Well here’s a partnership we could have seen coming. Tesla and Toyota have been respective leaders in electric cars and hybrids, and Tesla has mentioned its intention of working with other automakers in addition to building its own vehicles. Plus, they’re both T’s and who doesn’t love a good pair of T’s?

It’s hard to take anything the Governator says too seriously, but he’s the source of the San Francisco Gate’s article citing the new partnership, which will result in California-built electric cars. It’s supposed to be announced later this afternoon, so we’ll surely have more details then. Until then, you’ll have to daydream about what the T-T partnership will offer. [via SF Gate]

Wow, it looks like that ongoing investigation about Toyota’s past negligence in reporting safety issues has finally struck a chord. After receiving just 12 complaints (or so it’s saying), Toyota has snapped into action and announced an upcoming recall on affected models. The report originated in Wall Street Journal early this morning.

The recall, which has to do with faulty electronic steering, will affect 4,500 LS460, LS460L, LS600h and LS600hL sedans in Japan. Another 7,000 in other markets around the globe, including about 3,800 in the U.S., may also be affected by the issue. No word yet on the timing of the recall. [WSJ via LeftLaneNews]

If you watch TV regularly, you’ve probably noticed the new direction Toyota has taken in minivan advertising. While the company won’t deny that people buy a minivan to cart their kids around, they show that you don’t have to be the Cleavers to drive one. The new series of commercials features a young, funny couple that cruise around in their “Swagger Wagon” (a.k.a. Toyota Sienna). The commercials are pretty funny as far as commercials go, and definitely have a little fun with the minivan stereotype. And the guy just reminds me a lot of Tobias from Arrested Development, so that makes it even better.

Well, Toyota has taken the next step with their latest in the commercial series. Featuring a full-fledged, minivan rap video, the commercial takes the minivan to new heights. It’s gone viral, so if you haven’t seen it, it’s time.

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If the average person had to wager a guess as to Toyota’s profits in the fiscal year that ended in March, he would probably bet that Toyota was swimming in a deep, deep sea of red. He’d also be quite wrong.

The company posted a profit of around $2.25 billion for that fiscal year, beating the hell out of the previous year, in which it posted a significant loss. That profit came during a time when the company was involved in recalls of over 9 million vehicles and government investigations thereof. The company’s performance was particularly strong in the first three months of the year, which accounted for $1.2 billion of the profit.

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So this is what Secretary LaHood means by “we will continue our review of documents presented to us.” According to the Associated Press, there’s another big red flag in the documents that the NHTSA has been reviewing in connection with Toyota’s recalls. The new issue in question is whether Toyota delayed a 2005 recall on faulty steering rods in the U.S.  The AP is reporting that Toyota waited for nearly a year after issuing the recall in Japan, even though it had received at least 52 complaints in the States. That’s a wee bit longer than the five days that an automaker has to contact the NHTSA once it realizes there’s a safety defect.

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The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration already tagged Toyota with a $16.4 million fine last month–the largest allowed by U.S. law– for its negligence in reporting details of its unintended acceleration problems affecting millions of its vehicles. According to a new report in BusinessWeek, the NHTSA may not be done yet.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that the department is still reviewing Toyota’s documents and may issue more fines.

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As the world waits to see the final incarnation of the great Subaru/Toyota partnership (i.e. FT-86), all we can do is speculate and gossip. Today, speculation has turned to an entirely new breed of FT-86: a sub-$20K sports coupe featuring the 109-hp 1.5-liter four-cylinder 3SZ-VE engine from the Scion xB. A Road & Track report indicates that the car will come in $5,000 cheaper than the standard FT-86, putting it as low as $15,000 to $16,000.

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Toyota said recently that it plans to offer a hydrogen fuel cell car for a price of around $50,000.  Toyota’s claim is that it figured out a way of cutting the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell cars by 90 percent, bringing the future cost of fuel cell cars crashing down into a tier where many Americans will be able to afford them. To deliver that cost savings, Toyota has cut out some of the platinum involved in the fuel cell manufacturing.

Toyota’s first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will be a sedan that is expected to launch in 2015. It will reportedly have a comparable driving range to a gas-powered car. [via Inside Line]

Consumer Reports has officially given Toyota the proverbial pat on the back for its fix of the Lexus GX 460′s stability issues. This is a significant move because CR was the organization that originally uncovered the problem during its testing, placing a “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” recommendation on the Lexus SUV. That recommendation is officially lifted and CR has issued a report stating that the Lexus software fix has repaired the problem.

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