Toyota says $50k Hydrogen Sedan coming by 2015
Posted by Staff (05/07/2010 @ 11:34 am)
Some promising news coming out of the Toyota camp? Yes, Toyota has plans for a hydrogen vehicle sometime around 2015 that will be in the 50k price tag. Looks like lithium-ion batteries might have some competition for the hearts and souls of buyers shopping for green cars and trucks. Can’t even imagine what the market will look like in the next 10 years!
From TheTruthAboutCars.com:
Lithium-ion batteries aren’t the only automotive cleantech that appears to be getting cheaper. Toyota’s head of advanced autos, Yoshihiko Masuda, tells Bloomberg that the Japanese automaker has cut the cost of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) by 90 percent in the last five years or so. Mid-decade, Toyota’s per-car estimates for FCVs ran near a million dollars per car. With costs now closer to the $100k mark, Toyota says it plans to cut that number in half by 2015. If they can make that happen, Masuda says, a $50k hydrogen FCV will be on like Donkey Kong.
Read the full article here.
Prius Minivan approved for launch in 2011
Posted by Staff (04/17/2010 @ 8:48 pm)
Word out here, is that Toyota will launch a 2011 Prius Minivan and guess what? It will be great on gas or electric or both and will probably be a solid seller for Toyota. The Prius has had it’s share of problems recently but the brand is still very strong and Toyota has plans to capitalize on that success.
From theTruthAboutCars.com:
 According to Reuters, The Nikkei is reporting that Toyota has approved a “competitively priced Prius hybrid minivan” for production in 2011. The new model will be the first Prius-branded vehicle in a long-rumored campaign by Toyota to stretch the nameplate to new models (future additions to the Prius line could include a compact model, based on the FT-CH concept). Depending on the timing of its release relative to the forthcoming plug-in Prius, it could also be the first lithium-ion battery-powered Toyota hybrid. Toyota will initially produce the new batteries in-house, before migrating production to a plant run by its joint venture with Panasonic. Toyota has not yet given details about pricing, performance, or even which markets this new minivan will initially be rolled out to.
Read the full article here.
Toyota halts Lexus GX 460 SUV sales after safety warning
Posted by Staff (04/14/2010 @ 3:05 pm)
You know things aren’t going your way when your marquee brand starts taking serious hits! Toyota is reportedly going to halt Lexus GX 460 sales after a recent safety warning. This appears to be the right thing to do and fix them before they head out the door. The rollover issue is more structural so this could take awhile.
From AutoNews.com:
TOKYO/DETROIT (Reuters) — Toyota Motor Corp. suspended sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 on Tuesday after influential magazine Consumer Reports urged car shoppers not to buy the SUV, calling it a “safety risk” that could roll over.
Toyota said its engineers were “vigorously testing” the luxury model to identify the risk cited by Consumer Reports, which said the vehicle was prone to slide when driven in sweeping turns and gave it a “not acceptable” rating.
The rare safety warning from the magazine, which is seen as an objective voice on auto safety and quality in North America, comes at a time when Toyota is battling to repair damage to its reputation from a series of recalls.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Toyota sales up 30 percent in March
Posted by Staff (03/30/2010 @ 3:16 pm)
Looks like Toyota will be bouncing back in March with a projected 30 percent increase in sales! Apparently the hefty incentives are blunting any further erosion in sales from the acceleration issues so you have to give Toyota sales/marketing some credit here. More people are now talking about their rebates than the gas pedal debacle and that’s exactly what Mr. Toyoda probably ordered.
From AutoNews.com:
NEW YORK — Perhaps seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, Toyota expects March sales to be up 30 to 35 percent over year-ago figures, outpacing industry gains, its top U.S. executive said today.
Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., said the “biggest surprise has been the RAV4,” which saw sales surge to an expected 22,000 units in March, far above the crossover’s typical sales. Lentz theorized that perhaps RAV4 incentives were a bit high.
While both car and truck sales have risen, “it’s really light trucks that are driving the business,” Lentz told journalists gathered outside the NADA/IHS Global Insight Forum here.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Ford, Toyota & Honda score well in J.D. Power rankings
Posted by Staff (03/19/2010 @ 3:54 pm)
It’s that time of year for the J.D. Power ranking and it looks like Ford, Toyota and Honda scored pretty well. It takes years to change perceptions but when a potential buyer reads the J.D. Power reports it doesn’t take long to register points.
From AutoNews.com:
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and American Honda Motor Co. claimed the biggest victories among mainstream automakers in the latest reliability scorecard from J.D. Power and Associates.
All three of Ford’s domestic brands finished among the top eight in Power’s annual study of how well vehicles hold up after three years of ownership. Toyota-Lexus and Honda-Acura also placed in the top 10 of the Vehicle Dependability Study, released today.Porsche, which sells fewer cars in a year than industry leaders sell in a week, topped 2009 co-winners Buick and Jaguar to rank No. 1.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Orange County District Attorney to Sue Toyota
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 5:37 pm)
More bad news for Toyota!
From AutoGuide.com:
The Orange County, California, District Attorney has announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against Toyota. The suit is over safety concerns with Toyota vehicles, and comes as Toyota has recalled over eight million vehicles worldwide due to several different safety issues. The suit aims to stop Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. from “continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.”
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Toyota sales to rise 30%?
Posted by Staff (03/12/2010 @ 1:26 am)
Will consumers stick with the problematic Toyota? According to this report Toyota sales for March are forecasted to rise 30% compared to March 2009. Looks like the heavy incentives are doing the trick for now but time will tell how much damage Toyota will suffer from this mess.
From Automotive News.com:
DETROIT — New incentives are boosting Toyota’s U.S. sales big time in early March, and analysts forecast a 30 percent bounce for the full month.
After Toyota brand sales fell 10 percent in February as it struggled with safety recalls, on March 1 Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. introduced 0 percent financing, subsidized leases and free maintenance incentives.
Toyota Senior Vice President Don Esmond told suppliers today that North American sales surged about 50 percent in the first eight days this month, The Associated Press reported.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
More problems for Toyota
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 3:16 pm)
More problems for Toyota with a runaway Prius in California!
From the Detroit Free Press:
LOS ANGELES — The driver of a Toyota Prius who called 911 on Monday to report his accelerator was stuck finally got the car stopped after about half hour with the help of the California Highway Patrol, law officers said.
“He was reaching speeds over 90 miles per hour,” CHP Officer Larry Landeros said of the driver, James Sikes.
A Toyota spokesman on Monday evening said the company was sending a representative to investigate the cause of the incident, which took place on Interstate 8 in San Diego County.
Read the full article here.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Toyota recalls more vehicles to fix faulty brakes
Posted by Staff (03/10/2010 @ 8:10 am)
Toyota announced a recall of some of the hybrid vehicles because of faulty brakes. The faulty braking is caused by glitches in the software that operates the anti-lock braking system. The software will be updated and, according to the Toyota website, will make the braking far more consistent.
The call came on the heels of a report from CNNMoney.com that said ““Problems with Prius brakes have prompted 124 reports of difficulty stopping in the United States alone, along with four accidents, two of which caused injuries.” Toyota is going through a bad spell and problems with accelerator pedals, floor mats and braking systems have hit a wide range of its cars from the Corolla to the Camry. The Prius is a highly prized hybrid car that is often hailed as a triumph of Toyota technology and derives most of its energy from the braking system. A malfunctioning braking system is not only a threat to safety but also affects reliability since the car could run out of fuel. Reports suggest that from May 2009 onwards this problem has appeared in 270,000 Prius cars in the USA and Japan.
The Los Angeles Times has reported that at least 100 drivers have reported braking malfunctions on bumpy roads to the US government. The US government itself says that faulty brakes are responsible for at least four crashes and two minor injuries. Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY) said, “There appears to be growing public concern regarding which Toyota vehicles may be problematic and how people should respond. Consumers want to know whether their cars are safe to drive, and if not, they need to know what to do about it.”
Toyota has compounded its own problems by completely mishandling the PR relating to these recalls. Its reputation for building the best cars on the road is now under severe strain.If you are pursuing a personal injury claim,remember to use a lawyer on a “no win no fee” basis(if you lose you don’t have to pay the lawyer’s fees).
Toyota FT-86 to Bring Back Spirit of AE-86
Posted by Staff (03/09/2010 @ 3:19 pm)
The Toyota FT-86 is what Mr. Toyoda wants people to start talking about! Can’t blame him one bit…
From AutoGuide.com:
Toyota says it has built the concept to embody the spirit of the Corolla AE-86, a tiny front-engine, rear drive sports coupe that is a legend among drifters, while also serving as a great platform for club racers and rally teams. The concept focuses on light weight to deliver what Toyota calls a “strong power to weight ratio,” while also focusing on handling. “It is an entirely driver-orientated car, engineered to capture the intrinsic joy of driving through precise, instantaneous responses to even the smallest throttle and steering inputs,” reads the latest press release.
Read the full article here.
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