With a March release date for Sony’s ultra-highly-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 video game recently delayed, one Sony exec has said that the company is now working towards a Fall deadline. The idea is to have the game on sale before Chirstmas, which sounds good… if we believed anything Sony says any more.

With more hype than Avatar, the release of GT5 has been delayed more times than the closing of Gitmo and the whole situation has only been made worse by the electronics company. Since GT4 debuted in 2005, the GT5 game has been promised with numerous teasers and demos. And at this point living up to the hype is essentially impossible, unless of course they decide to release it in 3D.

Still, the Fall release date has now been promised by James Armstrong of Sony Entertainment Portugal. We won’t hold our breath. In fact, at this point we might not even hold on to hope.

[Source: GTPlanet]

The 2010 World Car of the Year Awards short list has been announced. The three finalists in each category will be revealed at the Geneva Auto Show in March, with the winners awarded at the New York Auto Show just a few weeks after.

The nominees for 2010 World Car of the Year are:

* Audi Q5
* BMW X1
* Chevrolet Cruze
* Kia Soul
* Mazda3
* Mercedes-Benz E-Class
* Opel/Vauxhall Insignia / Buick Regal
* Porsche Panamera
* Toyota Prius
* Volkswagen Polo

The nominees for World Performance Car of the Year are:

* Aston Martin V12 Vantage
* Audi R8 V10
* Audi TT RS Coupé / Roadster
* BMW Z4
* Ferrari California
* Jaguar XFR
* Lotus Evora
* Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG
* Nissan 370Z
* Porsche 911 GT3
* Porsche Boxster / Cayman

And the nominees for World Green Car of the Year are:

* Ford Fusion Hybrid
* Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid
* Honda Insight
* Toyota Prius
* Volkswagen Bluemotion models

The WOCTY awards are decided by 59 international jurors, who last year awarded the Volkswagen Golf World Car of the Year and the Nissan GT-R as World Performance Car of the Year.

[Source WCOTY]

Ford will announce details of the 2011 Shelby GT500 on Monday ahead of the car’s official debut at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday, but why wait until then? Ford’s webcast site has already given us a look at the car on a short video clip (which has now been removed). Screen captures of the video are, however, still available, showing the 2011 model with the SVT Performance Package.

Last week the 2011 Shelby GT500 order guide popped up online, confirming such new items as a completely aluminum block for the 5.4-liter V8. This should significantly reduce the vehicle’s weight, particularly over the front axle. Other highlights include the glass roof found on other Mustang models, as we as an SVT Performance Package, with such items as 19×9.5-inch front and 20×10-inch rear forged aluminum wheels, as well as 3:73 rear end (instead of the car’s standard 3:55). We’ve also learned that the GT500 will make an additional 10-hp for 2011, or a total of 550-hp.

Be sure to check back Monday for complete details of the 2011 Shelby GT500 and in the mean time, browse through our gallery of screen captures below or spec out your new 2011 GT500 using the leaked order guide.

GALLERY: 2011 Shelby GT500 Screen Captures

GALLERY: 2011 Shelby GT500 Order Guide

[Source: Autoblog, TheDetroitNews]

Easily the biggest gimmick on the new MINI convertible models is the Openometer. The what? Well, the Openometer is a gauge just like all the other gauges you might find on a car’s dash, but on the MINI convertible models it measures how long the owner has driven with the top down.

To help promote the car and make the experience all the more enjoyable for owners, MINI launched the Open One Challenge where 400 drivers competed to record the most top-down miles. MINI has just announced the winner as David Loveall from Kansas City, Missouri. Over fifth months last year Loveall drove 555.55 hours top-down, visiting 48 states and driving such roads as Route 66.

As a reward for his adventures Loveall wins a trip to the MINI factory in Oxford, England.

“Owners like David are what make the MINI brand great,” said Jim McDowell, Vice President, MINI USA. “The fact that he won this contest with 128 hours more than the runner up is a testament to his enthusiasm for his MINI, and is a great representation of the community that surrounds the brand.”

And proving that it’s not the destination, but the journey, Loveall commented that, “I took on the challenge for the story I’d get to tell. My MINI Cooper Convertible is the first car I have ever bought, and the experiences I have had within the first year of owning it have been amazing.”

Photos of all the MINI Open One Challenge and rankings can be found at http://www.theopenone.com/home.

Official release after the jump:

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As though Toyota needed any more to deal with right now, the automaker could face a fine from the Federal Government for not acting quickly enough in issuing recalls. Legally, automakers that don’t issue recalls in a timely manner can be stuck with a fine for as much as $16.4 million. That amount, however, pales in comparison to the almost $2 billion that Toyota says the recent recalls will cost the company.

On Wednesday Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said that until then Toyota had been uncooperative in working with the government and that it had taken a considerable effort to get the automaker to issue recalls.

To date, the largest fine the DOT has dolled out was to General Motors, for $1 million.

Toyota has said it has received no word tat a fine is pending.

[Source: Automotive News via eGMcartech]

Just as Toyota is facing a potential recall of its popular Prius hybrid for brake problems, Ford has today announced a recall of its own, affecting the Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan hybrid. The comparatively small recall affects 17,600 Fusion and Milan hybrids built on or before October 17, 2009.

Officially the move by Ford is a Technical Service Bulletin and not a full recall, as the brake issue is not a safety concern says Ford. The problem, says Ford, is due to a software glitch where the car’s regenerative braking (used to recharge the hybrid battery) does not engage or is late to engage, as a result there is a feeling of brake-pressure loss. The conventional brakes do still work fully, however, and so with full braking potential this is not a safety issue.

Only one complain has been recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), but the TSB was announced after a Consumer Reports test driver experienced the brake delay.

[Source: Reuters]

Late last night Toyota held a press conference in Japan where company CEO and Akio Toyoda, grandson of the automaker’s founder, apologized for the recent recalls and safety concerns over Toyota products.

“The recalls are affecting several models in several regions and have caused anxiety among customers who are wondering if their cars are OK,” said Toyoda. “For that we are very sorry.”

Previous to this Toyota has been criticized for its lack of openness and minimal communication, as rumors and news reports swirled and owners of Toyota vehicles became increasingly confused. Toyoda did give a public apology once already but it was during a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and wasn’t covered widely.

Toyoda reassured consumers that Toyota cars are safe and announced a new taskforce that would look into consumer complaints and work to make Toyota products safe. Akio Toyoda said he would personally oversee the new taskforce, which has six main goals: first, to improve the quality inspection process; second, to enhance customer research over safety issues; third, to establish an “Automotive Center of Excellence”; fourth, to work with outside experts on quality control; fifth, to increase communications and sixth, to improve regional autonomy of its divisons and productd.

What Toyoda did not do during the press conference is announce a recall for the popular new 2010 Prius model, which Japan’s Nikkei News has reported is coming.

For complete Toyota recall information visit the AutoGuide Toyota Recall News Hub

[Source: CBC, The Guardian]

Toyota has now expanded its internal investigation over braking issues to cover all hybrid models says a report by the Wall Street Journal. Toyota has already admitted that there was a braking problem with its 2010 Prius model, and according to Japan’s Nikkei News, Toyota is preparing to issue a recall for 270,000 Prius models from the 2010 model year.

Toyota has admitted it knew of a problem that caused a brief loss of braking during the transition from the car’s regenerative braking to its traditional friction braking. Toyota refers to this as “slight unresponsiveness” and says it usually lasts less than a second. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as Japanese authorities have registered over 100 complaints about the car’s brake system, where owners say they experienced a brief loss of braking capability when traveling over bumpy or icy roads. Toyota has said the issue has been solved on all models produced since late January but no recall has been ordered for models built before that time.

The 2010 Prius model was not covered under the previous recall of 2.3 million vehicles for sticking accelerators or “unintended acceleration.” Those recalled vehicles use a brake assembly by Indiana-based CTS Corp, while the 2010 Prius and other hybrid Toyota products use a brake system developed by Denso.

Additional Toyota hybrid models that will now come under investigation include the Highlander hybrid and Camry hybrid. It is not year clear if the investigation will also cover Lexus hybrid models.

With the Prius recall reportedly coming, can recalls for all Toyota hybrids be far behind?

See more Toyota recall news here: Toyota Recall News Hub

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Toyota’s recent recall issues may cost the company an estimated $2 billion.

Along with the company’s third quarter report, Toyota estimated the costs of the global recall at 180 billion yen (US$2 billion), including 100 billion yen (US$1.1 billion) for repair costs and another 70-80 billion yen ($787-899 million) in lost sales. Toyota predicts a reduction of 100,000 vehicle sales as its recent troubles erode public confidence in the brand.

To make matters worse, these figures don’t include the costs of the just-announced Prius recall.

See more Toyota recall news at the AutoGuide.com Toyota Recall News Hub.

[Source: The Associated Press via Wheels.ca]

According to Japan’s Nikkei News, Toyota will recall 270,000 of its 2010 Prius models due to an issue with the car’s braking system. Unrelated to past Toyota recalls, the Prius uses a unique combination of traditional mechanical braking and sophisticated regenerative braking, which is used to recharge the car’s hybrid battery.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as Japanese authorities have registered over 100 complaints about the car’s brake system, where owners say they experienced a brief loss of braking capability when traveling over bumpy or icy roads. Toyota has admitted it knew of a problem that caused a brief loss of braking during the transition from the car’s regenerative braking to its traditional friction braking. Toyota refers to this as “slight unresponsiveness” and says it usually lasts less than a second.

Toyota has said the issue has been solved on all models produced since late January but no recall has been ordered for models built before that time.

Toyota spokesman Tom Hanson has said he has no information regarding the recall of the Prius model. Earlier today the Japanese automaker released a statement saying that it, “is aware that NHTSA has opened a Preliminary Evaluation centered on owner complaints of a braking issue with the 2010 model year Prius. Toyota will cooperate fully with NHTSA’s investigation.”

[Source: MSNBC]