Brain...Jammed Vandals Destroy Seven New Toyota Models at 2011 Chicago Auto Show

Auto shows seem to have become risky business for car manufacturers. After the BMW 750i that was stolen at the Detroit motor show earlier this year, now more disturbing news comes from the Chicago Auto Show, where the Toyota booth attracted unwanted attention.

According to local newspapers, seven new Toyota models had their interiors vandalized by three young men, aged 20, 21 and 28. We don't know what really caused this deviant behavior, but one report attributes it to the fact that the three vandals were allegedly angry "about American jobs going overseas".

And it seems they wanted the Japanese cars to suffer badly, judging from the tools they used - screwdrivers and razor knives. The three young men were arrested on Wednesday evening before the show's closing time when guards noticed them acting suspiciously around a Toyota Camry. The mess they made inside the seven cars is substantial: dashboards were left smashed and ripped, seat upholstery sliced, windshields scratched, speakers cut open and turn indicators broken.

According to the police, the damage to the cars is estimated at $30,000. Interestingly, they had no preference for a particular model, vandalizing a Camry, a RAV4, a Land Cruiser, a Prius, two Tundras and one Lexus ES350. Funny thing, no accelerator pedal or floor mat were damaged...

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Brain...Jammed Vandals Destroy Seven New Toyota Models at 2011 Chicago Auto Show

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Fatal Accident Prompts Toyota and Lexus to Warn Drivers to Remove Floormat Due to Risk of Accelerator Getting Stuck

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Toyota have eleased an official announcement to warn drivers of seven Toyota and Lexus models that there's a possibility that the accelerator pedal may get stuck in the full open position due to an "unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat." Even though it may not sound serious at first, Reuters reported that the U.S. government said it has received reports of 100 incidents related to this problem including 17 crashes and 5 fatalities involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

In one of these accidents, it was reported that an off-duty California state trooper and three members of his family were killed in a 2009 Lexus ES350 crash in San Diego. Reuters said that before the crash, a passenger of the ES350 has called the police to inform them that the accelerator was jammed and the car had reached 120mph (193km/h) at that time.

Although the San Diego incident is still under investigation, meaning that it is not yet confirmed that the floormat is to blame, Toyota said that it wanted to take precautionary measures on the matter.

"Obviously the tragic accident in San Diego was certainly an eye opener for all of us and we've paid very, very diligent attention to moving forward to try to make sure none of us will be reliving that kind of a very tragic situation," said Toyota spokesman Irv Miller.

Overall, Toyota is planning to issue a safety recall on around 3.8 million vehicles due to the issue with the driver's floor mat.

The affected Toyota models are the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2007-2010 Tundra.

The Lexus modes affected by the recall are the 2007-2010 ES 350 and 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350 sedans.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time that Toyota has faced a problem with the driver's floormat as in September 2007, the firm recalled an accessory all-weather floor mat sold for use in 2007 and 2008MY Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry sedans because of similar issues.
The Japanese company said that until it "develops a remedy", it is asking the owners of the above models to "take out any removable driver's floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat."
In the case that drivers are confronted with a jammed accelerator pedal, here's what Toyota recommends that they do:


From Toyota and Lexus Press Release: Should the vehicle continue to accelerate rapidly after releasing the accelerator pedal, this could be an indication of floor mat interference. If this occurs, Toyota recommends the driver take the following actions:

First, if it is possible and safe to do so, pull back the floor mat and dislodge it from the accelerator pedal; then pull over and stop the vehicle.

If the floor mat cannot be dislodged, then firmly and steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet. Do NOT pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the effort required to slow the vehicle.

Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.

If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF, or to ACC. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

-If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.

-If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

Via: Toyota & Lexus, NHTSA and Reuters

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2010 Lexus ES350 Facelift with Mild Cosmetic Revisions and Interior Enhancements Officially Revealed

Apparently it's that time of the year for Lexus. Only days after the unveiling of the gently facelifted LS and GS model series in Frankfurt, the Japanese luxury firm rolled out the North American market 2010 ES350 sedan. For the new model year, the ES350, which is nothing more than a tarted-up Toyota Camry, receives some minor cosmetic tweaks in the form of a more prominent grille with additional chrome surroundings, reworked headlamps and tail lights, a new front bumper with revised lower intake and integrated fog lamps and chrome body side moldings.

The newly designed 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels with a split five-spoke design and four new exterior colors (Truffle Mica, Peridot Mica, Satin Cashmere Metallic and Cerulean Blue Metallic) complete the exterior updates.

Inside, the ES350 facelift gets new steering wheel controls, updated trim choices and driver's seat memory while the revised center console now offers more storage volume than before. Other changes include the rear coat hooks and an Eco Drive indicator that are now standard across the range while all models come equipped with a total of 10 standard airbags thanks to the addition of new rear seat-mounted side airbags.

Finally, Lexus updated the audio packages and added a new hard disc drive (HDD) navigation system to the ES350's optional equipment list.

There are no changes under the hood as the ES 350 continues to be offered with an aluminum 3.5-liter V6 producing 272 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 254 lb.-ft. peak torque at 4,700 rpm. Power is transfered to the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission

The revised 2010 ES 350 sedan will arrive at U.S. dealerships later this month priced from $35,675 (including delivery, processing and handling fee) which represents an increase of $330 or 0.9 percent over the 2009MY.

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Subtly Facelifted 2010 Lexus ES350 Scooped in Dealership

Based on these photos that were taken in dealer showroom (located in Taiwan, according to some readers) and published by our friends over at WFC, Lexus has updated the Asian market ES350 for the 2010 model year. The cosmetic changes are extremely subtle as they are limited to a more prominent front grille with additional chrome trim, a redesigned front bumper with a single opening and new fog lights along with a new design for the tail lamp crystals and the addition of turning signals on the exterior mirrors.


While Lexus has not announced any plans to revamp the North American market ES350, it wouldn't surprise us at all if the Japanese firm introduced a 2010MY with the same exact changes as the Asian market model before the end of the year.


Via: Worldcarfans


2010MY Lexus ES350



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2009MY Lexus ES350 - North American Model

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The first photos of the updated Lexus ES

On Tuesday the network has published the first edition Worldcarfans spy photos of the updated sedan Lexus ES 350. The photos were made in Japan with one of the dealerships mark.

Judging by the photos, the car was a different front bumper, new grille and other rear-view mirrors with LED repeaters povorotnikov. In the rear of the car only slightly changed lights. Will the upgraded interior Lexus ES, but also whether the improved technical filling sedan, at the moment it is not known. Note that this ES is built on the platform of the American version of Toyota Camry and offered to the 272-strong six-engine volume 3.5 liters.


Sedan Lexus ES 350 comes only in North America, South Korea, Taiwan, Middle East and China (with the exception of cities Hong Kong and Macau). In Japan and in other markets which drive on the left of this car is not for sale.

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The first photos of the updated Lexus ES

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The first photos of the updated Lexus ES

On Tuesday the network has published the first edition Worldcarfans spy photos of the updated sedan Lexus ES 350. The photos were made in Japan with one of the dealerships mark.

Judging by the photos, the car was a different front bumper, new grille and other rear-view mirrors with LED repeaters povorotnikov. In the rear of the car only slightly changed lights. Will the upgraded interior Lexus ES, but also whether the improved technical filling sedan, at the moment it is not known. Note that this ES is built on the platform of the American version of Toyota Camry and offered to the 272-strong six-engine volume 3.5 liters.


Sedan Lexus ES 350 comes only in North America, South Korea, Taiwan, Middle East and China (with the exception of cities Hong Kong and Macau). In Japan and in other markets which drive on the left of this car is not for sale.

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The first photos of the updated Lexus ES

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