In the wake of what may be the largest U.S. sales decline in Toyota’s history, the Japanese automaker with an invincible reputation has announced plans that are awfully familiar to anyone who works for General Motors, Ford or Chrysler. Toyota will be eliminating bonuses for 3,000 white-collar workers, cutting executive pay, reducing shifts at its North American plants and begin offering buyouts to its Stateside plant employees.

Toyota has 14 plants operating in North America and plans to reduce or temporarily halt production at some of those facilities. The automaker is considering enacting a system called “work sharing” at its plants in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, which would reduce employee work hours from 80 to 72 to adjust expenditures and output so that they better match current market conditions. The blue-collar buyouts will be offered to some 18,000 U.S. workers, but not those who work at Toyota’s joint-venture assembly operation in California, which is unionized..

Additionally, Toyota is reducing executive pay by 5% and has cancelled all bonuses for white-collar workers in an attempt to stem losses and prevent layoffs, something it is desperately trying to avoid.

[Source: Reuters | Image: Getty]

BMW is fishing for buyers in February and March, and its bait is to cover the first couple months of new-car payments. Right now, BMW is offering to pay the first two payments on selected models from its line, including versions of the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series and X5 models. This incentive is available on both remaining 2008 and current 2009 vehicles and can be combined with low APR financing deals of 0.9% for up to 60 months on the ’09s. The maximum payout is not to exceed $750 a month and the vehicle must be handled through BMW Financial Services.

If you want to take advantage of this offer, you’d better act now. Peter Miles, Executive Vice President of BMW’s North American Operations says that the German automaker does not plan to extend the program past March 31st for 2009 models and March 2nd for ’08s.

Toyota has just announced prices for its facelifted-for-2010 Camry, and the best-selling sedan will range from $19,395 for a six-speed manual, four-cylinder model (*$20,115 including destination charges) to $29,045 for the high-content V6 XLE automatic ($29,765 w/dest.). Hybrid buyers can expect to pay $26,150 ($26,870) before hitting the options list.

Those prices represent an increase of 1.2 percent ($281), which strikes us as reasonable in light of the updated interior, exterior, and content including standard stability control. 2010 Camry units begin hitting dealers next month. Click on the jump for the official press release and full pricing matrix.

With the first U.S.-spec Audi R8 FSI V10 going on the block in Boca Raton, earlier reports that the V10-powered supercar might not make it to the States have been debunked. Further proof that Audi isn’t going to leave the U.S. out of the fun comes in the form of a directive to dealers (posted after the break thanks to one of our readers) that confirms the R8 V10 is on the way and, although pricing hasn’t been officially announced, buyers can expect to pay approximately $45,000 more for the V10 model compared to its V8-powered counterpart.

The directive goes on to state that the R8 V10 will be sold in the States as a 2010 model and due to high demand for the current V8 variant, production of the V10 model cannot commence “as rapidly as anticipated in order to produce more V8 models to satisfy existing customer orders.” Buyers who want to hold out from the V10 should expect a lead time of eight to ten months if demand and production of the R8 continues at its current rate.

Driving a New Beetle convertible alone is enough to make this 30-something, male blogger blush from embarrassment. Now there’s a new, tarted-up version of the neo-Bug called the Blush that sports special colors and trimmings to match the driver’s face. The Blush is painted up in a hue called White Gold – a metallic finish that will likely be the pride of the Real Estate Agent’s parking lot, especially when paired with the red leather interior. Fold the red top down, cover it with the red boot and hit the road. You’ll be spinning the car’s uniquely-patterned 17-inch wheels on your way to the next showing. There’s the standard kit underhood: a 2.5-liter engine and a six-speed automatic transmission. $27,000 is all that separates you from this hunk of awesomeness. We’d love nothing more than to show you a 50-image gallery of the Blush, but VW has released only two interior shots of the car. Maybe they’re embarrassed a bit.

Porsche has announced pricing for its all-new Panamera luxury sedan. The standard four-passenger, rear-wheel-drive Panamera S, fitted with a 400-horsepower, 4.8-liter V8, will start at a cool $89,800. Bumping up to the all-wheel-drive Panamera 4S with the same powerplant will set you back $93,800. The top-of-the-line AWD Panamera Turbo features a 500 hp, twin-turbo 4.8-liter V8, and a window sticker starting at $132,600. (The prices do not include an estimated shipping charge of $975.)

Manufactured in Leipzig, Germany, the sedan is expected to compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLS (base price $71,575) and the upcoming Audi A7 (due in 2010). In case you were wondering, Maserati charges $119,750 for its entry-level Quattroporte sedan. We’ll get a better look at the upcoming Panamera at the Shanghai Motor show in April. According to the automaker, it is scheduled to roll into showrooms on October 17.

Mahindra’s plan to launch its midsize pickups in the United States has taken another interesting turn, as the Indian automaker now plans to assemble the first U.S.-bound units at home and not in Ohio as originally planned. The change means that Mahindra will now be forced to pay the 25% federal “chicken tax” that was first created in the early ’60s in retaliation against European tariffs on U.S.-bred chicken.

In any case, Mahindra doesn’t expect additional delays in getting its diesel-powered pickup trucks to U.S. dealerships. In fact, selling Indian-made units may actually expedite the truck’s fourth-quarter introduction by a few weeks.

Look for a big marketing push in advance of the Indian truck’s launch here in the States, especially at motocross events around the country. Mahindra believes that its truck will appeal to dirt bike riders who want a fuel-efficient hauler. The manufacturer says its truck will combine 30 mpg economy from its 2.2L four-cylinder diesel engine with a 7.5-foot bed that can accept a payload of 1.3 tons; all in a package that’s priced 10-15% below comparable Japanese offerings.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

The car you see here may not look like much, but it helped carry us into the nuclear age. Or, at least some of the scientists who brought us there. This 1941 Packard Clipper limousine is one of three that are still known to exist (coachbuilder Fitzjohn built 100 of the stretch cars that year), but we’re willing to bet that the other two don’t have nearly as colorful a history.

This car was used to shuttle Manhattan Project scientists between the Lamy train station in New Mexico and the project sites at Los Alamos and Trinity Base Camp. As we all know, the work of those men eventually ended World War II and altered the course of history forever. As for the big Packard, it was supposed to be scrapped. Instead, it was acquired by a collector, and subsequently decayed over the the next several decades until its importance was realized.

Now, the National Atomic Museum is embarking on a two-year restoration project of the big Packard, as well as a ‘42 Plymouth that carried plutonium used in the Trinity test explosion.

Mazda will call back some 29,000 examples of its slippery new Mazda6 sedan for a potential door handle fault that could cause them to open without warning. According to Automotive News, the outside handle can cause the door to open as a result of an “inconsistent dimension combination” between the bracket and the handle (read: they don’t line up properly). The fix will involve replacing any/all door handles and/or brackets if they are found to be defective.

In other recall news:

• Chrysler will recall 13,000 Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans over the possibility that unused connectors for the blind-spot detection system can corrode, leading to a possible vehicle fire. Affected vehicles will have the unused connector sealed and a fuse replaced.
• Ford will recall some 11,000 units of their 2009 two-wheel drive Ranger pickups due to potentially faulty front wheel spindles. The spindles will be replaced at no cost to the owners.
• General Motors will recall 8,000 G6 cars from the 2005-2006 model years over a corroded connector that could cause issues with the brake lamps, cruise control, and gearshift. The fix? A bit of good old-fashioned lubricant to prevent rust.
• Ferrari will call back around 2,000 F430 Spyders to install a set of heat shields to protect some hydraulic hoses. As the story goes, the convertible top’s hydraulic system may leak fluid, leading to smoking and burning.

In all cases, affected owners can expect to receive a letter warning them of the issue, urging them to schedule a no-charge service appointment with their local dealer.

[Source: Automotive News - subs. req.]