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Toyota to sell hot-pink Crown in Japan

Akio Toyoda is doing a pretty decent job at the helm of the Toyota empire. This is the man, after all, that declared that Toyota would get new sports cars, and that they needed to be, not should be, rear-wheel drive. We can respect that. Toyoda is also trying to do away with his company's conservative styling and bring edgier vehicles to market.
Toyota's designers have done just that, although perhaps they went a bit too far. In November, Toyota debuted its fourteenth-generation Crown with a bling-bling fascia that makes Lexus' spindle grille look as conservative as a three-piece suit, and a retina-searing pink paintjob. See, in Japan, the Crown is to Japan's older crowd what the 2002 Buick Park Avenue is to America's senior citizens. As Automotive News reports, the idea with the pink was to draw attention to the grille, but it was originally intended as a debut item, only.
Now, Toyota is actually planning to offer the electric fuchsia Crown for sale to regular buyers. Interested parties will have from September 1st to September 30th to place an order for the big sedan. According to the AN report, Toyoda said to reporters at the debut, "My initial reaction was: 'You're kidding! Please, not pink." We wish they were kidding.

119K Toyota Avalon sedans recalled over airbag woes

Toyota has issued a voluntary safety recall for 119,000 2003-2004 Avalon models because in some cases the airbags could inadvertently deploy.
The automaker says that circuits within the airbag control module could be damaged by electrical noise, which could cause the front airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners to activate. Dealers are going to repair cars by adding an electrical noise filter to the module. Owners will be notified by first class mail.
Toyota Public Affairs Manager Cindy Knight told Autoblog that there was one reported injury caused by the sudden deployment, but there have been no accidents or crashes. The company is currently preparing the parts for dealers now, and the component takes 90 minutes to two hours to install. "We don't believe there are any other affected models," said Knight.

Subaru Viziv 2 presages Tribeca replacement with diesel hybrid tech

Subaru is in the middle of a new product bonanza. It has recent replacements for the Impreza and Forester at dealers, and soon we're getting the WRX, Legacy and if rumors are right the new Outback as well. Now, there are rumblings that there could be two more models from the Japanese brand on the way with styling inspired by the Viziv 2 concept from the Geneva Motor Show.
According to a company insider speaking with Motor Trend, the crossover concept shows the way for the brand's future design language. The shape would be used on a smaller CUV that is still being kept quite secret, and a second, larger one that would replace the recently axed Tribeca. The bigger model is the first priority and is planned as a new technology showcase.
It's rumored to use a turbodiesel, four-cylinder boxer engine that would be boosted with one electric motor on the front axle and two at the rear, with a plug-in hybrid system sourced from Toyota. It should provide a great mix of torque and fuel economy. A smaller flat-six engine would be a second powertrain option. Though the Viziv 2 concept only seats four, the production version would probably offer three rows.