Toyota Expands Tests to All Its SUV Models
Toyota Motor Corp. said it would expand safety testing to all of its sport-utility vehicles, after suspending U.S. sales of its Lexus GX 460 amid rollover concerns, The Wall Street Journal reported. The car maker also decided to suspend sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 in other countries where the luxury vehicle is sold and will halt production of the SUV for nine days beginning April 16 to prevent inventory levels from building up. Toyota drew praise from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for taking "the proactive step" of offering owners of the luxury SUV a borrowed car until the problem is fixed. "That is the kind of response we hope every automaker would take," NHSTA administrator David Strickland said at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress meeting in Detroit. Strickland said his staffers have noted that Toyota "has definitely been more responsive" since January, when he took over leadership at the federal safety agency. Toyota will conduct tests on its Rav4, Highlander, 4 Runner, Sequoia, Land Cruiser and FJ cruiser models, as well as the Lexus LX and the Lexus RX. None of those models has shown rollover risk. NHTSA Thursday said it will conduct its own tests on the Lexus GX 460. Strickland said Consumer Reports had given the agency a preliminary report before its public announcement Tuesday that the vehicle would get a rare "don't buy" rating slapped on it.
More Industry

Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →
EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge
North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.
Read More →