Toyota Will Fix More Than 4.3 Million Cars

Mr. Toyoda in October apologized aleady to the owners of the eight Toyota and Lexus models affected by the floor-mat recall and has previously acknowledged that Toyota has strayed from its core value of focusing on the customer.

"The safety of our owners and the public is our utmost concern," Toyota said in a prepared statement. "Toyota has and will continue to thoroughly investigate and take appropriate measures to address any defect trends that are identified."

Toyota plans to shorten the gas pedal by about 20 millimeters and change the flooring under the accelerator in some models. It also plans to install a new braking system in the affected Toyota Camry and Avalon models, as well as in the Lexus ES 350, IS 350 and IS 250 models, as an "extra measure of confidence."

Toyota declined to provide an estimate of the recall's cost. "We have not put a pencil to it," Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said during a conference call. "We really don't know what the costs are at this moment."

Honda Skydeck Concept

It seams that this futuristic six-seater car, the Honda Skydeck Concept, represented at the Tokyo Motor Show, can meet a wide range of ages and lifestyles, like a bridge between the extreme-sports crew and the shuffleboard set. Now, the Japanese carmaker have the biggest stand of all the exhibitors and have filled it up with an array of design studies that are brimful of new ideas, albeit eccentric in part. One of the design highlights of the show is bound to be the Honda Skydeck Concept.



This futuristic, airily named family van is clearly a long way removed from being a production-ready vehicle, yet it arouses more than just passing interest. With its windscreen blending into a glass roof, driver and passengers have an impression of unconstrained freedom. The seating too has been designed with leisure in mind. The front doors open upwards and the rear doors slide backwards. In other words, they're doors, Jim, but not as we know them. There is no B-pillar to impede ingress. And if you prefer to sit in the third row, you can push the second bench under the front seat. Under the bonnet, a hybrid PLUS engine provides an eco-friendly drive.