Toyota Motor Corp. will replace gas pedals on 3.8 million recalled vehicles in the United States to address problems with sudden acceleration or the pedal becoming stuck in the floor mat, The Associated Press has learned.

DENVER - The Western Athletic Conference has suspended a replay official for one game after he failed to overturn a call in a game last weekend between San Jose State and Boise State. Official Michael Goshima’s one-game suspension will go into effect this weekend. The suspension - the first of a WAC replay official since the NCAA implemented instant replay in 2006 - was based on a play where a runner was ruled short of a first down and Goshima’s review incorrectly upheld the ruling on the field.

Former Old Dominion University star Nancy Lieberman is set to become the first female head coach of a NBA Development League team. A news conference is scheduled for today to introduce Lieberman as the first coach of the team that will begin play during the 2010-11 season in Frisco, a Dallas suburb. Lieberman didn’t return messages left on her cell phone and through e-mail. The Frisco team also will introduce Del Harris as its general manager and Spud Webb as president of basketball operations.

Toyota is pulling out of Formula One racing, the world’s largest automaker announcing Wednesday that it needs to cut costs and focus on its core business.

After months of fluctuating sales, the auto industry offered signs of recovery from its yearlong slump, as most automakers reported yesterday higher levels of U.S. sales in October. GM, the largest U.S. automaker, reported its first monthly sales gain in almost two years, while Hyundai and Subaru were huge winners thanks for their popular models and fuel-efficient sedans. Other top automakers—Toyota, Ford, Nissan—also posted higher sales.

GM reported its first monthly gain in U.S. sales in almost two years while Toyota and Ford also improved, a sign the auto industry it starting to crawl back from a yearlong slump.

NEW YORK When you think about car safety, you think brakes, air bags and seat belts. Now, you should check floor mats, too. The carpet in your driver’s footwell is at the center of what will be Toyota’s largest-ever U.S. vehicle recall, prompted by a fatal crash. The problem: Gas pedals in some Toyotas could become caught under the edge of floor mats. That may have led to a car cash that killed four people in August outside San Diego.

NHTSA: (888) 327-4236
  Toyota: (800) 331-4331
  Lexus: (800) 255-3987

Toyota has ordered dealers to inspect their cars after a floor mat was suspected of snaring the accelerator pedal of a Lexus that crashed in San Diego County and killed four.

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to end production in March 2010 at a California joint venture where it has built vehicles with General Motors, the company said Thursday.

A Honda design executive Thursday rejected claims his company’s Insight was a copycat of Toyota’s Prius, the world’s best-selling hybrid car.

Toyota reported a smaller-than-expected 77.8 billion yen ($819 million) quarterly loss and expects less red ink for the full year even as the world’s top automaker battles plunging sales and a strong yen.

Colfax Corp. today reported income of $6.9 million for the first quarter, a slight increase over the $6.8 million in the same period a year earlier. The Richmond-based maker of industrial pumps and valves said quarterly sales increased 4.3 percent to $136.3 million. Organic sales were up 18 percent, driven by strong growth in the commercial marine, oil and gas, power generation and global navy markets. But the global economic conditions continued to deteriorate in the quarter, which reflected in organic orders declining 25 percent.

TOKYO—Japanese automaker Toyota has big ambitions for the upcoming Formula One and NASCAR seasons, regardless of the global economic slowdown. The decision to stay in F1 gives Toyota a presence in the world’s two most visible series. In NASCAR’s top-level Sprint Cup series, the manufacturer’s cars are raced by three multi-car teams—Joe Gibbs Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull Racing.

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest automaker, plans to keep racing on the NASCAR and Formula One circuits, even as demand for cars plummets worldwide. The company will participate in the two racing series despite being financially restricted by severe business conditions, it said in an e-mailed statement this morning. Toyota is forecasting its first loss in 59 years as the global recession hammers demand for automobiles and the company seeks loans from the Japanese government.