Toyota's U.S. Production Returns to 100%

Toyota confirmed that production at its North American plants has returned to normal this week. The news comes after nearly five months of slowed production due to limited supplies from the automaker’s Japanese part suppliers. Toyota’s 13 North American plants make the company’s best-sellers in the U.S., including the Camry, RAV4, Corolla, Highlander and Sienna. In all, nearly 70% of the cars Toyota sells in the U.S. are made in North America.

The recovery is ahead of schedule; Toyota originally stated that it didn’t expect to get everything up and running again until November or December at the latest.

The company will now focus on replenishing dealer inventories with overtime and Saturday shifts at some plants. Toyota expects there to be a 15% increase in its supply in the last three months of 2011.

The company also says that construction work on its 14th North American assembly plant, a Corolla factory in Mississippi, is almost complete. Production will begin there in October, employing 2,000 workers. 

Toyota Rebounds Past its Recall Woes

A year ago, amidst the backdrop of recalls, stop sales and sensational headlines, the Toyota brand reported a sales decline of 10.3%. That’s worse than the company’s overall performance, which also includes Scion and Lexus sales.

This year, the opposite is true. Toyota has bounced back with a 48.5% sales gain while Lexus dragged down the company’s performance to a 41.8% gain. We detailed some of Lexus’ problems earlier today.

But what fueled Toyota’s sales?

2011 Toyota Highlander, VW Jetta Receive NHTSA’s Four-Star Safety Rating

The 2011 Toyota Highlander, Toyota Venza and Volkswagen Jetta received an overall rating of four stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new crash-test rating system, the safety agency announced yesterday.

The overall composite score for the Jetta and Highlander are the same: four-star frontal, four-star rollover and a five-star rating for the combined side pole and barrier tests. The side barrier test is an area where other vehicles have shown weakness with the safety agency’s new testing format. The side pole test simulates a 20-mph side-impact crash into a 10-inch-diameter pole or tree at a 75-degree angle just behind the driver’s side A-pillar.

How Good Are Toyotathon's Deals?

After checking out multiple dealership regions, Toyotathon is a good opportunity overall if you’re looking for a 2011 model year vehicle or if you’re trying to lease.

The recently redesigned 2011 Highlander already has a $500 cash-back deal and an attractive lease rate of $319 per month. In fact, all of Toyota’s lease rates – the automaker has traditionally leaned harder on this option – are excellent.

All the lease deals ask for less than $2,000 due at signing, so you’d pay a lot less upfront compared with some competitors, especially for Toyota’s pickup, minivan and crossovers. In some regions, such as Southern California, there’s a “$0 Down Payment, $0 Security Deposit, $0 Due at Signing, $0 1st Month's Payment” regional deal for folks who lease.

If you’re financing, most models offer 0% to 2.9% for 60 months.

With nearly 60% of Toyota’s inventory now 2011 model years, most remaining 2010s have lost their incentives. The outgoing 2010 Corolla gets $1,000 to $1,250 cash back on it; remember that the model was refreshed for the 2011 model year. The redesigned 2011 Avalon and Sienna both have $1,000 cash-back deals, too.

Most of the deals below expire Jan. 3.

Toyota Announces October Incentives

Throughout the summer Toyota offered fairly generous incentives on its vehicles to compensate for its flagging sales, which were caused by a deluge of safety recalls.

For October Toyota’s incentives are fine-tuned to get rid of its remaining 2010-model-year inventory and other slow-moving vehicles. These incentives are good through Nov. 1, but it’s important to note that some regions and dealer groups have opted out of the incentive programs, changed the terms or shifted incentive money from one model to another that’s weak in their specific region.

For instance, the Los Angeles region has an incentive on some models of no down payment, no security deposit, no money due at signing and no first month’s payment deal. The Chicago area has a $1,000 cash-back offer for recent college grads when they buy or lease select Toyotas as well as special lease rates.

To find detailed incentives, go to buyatoyota.com for the current offers in your area.

Below you’ll find a list of incentives on current Toyota vehicles.

2011 Ford Edge to Get 27 MPG on Highway

As the redesigned 2011 Ford Edge approaches its sales launch later this summer, Ford’s PR operation is gearing up. Today, Ford delivered three separate releases regarding the crossover’s EPA rating and a little more information about the Edge’s upmarket 3.7-liter V-6. 

The base SEL and Limited models achieve an EPA rating of 19/27 mpg city/highway with a 285-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 and front-wheel drive. The automaker has yet to release fuel economy numbers for the all-wheel-drive Edge. 

The new rating compares well against the 2010 Edge’s 18/25 mpg. The Edge’s closest V-6 competitors — the 2010 Toyota Venza (19/26 mpg) and 2010 Nissan Murano (18/23 mpg) — get similar gas mileage in the city, but the Edge has an advantage on the highway. 

In another press release, Ford unveiled that the 3.7-liter, 305-hp V-6, which is standard on the Ford Edge Sport (above), achieves an EPA rating of 18/25 mpg. Neither the Murano nor the Venza has a similarly powerful option. The Venza does go in the other direction and offers a four-cylinder option that gets 21/29 mpg. The Edge will get a 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder a few months after the official launch and will likely achieve 30 mpg on the highway. 

The Edge goes on sale in August.

2011|Ford|Edge

Five Midsize SUVs Earn Top Safety Picks

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested 12 new midsize SUVs with its new rollover crush strength requirement, and only six passed.

Of the six, five earned the Top Safety Pick award, which means they received the top score of Good in front, side, rear and roof crash tests and are equipped with stability control.

Although the Jeep Liberty and its Dodge Nitro twin had the best results for roof strength at five times the weight of the vehicle, they rated Acceptable and Marginal in rear and side crash tests, respectively.

The five new Top Safety Picks are:

Toyota Getting Heat for Delayed Venza Recall

Further adding to its troubles, Toyota is now under fire because it appears that it delayed its recall of the Venza in the U.S. for six weeks after discovering a defect.

Toyota recalled the Venza in Canada on Dec. 16, 2009, because the vehicle’s all-weather floormats could trap the accelerator pedal and cause unintended acceleration. It did not issue a recall for the same vehicle in the U.S. until Jan. 27, 2010, at first saying the floormats were different and posed no risk to vehicle occupants. A major recall for the same problem in various other Toyota models was issued in October 2009.

The reversal has caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has already issued the maximum fine possible to Toyota for $16.4 million. The fine covers the entire 2.3 million-vehicle recall for sudden acceleration. By law, automakers have five business days to notify the government if they find a defect.

As NHTSA noted, Toyota is getting off very lightly. Automakers can be fined $6,000 for each safety violation with every vehicle counting as a violation, but the total is capped at $16.4 million. Without a cap, Toyota could be liable for as much as $13.8 billion in fines.

Toyota Delayed Venza Recall in U.S. for Six Weeks, Records Show (Los Angeles Times)

Toyota Testing More SUVs

In the wake of Consumer Reports’ recent “Don’t Buy” finding on the Lexus GX SUV, Toyota is now re-examining and retesting all of its SUVs. The company announced that it would conduct tests similar to the one that Consumer Reports did, which found a flaw in the time it took the GX’s stability control system to engage during hard cornering.

As we reported earlier, Toyota’s own tests are slightly different in terms of speed and angle. The company is not recalling or stopping the sale of any of its other SUVs at this point. Also, Consumer Reports and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have tested the company’s more mainstream offerings in the past, like the RAV4. We list all of the company’s SUVs and NHTSA rollover ratings below.

Toyota Conducting Safety Tests on All SUV Models (USA Today)

Toyota Attempts to Bolster Sales With New Incentives

In the wake of its well-publicized recalls and subsequent sales drop, Toyota has rolled out new incentives for March.

The most notable offer is 0% APR financing for up to 60 months on the 2010 Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, RAV4, Tundra and Yaris. Not coincidentally, most of these vehicles were the ones wrapped up in the sudden acceleration recall.

The automaker will also offer low lease rates on all of the same models. Rather than the Yaris, though, these new lease rates will extend to the Prius and Venza. Offers will vary by region, but examples given by Toyota include a Corolla lease for $179 a month and a Camry lease for $199 a month.

Finally, Toyota will extend a complimentary two-year premium maintenance program to any customer who buys or leases a new vehicle and provides proof of already owning a Toyota, Lexus or Scion.

The program will run through April 5 and be accompanied by a national marketing campaign.