Brain...Jammed Vandals Destroy Seven New Toyota Models at 2011 Chicago Auto Show

Auto shows seem to have become risky business for car manufacturers. After the BMW 750i that was stolen at the Detroit motor show earlier this year, now more disturbing news comes from the Chicago Auto Show, where the Toyota booth attracted unwanted attention.

According to local newspapers, seven new Toyota models had their interiors vandalized by three young men, aged 20, 21 and 28. We don't know what really caused this deviant behavior, but one report attributes it to the fact that the three vandals were allegedly angry "about American jobs going overseas".

And it seems they wanted the Japanese cars to suffer badly, judging from the tools they used - screwdrivers and razor knives. The three young men were arrested on Wednesday evening before the show's closing time when guards noticed them acting suspiciously around a Toyota Camry. The mess they made inside the seven cars is substantial: dashboards were left smashed and ripped, seat upholstery sliced, windshields scratched, speakers cut open and turn indicators broken.

According to the police, the damage to the cars is estimated at $30,000. Interestingly, they had no preference for a particular model, vandalizing a Camry, a RAV4, a Land Cruiser, a Prius, two Tundras and one Lexus ES350. Funny thing, no accelerator pedal or floor mat were damaged...

By Dan Mihalascu

Source: Chicago Sun Times

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VIDEO: Lexus Sets the Bar High, Chains Four Cars on LS in New TV Ad

In another sign that luxury automakers in the U.S. are raising the stakes -or so to speak- with their latest commercials, following Audi's recent A8 ad, Lexus has released a new TV spot as part of an advertising campaign to demonstrate how far the company goes to achieve perfection.

This particular broadcast ad is titled “Chain” and it shows a crane slowly lifting the front end of a LS, which is attached to four more Lexus models (RX, GS, ES and IS) using nothing more than cables and stretch bars. At the end of the spot, a $375,000 LFA comes into the shot and parks directly below the chain of vehicles weighing a total 21,000 pounds.

The key point here is that the commercial is real and that no special effects were used for its creation as Lexus proves in the 'Behind the Scenes" video.

“It isn’t enough to just say that we pursue perfection, we want to demonstrate the great lengths we go to in our pursuit,” states Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing for Lexus.

“The new broadcast spot allows us to focus on the foundation of our vehicles, the chassis, and show its almost unbelievable strength. In fact, we feared that it would be so unbelievable, we invited a physicist and structural engineer to witness the shoot, to prove that it did, in fact, occur without the use of special effects or computer generated-imagery.”

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Toyota Settled an “Unintended Acceleration” Lawsuit with US$10 Million

The families of four people killed in an accident allegedly caused by the now infamous “unintended acceleration” throttle-gate, sued Toyota earlier this year and reached a settlement in September. At the time, the amount was not made public, but now, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that a lawyer representing Bob Baker Lexus of San Diego, California, a defendant in the case, has revealed that the Japanese maker agreed to pay US $10 million.

The tragic incident, which lead to the death of California Highway Patrol officer Mark Saylor and three of his family members, occurred after the dealership lent him a 2009 Lexus ES that allegedly had the aforementioned defect.

Initially, Toyota and the plaintiffs agreed to keep the deal confidential and the manufacturer neither admitted nor denied liability.

In the aftermath of the disclosure, Toyota released an official statement saying that it was disappointed that the sum was made public, as the involved parties “reached a private, amicable settlement through mutual respect and cooperation without the involvement of the courts”.

Furthermore, the automaker considers that, by making the settlement deal public, Bob Baker Lexus is trying to shift the attention away from its own litigation case with the families.

“Our deepest sympathies remain with the friends and family of Mark, Cleofe and Mahala Saylor and Cleofe’s brother Chris Lastrella”, Toyota said in the statement. “However, as in the past, Toyota will continue to defend itself vigorously against the misleading allegations Bob Baker Lexus is making against Toyota. Toyota is not, however, in a position to address the additional negligence claims the families have against Bob Baker Lexus that are independent of Toyota”.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: LA Times & Automotive News

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