Toyota Recalling Another 1,584,000 Vehicles for Faulty Airbags

This time the recall expansion comes from Toyota, which is expanding its recall based on recent information from Takata and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to the Japanese automaker, the affected vehicles are equipped with a particular Takata inflator with a safety defect that may arise in front passenger airbag inflators due to inflator propellant degradation after exposure in high absolute humidity, high temperatures and high temperature cycling. As a result, these inflators could rupture when the airbag deploys.

This is the same issue that has affected millions of vehicles worldwide. The expansion includes the 2009-2011 Toyota Corolla and Matrix, 2006-2011 Toyota Yaris, 2010-2011 Toyota 4Runner and the 2011 Toyota Sienna. The 2008-2011 Scion xB is also affected by the expansion as well as 2007-2011 Lexus ES, 2010-2011 Lexus GX and 2006-2011 Lexus IS models.

All known owners will be contacted by Toyota via first class mail and dealers will replace the front passenger airbag inflator or the front passenger airbag assembly at no cost.

Meanwhile, the custom 1968 Toyota Corona is heading to auction and it might be the only Lexus hot rod in the world.

To be offered on June 26, 2016 at an Auctions America Santa Monica, this custom one-off hot rod was conceived and created by Mitch Allread in Southern California. Allread essentially took a 1968 Toyota Corona two-door hardtop body, chopped it up and fitted it over a custom tubular-steel space frame with a 106-inch wheelbase. From there, a 4.0-liter V8 engine borrowed from a Lexus SC400 was fitted in the bay. It provides 250 horsepower and is mated to a four-speed automatic transmission.

Not only does this Toyota Corona look like nothing else on the road, its Gulf Racing Blue paint job screams sports car inspiration while combining both classic and modern influences.

According to the auction listing, this custom Toyota Corona was originally built with the intention of competing in the Silver State Challenge in Nevada. Reportedly, it has fewer than 8,000 miles on it since the build was completed in 2004. To date, it has never participated in any competition.

Auctions America expects the 1968 Toyota Corona to fetch between $25,000 and $35,000 at the upcoming auction.