The Toyota plant which builds the Yaris subcompact for export markets will remain closed for another month, as the factory recovers from the massive earthquake which struck northern Japan.

While the plant has had repairs completed and electricity has returned, the supply of natural gas has not been restored. Toyota’s other plants are expected to remain closed until at least April 14th, but the Yaris plant in Miyagi prefecture will stay shuttered until the end of April. Toyota has resumed production of its Prius hybrid, but is only operating at 50 percent capacity.

Toyota released a statement claiming “Depending on vehicle type, there may be a significant impact on our production capabilities.” No start date was given for any of their factories, but a source told Automotive News that the company was attempting to secure a gas supply from neighboring regions. Parts supplies also remain an issue, and the company is attempting to resolve these problems from their Toyota City headquarters.

[Source: Automotive News]

Audi built its five millionth A4 in its Ingolstadt plant today, a production milestone ever since the first A4 rolled off the same assembly line in 1994.

The model was a 2.0 TFSI quattro wagon in Misano Red, and not silver like the other 4,999,999 A4 models.

“This is another major milestone in Audi’s history,” said Frank Dreves, a member of Audi’s Board of Management. “All versions of the A4 are efficient, elegant and enjoy outstanding success in their class. Our highly motivated team and our effective Audi production system will keep this model on course for continued success in the future.”

To put this in perspective, if one was to link every A4 ever built in a single, continuous line, it would probably reach somewhere really far in space, or around the Earth a couple of times.

The best selling car of all time is the Toyota Corolla at over 32,000,000 units sold.

Rumors of Holden vehicles, specifically the rear-drive Commodore, coming to the U.S. have always been a fixture of the automotive media, and with the Holden-based Pontiac G8′s demise a few years ago, some of them have seemed to be more wishful thinking than anything of substance.

General Motors is bringing back the larger Holden Statesman as a fleet-only Chevrolet Caprice, but that hasn’t stopped some suspiciously civilian-looking examples from popping up, including the one spied by an Edmunds Inside Line staffer, which is totally devoid of any police-style accouterments.

We’ve seen other shots that suggest that this is what the unmarked versions of the Caprice will look like, but we can still hold out hope that it’s also the basis for something much better, and available to the general public.

[Source: Inside Line]

Although the destroyed Chinese Lamborghini will forever linger in the minds of car enthusiasts bemused by the antics of spoiled owners, a Range Rover driver decided to take a less apoplectic approach and simply returned his Range Rover by towing it to the dealership with two donkeys.

Dissatisfied after his Rover broke down 6 times in one year (requiring a new engine as well), the unidentified man towed the car (worth $304,604 in China) to the dealer after its 7th breakdown and demanded a refund. The situation was apparently not resolved, but at least it gave the internet something to laugh at on a Wednesday morning.

[Source: TheTycho]

After a tiff with suppliers who had halted their parts deliveries, Saab has now resumed production at its main factory.

Like a deadbeat dad, Saab had stopped paying their suppliers. But the company had an excuse, and a potential solution: after their sales plummeted for the last few years, they appealed to former Spyker chairman Vladimir Antonov for an investment worth $140 million. Spyker CEO Victor Muller plans to sell his sports car company to Antonov, and the European Investment Bank is loaning $563 million to Saab to continue keeping them afloat.

The return of Antonov hasn’t been without its own drama, however: Antonov has been investigated for his ties to the Russian mafia, and his return must be met with the approval of the EIB. ”It’s in the interest of the company to have him back in,” said Muller. “What we want is a backup situation in the event we would need the money. We need to have a bigger buffer.” Hence, the dispute with the suppliers.

“We can’t continue to deliver to [Saab] if they don’t pay us in full,” said spokesman Pierre Olsson for DB Schenker, a German supplier. The company, along with others, are meeting with Saab to settle the dispute in the hopes that Saab can match their sales target of 120,000 cars this year and become profitable by the next.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Back in 2009; when the US economy collapsed following a housing market meltdown and many Americans lost their jobs, Hyundai launched a new marketing campaign ‘Assurance,’ which included a Job Loss Protection clause, that promised buyers their money back on a new car if they lost their jobs.

The program was actually administered through a third party; EFG Co Inc.; who recently said that Job Loss Protection will be eliminated by the start of April;  though buyers who purchase a new Hyundai through the March 31st will still be eligible.

As to why it’s being cancelled, Hyundai’s head of US operations Dave Zuchkowski said of Job Loss Protection “it was very topical for the times and really resonated in 2009, but in the meantime we’ve really broadened Assurance to mean more than job loss.”

The automaker will continue to push the Assurance campaign but with an emphasis on warranty offerings, including a 10-year; 100,000 mile limited powertrain warranty and 5-year roadside assistance.

[Source: Automotive News]

With possibly just enough parts available to build two-thirds of its popular Prius hybrid, on Tuesday Toyota resumed production of that car, plus the Lexus HS250h, and CT 200h hybrids.

The assembly lines had been shut down following the Mar. 11 Japan earthquake, and resulting tsunami that is still causing trouble for the industry.

A Toyota spokesperson was not able to confirm restored production from one of three battery factories damaged during the natural calamity, and which normally supplies the Prius assembly line.

It is speculated by those in the know that the battery plant could still be out of business. If so, this would fit with previous Toyota warnings that U.S. Prius availability will be limited due to the affected battery plant.

[Source: Autoblog Green]

The last V6-powered Ford F-150 was sold to the public in 2008, and only 11% of sales were made up of the smaller-engined trucks. Three years later, and Ford’s gamble to offer not one but two V6s in America’s best-selling vehicle seems to be paying dividends, with 35% of F-150′s sold coming with either the base 3.7L V6 or the 3.5L  Ecoboost turbo engine.

Part of it can be attributed to the rising gas prices felt throughout the year. The 3.7L F-150 is classified as the most fuel-efficient full-size truck, with a 17/23mpg EPA rating. Ford also claims that the Ecoboost is selling like hotcakes, but didn’t give any data to back up the claim. With the V6s selling strong, there may be a shift to smaller engines in trucks, now that the mental barrier of requiring a V8 in a pickup seems to be dismantled among consumers.

[Source: KickingTires]

Due to continuing parts supply problems from Japan, in the wake of the Earthquake and Tsunami; Honda has announced that it is cutting back production of vehicles in North America.

Honda, whose Tochigi operations were badly hampered by the quake; has said that while some of its part suppliers are now up and running again; others have still to resume operations.

As result of ongoing supply chain issues, the company announced to US and Canadian Employees on March 30th, that it would be reducing production output at North American plants. A source said that the Alliston, plant in Ontario, Canada, would cut production from approximately 700 vehicles per day to 400; numbers for other facilities weren’t available at post time.

Honda has said that it is doing everything it can to keep plants operational without extensive interruptions and is working toward resuming full production capacity.

[Source: Honda News]

There once was a time, when Mel Gibson was mad only on screen and drove a modified black Ford Falcon Interceptor in a movie called Mad Max.

The movie is full of high speed chases and destruction in typical 1980′s fashion. You’d either love this movie or think it is one of the biggest time wasters ever invented.

Some of its supporters seem to be Ford of Australia and the team behind Top Gear Australia and they have pooled their talents together bring a modern version of the Mad Max car.

Out of the many designs penned, two designs have been picked as the finalists, one penned by Nima Nourian and the other by Simon Brook.

Ford Australia’s Melbourne based  Design Director Chris Svensson said, “Our entire team was very excited to be involved in this after-hours project and they approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm – even those that were too young to remember the first Mad Max movie. We had a special screening of the original movie so they could understand it.”

These two final designs will be voted on by readers of Top Gear Australia, and the winning design will be turned into a full-scale model. Since a Mad Max 4 is being planned, the winning car could end up in the new movie.

[Source: Carscoop]