehicles have different dimensions than others. “If a small-top battery is used for replacement and the hold-down clamp is not tightened correctly, the battery could move when the vehicle is driven with forceful turns,” according to Toyota. “The movement could cause the positive battery terminal to contact the hold-down clamp and short...

The FT-Se concept’s interior shows a "steering apparatus" that may play into the same steer-by-wire EV system as the Lexus RZ. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toyota has been slow in adopting EVs; the bZ4X is the only current model. But the Japanese brand has big plans for EV battery tech, and Toyota may be poised to become a dominant player in the EV space. What will that future look like? Toyota is previewing it with two new concepts at the Japan Mobility Show. There's no electric pickup yet. But one of the two concepts definitely looks like an electric Supra. Meet the Toyota...

Virtually alone among major auto manufacturers, Toyota has been a skeptic about the conversion of vehicle fleets to battery-powered electric vehicles. For people incapable of thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead, EVs are “zero emission” and therefore “save the planet” from CO2 (presumed to control the earth’s temperature despite no statistical correlation). But this leaves out the environmental and CO2 cost of generating and transmitting electricity (mostly by burning coal in the US and many other countries), manufacturing (and recycling) the enormous batteries, and the energy and wear and tear cost of the much-heavier cars that result. Energy losses due...

While electric vehicles may seem to be all the rage in the automotive space, Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda is pumping the brakes on the idea of an all-in approach. "People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority," Toyoda told reporters during a trip to Thailand, according to the Wall Street Journal. "That silent majority is wondering whether EVs are really OK to have as a single option. But they think it's the trend so they can't speak out loudly." "Because the right answer is still unclear, we shouldn't limit ourselves to just one option," he...

Hydrogen has long been touted as the solution to cleaning up road transport. When used in fuel cells, the only emissions from its use are water, and it eliminates the slow recharging problem of battery-electric vehicles. It’s also been put forth as a replacement for everything from natural gas supplies to laptop batteries. Toyota has been pushing hard for hydrogen technology, and has worked to develop vehicles and infrastructure to this end. The company’s latest efforts involve a toteable hydrogen cartridge – letting you take hydrogen power on the go! For all its benefits, hydrogen is a bit of a...

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's (7203.T) political action committee will halt donations to U.S. members of Congress who voted against President Joe Biden's election certification in January, the company said on Thursday. The largest Japanese automaker has faced harsh criticism for donations to some lawmakers - members of then-President Donald Trump's Republican Party - who voted against certification of Biden's win in some U.S. states. "We are actively listening to our stakeholders and, at this time, have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election,"...

The booming sound you may be hearing right now -- especially if you live in San Francisco or Washington, D.C -- could be resulting from liberal heads exploding as they read about what Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said during a conference this month. Electric vehicles will only ever make up 30 percent of the market or less, he argued, and politicians should get out of the way and let the markets decide which cars are preferable to consumers.Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Al Gore have not commented.Toyoda's opinion doesn't mean that he's completely given up on cleaner energy, though; he...

Electric vehicles will never dominate the market, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda has said, in the latest sign that car companies are backing away from the troubled technology. The Telegraph has more. Battery-powered electric vehicles will only ever capture 30% of global market share, the Chairman of Toyota has predicted, raising concerns about consumers’ willingness to align with Net Zero goals. Akio Toyoda said that traditional fuel-burning cars, as well as hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would make up the rest of the market. The grandson of the founder of the world’s largest car manufacturer said shifting towards electric vehicles...

It turns out the $10,000 pickup truck is actually too good to be true. But only by a little bit. The production version of the Toyota IMV 0 concept, now known as the Hilux Champ in Thailand, starts at 459,000 Thai Baht, or just over $13,000 at the current exchange rate. On the one hand, that’s 30 percent higher than the price we heard from Toyota engineers during a brief test drive in Japan. On the other hand, it’s a brand new truck with a full bed capable of hauling 2,200 pounds that’s almost as cheap as a 22-year-old Ford...

The battle between electric vehicles and hybrids has taken a new turn reportedly, with Elon Musk of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) advocating for an electric future, while Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) revives its focus on hybrids. Musk, aiming to surpass Toyota as the top automaker by 2030, faces a challenge as U.S. EV sales growth slows and hybrids gain new popularity, according to a news report by The Wall Street Journal. This shift has been attributed to the recent success of Toyota and Lexus in the hybrid market. "The buzz of electrification in the industry has somewhat mainstreamed hybrids," David Christ,...

(Gray News) – Toyota is unveiling a new affordable truck model that was recently introduced at the Japan Mobility Show 2023. The IMV series first launched in Thailand in 2004 and is available in more than 180 countries and regions around the world, according to the automaker. “In Thailand, the IMV series is regarded as a local favorite, integral to daily life,” the company stated in a press release. Toyota said its engineers developed the Hilux Champ truck model with customer lifestyles and needs in mind. Nearly a dozen customized models were shown at the launch in Thailand that portrayed...

Roseville, Calif.- It’s no secret that sedan sales are sliding in the wrong direction. So, why did Toyota get rid of the Avalon sedan and quickly replace it with another sedan? For the record, the Japanese automaker says the 2023 Toyota Crown is not a replacement for the Avalon, which debuted nearly 30 years ago. Discontinued after its 2022 version, the Avalon was a roomy, premium sedan that never quite found a niche. It’s easy to figure out why Toyota shelved the Avalon – lack of sales. It hit rock bottom last year with all-time low of 12,215. And the...

If you like the Prius's new face, you'll probably dig the Camry's, and the interior also receives a comprehensive update. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 2025 Toyota Camry marks the mid-size sedan's ninth generation. For the first time, the Camry will be offered only in hybrid guise. A revamped cabin borrows much of its new look from the Crown sedan. While SUVs dominate the automotive landscape like some sort of fender-cladded solar eclipse, mid-size sedans soldier on as family-friendly alternatives that are a little more down to earth (literally). The Hyundai Sonata has been given a recent refresh, and Honda released a new...