Video: Vaughn Gittin Jr. drifts in Saudi Arabia

Ford recently said it was pouring more marketing money into sponsorship of "action" sports. Now comes video of drift racer Vaughn Gittin Jr., a Ford driver, sliding his Mustang around the Al Reem race circuit in Saudi Arabia. "Thanks to the kindness of the entire Al Reem circuit team, they let me get crazy throughout the entire motorsports complex," Gittin wrote on the YouTube post of the video.

Toyota recalls Corolla, Lexus IS models

On Wednesday, Toyota said it is recalling 752,000 Corolla and Corolla Matrix vehicles from the 2003 and 2004 model years, and about 270,000 Lexus IS vehicles built between 2006 and 2012. The Corolla and Corolla Matrix may be susceptible to an electrical short that could cause the frontal airbag and front seatbelt pre-tensioners to inadvertently deploy, according to Toyota. The Lexus IS faces a problem with windshield wipers that are not sufficiently secured and may not operate properly when weighted down by heavy snow.

Toyota's global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi appointed president of Lexus

Toyota's global design chief Tokuo Fukuichi will be the first designer to sit on the company's board of directors when his appointment comes into effect on 1 April. Fukuichi will retain his position as global head of design for the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands and will join the board after the general shareholders' meeting. His influence on Toyota's design direction over the last few years has been noticeable, particularly with Lexus, as the company strives to make its traditionally very conservative products a little more exciting.