Speed Ticket Survey: Mercedes-Benz SL and Toyota Solara Drivers Top the List

We recently told you about how the angriest drivers in Britain tend to be behind the wheel of a BMW. Now we have some speeding/insurance info from the States, and it's a bit surprising.

According to Quality Planning, a division of Verisk Analytics Inc., American Mercedes SL drivers are at least four times more likely to get ticketed than a run-of-the-mill motorist who presumably drives a Camry Solara or...no, wait, the Camry Solara/Coupe and Scion tC come in at second and third.

Oddly, the Pontiac Grand Prix is still on the list and making waves (scroll down for the full list with stats).

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10 Most Stolen Cars in the USA: Honda Accord and Civic Top the 2009 List, No Love for the Koreans or Germans

Do you own a car that's likely to be stolen? Maybe, maybe not. Here is the list that the NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau) has compiled concerning the most stolen vehicles in America. Honda's 1994 Accord and 1995 Civic along with Toyota's 1991 Camry occupy the first three places ahead of Ford's 1997 F-150 pickup truck and Dodge's 2004 Ram pickup.

If your car is on the list (scroll down), you should make sure to keep that chunk of metal locked down. As in, put a ring on it and don't let anyone near it.

Most Stolen Vehicles in the US in 2009:

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2011MY Toyota Camry V6 gains 1mpg in both City and Highway driving

Toyota has released a 2011 model year version of its best-selling Camry sedan. The only change for the 2011MY Camry concerns the addition of new lower-rolling-resistance tires to the 3.5-liter V6 model, which helps increase EPA fuel economy ratings by 1mpg, to 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, up from 19/28 respectively on the 2010MY V6 model. Other than that, it's the same car you see with a 2010MY sticker.

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Toyota Releases Pricing on 2011MY Cars and Trucks, Adds Standard Brake Overide Tech

Toyota has announced pricing for its U.S. market 2011 model year line-up, which will begin arriving at dealerships in August, with the exception of RAV4 that goes on sale in September.

The big news for the 2011 lineup is the installation of brake override technology as standard equipment across the range. This technology is designed to stop a car if the brakes and accelerator are applied simultaneously (see Consumer Report's video after the jump) and was adopted by Toyota to ease consumer concerns over sudden acceleration of its vehicles.

Aside from the redesigned 2011 Avalon that was introduced with the safety feature, brake override technology is now standard on the Yaris, RAV4 SUV, Land Cruiser SUV, Sequoia SUV and Tundra pickup truck.

There are more changes on certain models for the 2011 model year that you can check out in detail in the press release after the jump.

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Toyota Suspends U.S. Sales of Eight Models Including Camry, Corolla and RAV4 to Deal with Accelerator Pedal Issues

Only a few days after announcing that it would recall approximately 2.3 million vehicles to correct sticking accelerator pedals on specific Toyota Division models, the Japanese automaker said today that it will temporarily suspend sales of eight Toyota vehicles that are on the recall list in the USA. No Lexus or Scion models are included in the sales suspension. The affected Toyota models are listed below:

• 2009-2010 RAV4
  
• 2009-2010 Corolla
  
• 2009-2010 Matrix
  
• 2005-2010 Avalon
  
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry
  
• 2010 Highlander
  
• 2007-2010 Tundra
  
• 2008-2010 Sequoia
  

For the record, the Toyota models not affected by the temporary sales halt are the Prius, Tacoma, Sienna, Venza, Solara, Yaris, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser and select Camry models, including all Camry hybrids, which will remain for sale.

According to the company, the new sticking accelerator pedal recall is separate from the on-going recall of around 1.7 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to reduce the risk of pedal entrapment by incorrect or out of place accessory floor mats.

In this latest recall, the Japanese automaker said that it has investigated isolated reports of sticking accelerator pedal mechanisms in certain vehicles even without the presence of floor mats.

According to Toyota, there's a possibility that certain accelerators may, "in rare instances, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position."

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company," commented Group Vice President and Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter.

"This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We're making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."

Because of the sales halt, the company said that it will stop producing vehicles on certain production lines for the week of February 1. The affected factories are listed below:

--Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Canada (Corolla, Matrix, and RAV4)

--Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana (Sequoia and Highlander)

--Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky – Line 1 (Camry and Avalon)

--Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (Camry)

--Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas (Tundra)

Fatal Accident Prompts Toyota and Lexus to Warn Drivers to Remove Floormat Due to Risk of Accelerator Getting Stuck

The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Toyota have eleased an official announcement to warn drivers of seven Toyota and Lexus models that there's a possibility that the accelerator pedal may get stuck in the full open position due to an "unsecured or incompatible driver's floor mat." Even though it may not sound serious at first, Reuters reported that the U.S. government said it has received reports of 100 incidents related to this problem including 17 crashes and 5 fatalities involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

In one of these accidents, it was reported that an off-duty California state trooper and three members of his family were killed in a 2009 Lexus ES350 crash in San Diego. Reuters said that before the crash, a passenger of the ES350 has called the police to inform them that the accelerator was jammed and the car had reached 120mph (193km/h) at that time.

Although the San Diego incident is still under investigation, meaning that it is not yet confirmed that the floormat is to blame, Toyota said that it wanted to take precautionary measures on the matter.

"Obviously the tragic accident in San Diego was certainly an eye opener for all of us and we've paid very, very diligent attention to moving forward to try to make sure none of us will be reliving that kind of a very tragic situation," said Toyota spokesman Irv Miller.

Overall, Toyota is planning to issue a safety recall on around 3.8 million vehicles due to the issue with the driver's floor mat.

The affected Toyota models are the 2007-2010 Camry, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2004-2009 Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma and 2007-2010 Tundra.

The Lexus modes affected by the recall are the 2007-2010 ES 350 and 2006-2010 IS 250 and IS 350 sedans.

Surprisingly, this is not the first time that Toyota has faced a problem with the driver's floormat as in September 2007, the firm recalled an accessory all-weather floor mat sold for use in 2007 and 2008MY Lexus ES 350 and Toyota Camry sedans because of similar issues.

The Japanese company said that until it "develops a remedy", it is asking the owners of the above models to "take out any removable driver's floor mat and NOT replace it with any other floor mat."

In the case that drivers are confronted with a jammed accelerator pedal, here's what Toyota recommends that they do:

From Toyota and Lexus Press Release: Should the vehicle continue to accelerate rapidly after releasing the accelerator pedal, this could be an indication of floor mat interference. If this occurs, Toyota recommends the driver take the following actions:

First, if it is possible and safe to do so, pull back the floor mat and dislodge it from the accelerator pedal; then pull over and stop the vehicle.

If the floor mat cannot be dislodged, then firmly and steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet. Do NOT pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the effort required to slow the vehicle.

Shift the transmission gear selector to the Neutral (N) position and use the brakes to make a controlled stop at the side of the road and turn off the engine.

If unable to put the vehicle in Neutral, turn the engine OFF, or to ACC. This will not cause loss of steering or braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost.

-If the vehicle is equipped with an Engine Start/Stop button, firmly and steadily push the button for at least three seconds to turn off the engine. Do NOT tap the Engine Start/Stop button.

-If the vehicle is equipped with a conventional key-ignition, turn the ignition key to the ACC position to turn off the engine. Do NOT remove the key from the ignition as this will lock the steering wheel.

Via: Toyota & Lexus, NHTSA and Reuters