Corolla first to roll off Toyota Mississippi line
In April, Toyota Mississippi’s first Corolla for export to customers in Central and South America and the Caribbean rolled off the assembly line.
More than 7,500 Mississippi-built Corollas will be exported this year to 18 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean. Nine Toyota models from all four of the company’s U.S. vehicle assembly plants are now exported to 32 countries around the world.
Toyota Mississippi directly employs 2,000 and represents an $800 million investment. Since November 2011, Toyota has announced 11 new investments in North America manufacturing facilities, totaling $2.1 billion and increasing employment by 4,000.
Spiral cable assembly recall
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. conducted a voluntary safety recall involving approximately 1.3 million vehicles, including certain Model Year 2009-’10 Corolla, 2009-’10 Matrix, 2008-’10 Highlander, 2009-’10 Tacoma, 2006-’08 RAV4 and 2006-’10 Yaris vehicles.
The driver’s airbag module in the involved vehicles is attached to a spiral cable assembly with electrical con- nections that could become damaged when the steering wheel is turned. If this occurs, the air bag warning lamp will illuminate. In addition, the driver’s air bag could become deactivated, causing it to not deploy in the event of a crash.
Top cost-to-own compact car
The editors of Kelley Blue Book selected three Toyota vehicles for their five-year Cost to Own award. The Toyota Corolla topped the compact car category, while the Toyota Prius c won the Hybrid/ Alternative Energy category. The Tacoma regular cab took top hon- ors among mid-sized pick-up trucks. These awards are based on Kelley Blue Book’s 5-Year Cost to Own data for new cars for the initial five- year ownership period.
‘Green’ attributes recognized
The 11th generation 2014 Toyota Corolla was a finalist in the Green Car Journal’s 2014 Green Car of the Year award and one of its Top 5 Green Cars for 2014. The Corolla also earned the magazine’s “Green Car Product of Excellence” distinction.
Finalists were selected for “their achievements in raising the bar in environmental performance.” One selection factor is the model’s availability to the mass market, giving it the potential to make a real environmental impact.
