Posts Tagged ‘Toyota’

An industry publication, Advertising Age, has named the Toyota Prius as one of their picks for ‘Products of the Decade‘. The publication sites the Prius with changing consumer behavior and inciting other car companies to ‘go green’.

Other products of the decade include Guitar Hero, WII, and the Apple iPod.

The Toyota Prius was one of the worlds first hybrid vehicles, thereby prompting other manufacturers to follow suit. Despite the additional competition, the Prius has remained the most popular hybrid in the US. Hollywood has embraced the new technology gaining endorsements from the likes of Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Larry David.

According to reporter, Jim Robinson, this years Los Angeles Auto Show was all about SMALL. He gives a great round-up of all the major car manufacturers in his recent article, Test Drive: Small cars take centre stage at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Here’s what he had to say about this years auto trends:

“Hulking SUVs and hyper fast supercars were all shunted to the periphery of the display stands. In fact, the smaller and more fuel efficient each vehicle was, the closer it was to the front.”

This is great news for Toyota and our 3rd generation Prius, which can boast the best hybrid technology currently on the market. He gave a comprehensive report on Toyota’s offering at this years show:

• The 2010 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid vehicle (PHV) made its North American debut.

• Built specifically to support a global demonstration program that began in December, the Prius PHV is based on the third-generation Prius.

• The vehicle expands Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology with the introduction of a first generation lithium-ion battery that enables all-electric operation at higher speeds and longer distances than the conventional Prius hybrid.

• When fully charged, the vehicle is targeted to achieve a maximum electric-only range of approximately 13 miles and will be capable of achieving highway speeds up to 60 mph in electric-only mode.

• For longer distances, the Prius PHV reverts to “hybrid mode” and operates like a regular Prius.

• This ability to utilize all-electric power for short trips or hybrid power for longer drives alleviates the issue of limited cruising range encountered with pure electric vehicles.

• Toyota also had the next generation Sienna minivan on display.

Thanks for the great reporting and in-depth coverage, keep it coming!

TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announces its production and sales subsidiary in India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private, Ltd. (TKM), plans to unveil a concept for a new compact car designed for the Indian market, as well as display 13 other concept and production vehicles, at the 10th Auto Expo automobile show in New Delhi from January 5 to 11, 2010.

The concept for the new compact car is to be unveiled at a TKM press conference on January 5. Other vehicles on display are to include the redesigned “Prado” and “Fortuner” SUVs and the India-market-leading “Innova” minivan. Read the rest of this entry »

According to Nascar.com, officials of Rusty Wallace Racing and Toyota Motor Sales  announced Thursday that beginning with the 2010 season, RWR will field Toyota Camrys in its quest for the Nationwide Series championship.

The team currently plans to enter the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys in the 2010 Nationwide Series, piloted by Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan, respectively.

Toyota is the manufacturer to beat in the Nationwide Series right now and after seeing the level of engineering support they provide their teams, I understand why; their level of support is second to none.
– RUSTY WALLACE

Additionally, a separate agreement with team owner, Rusty Wallace, will enable him to represent the Toyota brand on a national basis.

“I’m very proud to have the opportunity for the team and I to represent the Toyota brand,” Wallace said. “Our team’s decision on manufacturers involved input from a lot of people within the organization. We decided that at the end of the day, our goal as a race team is simple: to win races and championships. Thus, we all had to take a long look at which manufacturer partner could best help us reach that goal.

“I’m a Toyota dealer already, so I knew the high levels of support and dedication they provide to their partners. After touring the TRD facility in North Carolina, I was completely convinced. Toyota is the manufacturer to beat in the Nationwide Series right now and after seeing the level of engineering support they provide their teams, I understand why; their level of support is second to none. We’re really excited about the opportunity to partner with Toyota for 2010 and beyond.”

For more details, read the complete article at http://www.nascar.com.

This is one of our favorite videos of all time about the Toyota Pickup. Yes it is from Britain, yes it is a diesel, which we do not have, but it is still a classic. It is a long segment, so give yourself about 45 minutes.