Toyota pedal recall batters reputation

In the past 24 hours, the storm swirling around Toyota has intensified, battering its prized reputation for quality. The latest moves: -- Toyota added another 1.1 million vehicles to those recalled to modify accelerator pedals that may get stuck under the edge of the floor mat. Toyota has now recalled a total of 4.3 million vehicles for this issue.

Honda planning new Civic Type-R, Compact SUV, Hydrogen & more for 2015

Honda boss, Takanobu Ito, has revealed plans for a new Civic Type-R, new compact SUV, new hydrogen car and more by 2015. Could it be that Honda are starting to come out of the beige doldrums? Although there’s little doubt that Honda makes a very good car, it’s seemed to have been very cautious and chosen follow more than lead in recent years.

It looks like Aston Martin could be getting AMG/Mercedes platforms too

Mercedes/AMG platforms would make the Lagonda SUV a reality We’d been expecting Aston Martin to get access to Mercedes platforms ever since the Lagonda SUV – based on the underpinnings of the Mercedes GL - arrived in all its ‘beauty’ in 2009. The Lagonda SUV was met with wails of anguish from lovers of Aston Martin’s timeless beauty but, despite the horror at the looks of the SUV, the prospect that Aston Martin could be heading down a collaboration route with Mercedes was welcome. It was welcome because without the support of a major car maker – and access to its technology – Aston Martin would have little chance of a bright future; there is no way a minnow like Aston Martin could afford the development cost of new engines and platforms.