The Toyota recalls have begun to trigger the filing of lawsuits across the country. A class-action suit in Brooklyn, New York was filed yesterday, a team of lawyers representing 15 plaintiffs filed a $1 billion suit in Florida, and suits were also filed in Ohio and Texas, amongst many others. While most of these lawsuits may represent a pesky headache for Toyota, as many of those involved were uninjured, there is likely to be at least one fatal case that exemplifies the seriousness of Toyota's problems that could really put them in an even worse place than they are now.

On Friday, the New York Times highlighted one of these tragic cases. A 77-year-old grandmother was driving in her own neighborhood, and according to several witnesses they say her car accelerated out of control, ran several red lights, dodged other cars and eventually hit a tree at approximately 80 miles per hour. Guadalup Alberto, the driver, was killed.

President Barack Obama's plans to nix a proposed manned space flight back to the moon mean that an American may not step foot on the moon for many more years. However, thanks to a collaboration between General Motors and NASA, we might be able to send someone else to the moon -- a robot that is also an astronaut, called a "robonaut".

GM and and NASA are working to speed up the development of the next generation of robots that will have applications for both building cars and use in space flights. A product of the collaboration between scientists at GM and NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, have built a robonaut called Robonaut 2, or for short, R2. It claims to be the most technological advanced robot, and is faster and more dexterous than before.

If you thought a collaboration between a car manufacturer and the nation's space program was a bit odd, it's really not. GM has worked with NASA in the past, and was involved in the space program during the 1960s. GM built navigation systems for the Apollo missions, as well as helped to develop the Lunar Rover.

Alan Taub, GM's vice president for global research and development commented:

Toyota held a conference call with investors today and admitted that their popular Prius model had problems with its anti-lock braking system. The company said that they corrected corrected the problems last month on their 2010 model. The company announced that it would seize sales and production on eight models last week and the timing of their latest flaw with the Prius is ill-timed to say the least.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is telling owners of recalled Toyotas to stop driving the vehicles immediately. Lahood says that Toyota says that they know how to fix the cars and trucks that have been recalled, and that they should be taken to dealerships for the fix.

Toyota stock price is taking a beating today as it has been revealed that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will conduct an investigation into electronic throttle control systems and potential electromagnetic issues which would be a much bigger problem than the company has stated it has.

Toyota has announced that they have found a fix for their accelerators that led to the company recalling over 2 million vehicles and halting sales of eight models. The company announced in a press release:

Parts to reinforce the pedals are already being shipped for use by dealers, and dealer training is under way. Many Toyota dealers will work extended hours to complete the recall campaign as quickly and conveniently as possible, some even staying open 24 hours a day. The company has also taken the unprecedented action of stopping production of affected vehicles for the week of February 1.

"Nothing is more important to us than the safety and reliability of the vehicles our customers drive," said Jim Lentz, president and Chief Operating Officer, TMS. "We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers and we are doing everything we can - as fast as we can - to make things right. Stopping production is never an easy decision, but we are 100% confident it was the right decision. We know what's causing the sticking accelerator pedals, and we know what we have to do to fix it. We also know it is most important to fix this problem in the cars on the road."

There's nothing like the prospect of losing $550 million per month to spur innovation. Toyota has told its employees that it has figured out a way to fix a problem with sticking accelerator pedals, and will begin briefing them on the details on Friday.

In an e-mail to employees sent out Thursday, Toyota said it had presented the fix to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On its website, the company said that engineers are working around the clock to fix the problem which is present in eight of its models, including its top-selling Camry.

According to the automaker and the company that makes the gas pedal systems, the accelerators rarely stick. But earlier this week Toyota halted sales and production of the models, and has recalled at least 2.4 million cars and trucks in the U.S., Europe, and China due to the problem.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has launched an investigation into the problems with Toyota's accelerator pedal systems, and has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 4 entitled "Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?" A second House investigative panel is planning a hearing for Feb. 25 on Toyota recalls.

General Motors and Ford are aiming to poach current owner of Toyota. Toyota has recently recalled millions of vehicles and halted sales because of problems with their accelerators.

GM will offer a $1000 rebate until February released and said in a press release:

"We decided to make this offer after receiving many e-mails and calls from our dealers, who have been approached by Toyota customers asking for help."

Toyota Motor Corps. massive recall of eight models of their vehicles is now expanding to Europe. Millions of the company's most popular cars have been recalled due to dangerous accelerator pedals.

Toyota said that it had not yet determined how many vehicles in Europe would be recalled or when, but analysts and media in Europe are estimating that 2 million cars may be affected on top of the roughly 6 million cars in North America.

The recall and halt of sales and production in the U.S. of eight models have damaged Toyota's once stellar record for safety and reliability. The timing couldn't have been worse either, as the automaker was already struggling to recover from a downturn in the industry as well as growing competition.

On Thursday, shares of Toyota fell another 4 percent, taking losses since last week to more than 15 percent. This has wiped out about $25 billion in value to Japan's largest company.

Toyota has ordered their dealerships to stop selling 8 different models of cars because of the problems announced last week which involve a sticking accelerator pedal. Due to the sales suspension, Toyota is expected to stop producing vehicles on the following production lines for the week of February 1 to assess and coordinate activities.

The vehicles affected are as followed, and if you own one please be advised that it has been recalled and needs to be repaired:

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

Spyker has reached a deal with General Motors and will purchase the brand Saab. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the deal was worth $74 million, and GM will retain preferred shares in Saab worth $326 million.

"Today’s announcement is great news for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, great news for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide, and great news for GM,” said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances.

“General Motors, Spyker Cars, and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand, and we're all happy for the positive outcome,” Smith added.