Toyota recalls Lexus HS 250h hybrid, halts sales

After government tests show the hybrid could leak fuel in a rear-end collision, Toyota stops all sales and recalls 17,000 sedans, including 4,000 at dealerships.

Toyota Motor Corp. has stopped all sales of its 2010 Lexus HS 250h hybrid after government tests showed it could leak fuel in a rear-end collision.

The Japanese automaker said it was also recalling roughly 13,000 HS sedans that have already been sold and 4,000 that are still on dealership lots.

A remedy for the problem has not yet been determined, Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a recall filing Friday, said that the defect "could result in a fire." A similar problem in the Ford Pinto that has been blamed on 27 deaths led to one of the most publicized recalls of all time, in 1979.

Why buy a hybrid?

Turns out, I was the fool.

Nevertheless, the hybrid market is what is it is – less than 3 percent of overall vehicle sales today – and the lack of hybrid incentives now available certainly isn’t going to help increase those numbers.

So, will EV incentives last forever?

Back in 2005 Anthony Pratt, then senior manager of global powertrain forecasting at J.D. Power, stated that by 2010 hybrid cars would top out at 3 percent of the market. I thought he was nuts, believing interest and concern in foreign oil dependence would swell into more intelligent American auto consumerism.

Instead, today, with most tax credits for hybrid vehicles are all but expired, is 3 % market share really that surprising, especially considering that, according to a search today, very few hybrid incentives are even available? The best deals I could find in my zip code – 90042 – were $1000 off a Chevy Silverado hybrid, or 0 % financing on a Nissan Altima hybrid. Of course, both those deals probably require Tier 1 Credit, and how many American consumers qualify for such deals at that standard? Moreover, incentives on non-hybrid versions provide much more cash back.

Consequently, seriously, is there any wonder why there hasn’t been a hybrid in the Top 10 best sellers for many months, and only one hybrid that is, or has ever been, in the top-selling ballpark?

Similarly, in yesterday’s Battery-only cars face avalanche of negatives, Neil Winton discusses the more significant struggle that EVs face. And, I’d argue that compared to hybrids, EV’s do face a much tougher sell to American consumers, except for the huge tax incentives that Congress is providing “for rich people who already have $30,000 to buy a second car,” as Winton calls them.

Nevertheless, even with those massive tax incentives – as much as $11,500 ($7500 feds + $4000 CA) – most powertrain analysts expect that after a decade – just as with hybrids – penetration will still be just a few percent. Unless, as Winton might reply, the government has unlimited EV tax money to spend on “rich people”.

GT1 battle to end in 2010

The ACO has announced that the 2010 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours will be the final race to feature the GT1class, with a revised structure being put in place for 2011.

The class has already struggled for numbers in the Le Mans Series this season, although a number of cars are competing at La Sarthe this weekend – including three of the new generation Ford GTs as raced in the FIA GT1 World Championship.

However, the ACO has now revealed that it plans to run a single GT class from 2011-13 under the GT Endurance banner, with the regulations being based on the 2009 GT2 regulations, with a number of minor modifications.

The decision to drop GT1 has been taken for a number of reasons, including clashes on the respective race calendars and the fact that the new generation of GT1 machinery is designed for shorter sprint events.

GT Endurance will feature two classes within the class, one being a 'Pro' class which is open to all cars and drivers and an 'Am' class for cars over one year and with a minimum if two silver or bronze category drivers.

There will also be changes within the prototype classes, with the possibility of teams running hybrid cars at La Sarthe in future.

Despite the advent of new regulations, the current LMP1 and LMP2 cars will still be eligible which will allow teams to keep running their current cars for another year.

LMP2 will become a low cost formula powered by production series engines running to GT2 regulations. The costs of the category will be capped to keep costs down while the life of an engine will be extended.