3 Car Rental Companies Pull Toyotas

Three car rental companies said Wednesday they are pulling thousands of Toyotas from their fleets over faulty gas pedals.

The Pontiac Vibe, made by General Motors Co. in conjunction with Toyota, has also been recalled and will be removed from service by Enterprise Holdings, which operates the Alamo Rent A Car, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental chains.

Toyota Motor Co. announced Tuesday that it was suspending sales and halting production of eight models following last week's recall to repair sticking gas pedals that could make the cars and trucks accelerate without warning.

Avis Budget Group Inc. said that it is immediately removing about 20,000 Toyotas from its rental fleets in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Separately, Hertz Corp. said it would temporarily stop renting vehicles involved in the recall.

Privately held Enterprise said it is also pulling the affected vehicles, which represent about 4 percent of its fleet, but is acting out of "an abundance of caution."

Hyundai Motor's Q4 Profit Nearly Quadruples

Hyundai Motor's net profit nearly quadrupled in the fourth quarter on higher sales following a strong performance during 2009 in the fast-growing Chinese and Indian auto markets.

South Korea's largest automaker and a growing force in the global market, earned 945.5 billion won ($820 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, it said in a statement Thursday. Hyundai Motor Co. reported net profit of 243.5 billion won the same period the year before.

The Ulsan, South Korea-based maker of the Elantra and Sonata sedans and the luxury Genesis said sales during the quarter rose 9.3 percent to 9.65 trillion won from 8.83 trillion won a year earlier.

For all of 2009, Hyundai recorded a net profit of 2.96 trillion won, more than doubling from 1.45 trillion won in 2008. Sales for the year, however, fell 1 percent to 31.9 trillion won from 32.2 trillion.

GM Aims Incentives At Fearful Toyota Owners

General Motors is offering interest-free loans and other incentives to Toyota owners who may want to get rid of their cars due to fears about faulty gas pedals.

GM General Manager of Retail Sales Steve Hill said Wednesday the company is responding to thousands of inquiries from Toyota owners.

The Detroit automaker is offering offer zero percent financing for 60 months on most models. It also will offer $1,000 to Toyota owners toward a down payment on a GM vehicle and up to $1,000 to help to pay off current leases early. The offers run through the end of February.

From the Wall Street Journal Report