Toyota Motor Sales is conducting a massive voluntary recall of some 1.53 million Lexus and Toyota vehicles. The recalls, mostly in the U.S. and Japan, are because of brake fluid and fuel pump problems. The company is recalling 740,000 Avalon, Highlander and Lexus RX330, and Lexus GS300, IS250, and IS350 vehicles sold in the United States in recent years to address the possibility that "A small amount of the brake fluid could slowly leak from the brake master cylinder, resulting in illumination of the brake warning lamp," per a company statement.  The company is recalling nearly 600,000 such …

J.D. Power and Associates says it has tapped five consumer trends emerging from the social media commentary it has been studying as part of its new online trendspotting division. The company says since consumers access to social networks will accelerate through the proliferation of smartphone and mobile devices, brands have to focus on being on the ball in terms of serving up timely and accurate information accessible on mobile devices. And consumers are scaling back and favoring simpler, "minimalist" lifestyles over ostentation and excess, per the firm. That means brands and marketers need to focus more strongly on value …

About 244,000 people in Germany asked Google to remove images of their houses and apartments from its Street View maps, according to a Google blog post. Google said its close to launching Street View imagery for the 20 biggest cities in Germany, but it doesn't expect the opt-out process and requests to derail plans to activate the service this year.

Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad is going to begin advertising to raise awareness of the brand and the benefits of rail shipping. The "One line, infinite possibilities" effort, by RP3 Agency, includes two TV spots to air on CNN and Fox News during the election season as well as print, out of home, social media and other digital elements. Ad creative uses the horizontal silver lines in the NS logo as a motif in the ads, which show a series of images demonstrating the environmental, business and logistics benefits of rail shipping.

DHL Express is touting its new Time Definite program with a B-to-B marketing push. The company says the new premium door-to-door service guarantees shipments by 9:00 a.m. (10:30 a.m. to Mexico) or 12:00 noon to major business centers in Europe, the Americas, and parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia, as well as import from those regions to the U.S by 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon, per the company. The "No One Delivers" advertising campaign will run in major newspapers, various small and medium-sized business magazines, online and through out-of-home placements at U.S. airports. The ads will also …

Farmers is the latest insurance company to use humor as a weapon in a pop-culture war between companies. It's a big change from the ante delluvian (pre-Geico) days when messaging around home, life and auto insurance exploited either a "Mr. Rogers" type good-neighbor pitch, or a "told you so" censure of people who got double-slapped by a disaster and lousy coverage. Farmers effort, which includes TV involves a fictive "University of Farmers" overseen by a professor Nathaniel Burke, played by character actor J.K. Simmons. The national campaign, by RPA and Tool of North America makes fun of educational films …

Suzuki's new SX4 SportBack is featured on History Channel's "Top Gear," per the Brea, Calif.-based company. The car will be in the inaugural Big Star in a Small Car segment, scheduled to air this November. The initial episode of the show -- produced by from BBC Worldwide Productions -- features the host (named "The Stig"), Kid Rock, actors Tim Allen, Michelle Rodriguez and Dominic Monaghan, and skateboard king Tony Hawk. They drive a closed-course 1.6-mile track in Irvine, Calif., to test the SX4 SportBack.

Vizio has signed a four-year agreement to be the presenting sponsor of the Rose Bowl through 2014. As part of the agreement, the consumer electronics company will be the title sponsor of the 2014 BCS National Championship game, which will be hosted by the organization in Pasadena. As part of the arrangement, the Rose Bowl games will be known as the "Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio," while the championship game will be named the "2014 Vizio BCS National Championship game." "Sports fans, particularly football fans, are a critically important audience for our brand as it continues to …

Yahoo Tuesday reported third-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations but the Web portal but fell short of revenue forecasts. The company posted an adjusted profit of 29 cents a share in the quarter compared to 13 cents in the year-earlier period. A big portion of the gain came from the sale of  classified site HotJobs in the quarter. Net revenue was $1.12 billion compared to $1.13 billion a year ago. Analysts had expected Yahoo to report net income of 15 cents a share on sales of $1.13 billion, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters. Yahoo said …

While fashion bloggers have been wielding more power with each runway season, Hanes' Just My Size is betting the plus-sized bloggers have even more to say, wooing them with a fashion event this week in New York. And it's just part of an effort, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company says, to use social media to build its connection to one of America's largest—if most-spurned--consumer groups. While marketers, retailers and even mainstream fashion media have certainly stepped up efforts to connect with heavier women, "she is getting tired of being ignored," Marie Teza, director and general manager of JMS, tells Marketing …