Toyota’s environmental hero car is being investigated for reported brake problems, fuelling rumours it could be recalled.

The Toyota Prius hybrid car could be headed to an embarrassing recall, topping off a horror fortnight for Toyota that's seen its reputation for reliability and quality battered by an unrelated recall of millions of vehicles around the world.

Rumours are circulating that Toyota's environmental hero car and the world's most popular hybrid could be headed for a recall due to reported problems of braking issues.

Toyota's Japanese headquarters is expected to elaborate on the Prius brake problems in a press release at 3.30pm Japanese time today.

The Prius uses an advanced regenerative braking system, which can capture some of the energy normally lost in heat and store it in a battery for later use by the electric motor.

Advanced electronics effectively reverse the electric motor to provide resistance and slow the car. The Prius also has regular brakes for emergency stop situations.

This Traffic Police Officer is actually hiding on the side of the bridge pillar, standby to pursuit with his bike to catch victim that using Mobile Phone while driving. Hopefully all Malaysian are smart enough to know the risk by not talking on the phone while driving.

Use a handsfree ear-piece at least...

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It’s exclusive and expensive that cost €177,310 including VAT in Europe.  For now, Mercedes-Benz has begun hand producing the aluminium-bodied SLS AMG 'Gullwing' supercar in Germany, where only six or seven are expected to roll off the slow moving production line each day.

While computers and robots dominate 21st century vehicle production, Mercedes-Benz says hand building allows extra attention to detail and superior quality.

The revival of Mercedes-Benz’s most famous model – and one of the world’s most sought after collectibles – will be complete in March when European customers start taking deliveries.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG has sleek styling with retro tinges and is topped off by the gullwing-style doors that fold up. This model is powered by a 6.2-litre AMG V8 engine developing 420kW of power, making it the fastest Mercedes-Benz ever produced for the road.

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The latest in a series of recalls, which has now hit almost eight million Toyota cars worldwide, was again due to an accelerator problem and covered eight separate models and dates ranging back to February 2005.

Toyota said parts supplier CTS had begun making pedals based on a new design that resolved the problem and the two firms were testing a remedy.

Toyota's woes went into overdrive last week when it announced a recall of 2.3 million cars in the US due to safety fears related to accelerator pedals. It is also recalling almost 5.3 million US vehicles to replace floor mats that could trap accelerator pedals.

Toyota spokesman Etienne Plas said that ''at least 1.7 million'' of the cars already recalled outside Europe potentially suffered from both problems.

Taking that and the latest European recall into account, that left the total number of vehicles pulled worldwide at 7.7 million.

Toyota, which overtook General Motors in 2008 as the world's top-selling carmaker, has been bedevilled by safety issues that raised questions about whether it has sacrificed quality for quantity.

Honda announced a recall for 646,000 units of 2007 and 2008 Fit, City and Jazz models worldwide, after a fire hazard involving a power window switch resulted in a death in South Africa.

This recall confirmed for all Fit, Jazz and City cars made between 2002 and 2008 in Japan, China, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia and India.

Honda said extreme amounts of liquid, such as rain or melted snow, can flood the master power window switch on the driver's side, causing the vehicle to overheat. As a result of that, it caused seven vehicles to overheat and two to catch fire.

Honda said it will notify customers by mail with instructions on how to have their vehicles inspected and updated at an authorized Honda dealer.

The automaker said that current 2009 and 2010 models are not affected by the recall.

German tuning specialist, B&B launch of a series of performance package that includes powertain and chassis upgrades for VW Golf R.

The engine mods come in three different stages, with the first bumping output from 270HP to 310HP, the second to 324HP and the third to 362HP.

The most powerful kit features a larger turbocharger, a sports exhaust system with a different downpipe and a racing catalyst, reflashed ECU, a revised air intake system and a new intercooler.

B&B claims that the 362HP Golf R sprints from standstill to 100km/h in just 4.8 seconds and top speed of 280km/h.

The tuning firm also offers a special 8-caliper high-performance braking system, an adjustable coilover suspension with new springs that lower the vehicle's ride height and a set of black-colored alloy wheels in sizes 19'' or 20''.

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While Toyota to be affected by the faulty accelerator pedals made by Indiana-based supplier CTS Corp., it isn't the only one that faces this problem. So, don't dispose your Toyota first...

USA Today reported that Ford has halted production of Transit Classic van in China because it has a similar type of pedal assembly made by CTS as the ones blamed for Toyota's recall in the USA.

"When anybody has an issue in the industry, we check everything about the Ford system and production process," said Ford CEO Alan Mulally. "It's our assessment right now that this is very isolated."

It is also reported that Toyota has issued a new recall of 75,000 vehicles in China for the same matter apart from Europe and USA.

Toyota's recall wave continues to expand and strongly hit its standing as reliable cars. Other Auto-makers like GM and other Japanese Automaker are trying to take up some of Toyota’s market shares at this moment. With the total number of Toyota vehicles affected by two recalls involving gas pedals growing to at least 5.3 million vehicles.

In this few days, there are few incentives programme and low financing scheme are introduced for worried Toyota’s owner to swap their car. Moreover, there are dealers that put out a slogan by saying that ‘our gas pedal doesn’t stuck’ to draw some attention and sales revenue.

The latest addition to the recalls was announced Wednesday, with 1.1 million vehicles added to the 4.2 million recalled in November to fix a problem in which the gas pedal can become caught on the edge of the removable floor mat. That problem can cause the vehicle to accelerate uncontrollably.

A separate recall of 2.3 million vehicles announced last week involving accelerator pedals that can stick on their own. It was being expanded to include an undisclosed number of vehicles in Europe.

The vehicles being added to the floor mat-related recall are:-

• 2008-2010 Highlander
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Venza
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe (produced under a partnership between GM)

The vehicles originally included in the floor mat-related recall were:-

• 2007-2010 Toyota Camry
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2004-2009 Prius
• 2010 Tacoma
• 2007-2010 Tundra 
• 2007-2010 Lexus ES350
• 2006-2010 IS250 
• 2006-2010 IS350.

Most, but not all, of the vehicles involved in the stuck pedal recall are also involved in the other recall. They are:-

• 2009-2010 Toyota RAV4, Corolla, Matrix and Pontiac Vibe
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra 
• 2008-2010 Sequoia
• Some of the 2007-2010 Camry.

Toyota has been working with the pedal supplier and is close to having a new pedal design ready for approval by regulators, a Toyota spokesman said Thursday.

In the meantime, owners who experience sticking or slowness in the movement of their car's gas pedal should stop driving the car and call a Toyota dealer immediately.

The latest commercial for the new Mercedes SLS AMG, featuring MercedesGP Driver Michael Schumacher.

It was spied! So called 998 model of Porsche’s next generation 911 will be lighter, faster and sexier.

Due in 2011, the new Porsche 911 is expected to focus on lightweight materials in an effort to improve performance, reduce fuel use and improve agility and road holding.

In true 911 fashion the rear mounted six-cylinder engine – updated in 2009 to include more efficient direct injection fuel injection - will remain, and potentially with the usual tweaks to improve performance and efficiency.

Porsche’s engineers are believed to have been working hard on improving the performance of the 911, in particular focussing on weight reduction to boost efficiency.

Below are some of the exclusive new spy shots:-

Mazda has official release on its facelift on Mazda Atenza in Japanese Domestic Market. Atenza is known as JDM version of Mazda6. This round, 2011 Atenza refined with some styling changes, chassis tweaks and a new 2.0-liter DISI gasoline engine with direct injection.

Furthermore, Mazda also tweaked the Atenza's power steering and suspension settings improving the car's handling and straight-line stability at high speeds as well the ride quality.

Although there isn’t any official announcement regards on the facelift of Mazda6 for other market like Asia, US or Europe. But I am sure that we'll get a similar facelift on the Mazda6 pretty soon!

Check out the Photo Gallery on 2011 Mazda Atenza and its interior on the below.

Toyota has announced that it will halt sales of 8 models due to problem that could cause the vehicles' gas pedals to stick. Early this month, Toyota in USA is recalling 2.3 million vehicles to correct this problem.

This new recall is separate from an on-going recall of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to correct a problem in which the pedals could become stuck under a loose floormat that announced in late last year.
 
This new recall is to correct a situation in which the gas pedal could stick without the presence of a floor mat.

The following eight models are included:-

• 2009-2010 RAV4
• 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry models
• 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

"Our investigation indicates that there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position," Toyota USA group vice president Irv Miller said in a statement.

The situation is rare, according to Toyota, but can occur when accelerator pedal mechanisms become worn. The problem will usually develop gradually, Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said. The pedal may become harder to press and may become slower to return when released. In the worst cases, it may become stuck in a partially depressed position.

No Lexus or Scion sales have been halted. Manufacturing plants that build the eight models will be shut down for at least the week of February 1st.

We first saw the Golf R during last year's Frankfurt Motor Show when the automaker unveiled her to the public.

Recently, Volkswagen released some new photos of the car shot during the international driving presentation in Ellmau, Austria. As recap, VW Golf R comes with a 270HP 2.0-liter turbo engine and all-wheel drive and is the most powerful and fastest series production Golf ever made.

The hottest Golf takes 5.7 seconds from 0-100km/h when equipped with a manual gearbox, and 5.5 seconds with VW's DSG dual clutch transmission. In both cases top speed is limited to 250km/h.

Quick Specification:

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Volkswagen Passat CC is a stylish four-seater vehicle with a touch of coupe and sport saloon. But, the rear bench is separated by a cubby with a sliding plastic top which making the car unable to fit 5 passengers.

On now onwards, due to demand in European market that asked for another seat on the rear bench. VW decided to make the Passat CC to be five-seater vehicle by adding a headrest and a seatbelt and remove the cubby. The 3-seat rear bench system is available as an option for 100 euros.

It is not yet clear whether Volkswagen AG will offer such optional item for Passat CC customers in other part of the world. Anyway, we will look into it and keep you posted.

Photo of Original Passat CC rear bench:-

Lexus LFA is a two-seat Japanese exotic sports coupe with a price tag of USD375,000. Yes, I got to post this article as it really blows my mind, particularly - the price tag and the demand.

As refresh, Lexus LFA is more expensive than a Ferrari F430 and a little expensive than a Lamborghini Murciélago LP640. Lexus which is a luxury brand of Toyota claimed that they isn't making profit on LFA as the cost of the car is pretty high on the materials as well as 9 Years R&D.

Surprisingly, the demand of Lexus LFA exceeds its production target of 500 vehicles. For now, Lexus said it will have to hand pick who it sells each individual model to. After the registration process is completed, Lexus will decide on how to allocate the 500 units to the 56 countries where the LFA will be sold. 150 have been allocated to the United States.

Lexus LFA comes from a 4.8L V10 engine that makes 552-hp with a maximum torque of 354 lb-ft. Mated to a 6-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox, the LFA goes from 0-100 km/h time of just 3.7 sec with a top speed of 326 km/h. This super car is feature with a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) body.

As well as adopting the company's trademark of 'cars' smiley face grille up front on the new Mazda5. Like its predecessor, the new Mazda5 comes with sliding rear-doors and 7 seaters with third row seats

Among the engine options will be Mazda's newly-developed 2.0-litre four-cylinder gasoline engine with direct-injection and i-stop, linked to a six-speed manual transmission with gear ratios specific to this version. The gasoline line-up will also features a 1.8-liter engine with a six-speed manual transmission.

But I am sure, Bermaz (Mazda Distributor in Malaysia) will offer limited to automatic transmission for Malaysia market which make more sense for a MPV.

The all-new Mazda5 is scheduled to go on sale across Europe later this year with more details to be released at the upcoming Geneva motor show.

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Subaru withdrew last year from the WRC due to World Economic Climate. But this doesn't stop Prodrive from tweaking out another rally-prepped Impreza. Homologated to production-based Group N specifications, the Impreza N2010 packs a twin-scroll-turbocharged two-liter boxer four with competition-spec fuel injectors, catalyst and ECU for an extra 20 horsepower over stock and a wider torque band.

This car is fitted with an adjustable Ohlins suspension, with differentials front, center and rear, AP Racing brakes and reinforced with FIA-certified roll cage.

The result is what Prodrive claims is a more competitive package compared to a Super 2000-spec rally machine at about half the price. Potential buyer can pick one up from £120,000, or lease one for two years.

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Toyota FT-86 G Sports Concept is displayed at 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon. This G Sports version of the production FT-86 which this sports coupe will goes on sale in late 2011.

This G Sports model including a turbocharged version of the 2.0-liter boxer-four and a wide body aero kit which set apart from the standard FT-86.

WTS: NEW Honda Civic FD 'Mugen Style' Door Visor
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Honda officially introduced its all-new HSV-010 GT racing car. This car will compete in the GT500 class of 2010 Japanese Super GT series. The HSV-010 GT, which will replace of the racing variant of the NSX, is all that has been left from Honda's V10 powered supercar project that got canned at the end of 2008 due to the recession.

Instead of trashing the entire project development of the NSX replacement model, Honda decided to use the supercar as a base for its Super GT contender. Honda's engineers replaced the V10 powerplant with a naturally-aspirated 3.4-liter V8 engine that output more than 500-horsepower and over 392Nm of torque.

The entire HSV-010 GT racing car approximately 1,100 kg and features a double wishbone suspension all around, steering-wheel mounted paddle shifters for the transmission and a rack and pinion system with electric power steering.

Specification:

Honda HSV-010 GT Spec Sheet

Note: The letters "HSV" stand for Honda Sports Velocity.

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HONDA HSV-010 (Honda Sports Velocity 10) GT to be the successor of Honda NSX GT are on track test at Suzuka Circuit, Japan