2012 Toyota Prius V
Filed under: Hybrid, Minivan/Van, Hatchback, Toyota, New Car Reviews
Life In The Commuter Lane
Form follows function, so it’s easy to find one element of a vehicle that explains everything you need to know about it.
Look at the widened haunches of a 911 and you know there’s serious hardware in the Porsche’s rump. Check the elongated bed [...]
Minimalist Toyota FT-Bh Concept boasts 112 miles per gallon
March 8, 2012 by admin
Filed under Concept Cars
Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Europe, Toyota
If what Toyota tells us about the FT-Bh is true, it’s not some futuristic fantasy, but a design study that points to what a next generation Yaris hybrid might look like. With an unbelievably low, sub-1,800-pound curb weight and a 0.235 coefficient of drag, the FT-Bh [...]
2012 Toyota Yaris Hybrid plays big brother to the Prius C
March 8, 2012 by admin
Filed under Green Auto
Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Geneva Motor Show
Toyota has unveiled the 2012 Yaris Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show – the first B-segment hybrid in Europe. While the vehicle makes use of a 74-horsepower 1.5-liter gasoline engine, engineers mated the internal combustion mill with a more compact 80-hp electric motor along with a smaller inverter and [...]
Toyota recalling Camry, Venza and Tacoma
Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota
While Toyota recalls are no longer the earth-shattering news they were back in 2009, they’re still news. And today’s announcement certainly qualifies for the modifier “big,” with nearly half a million Tacoma pickups being recalled under one campaign, and 116,000 Venza crossovers and 70,500 Camrys under another.
The 2009 Camry is [...]
Toyota releases new FT-Bh teasers ahead of Geneva
February 23, 2012 by admin
Filed under Concept Cars
Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Etc., Toyota
Toyota has let slip a few additional teasers for the company’s FT-Bh concept headed to the Geneva Motor Show in March. As you may recall, the vehicle is an engineering study designed to evaluate what kind of emission reductions can be accomplished in the city car [...]
Paice drags Hyundai, Kia into long-running hybrid patent fight with Toyota
February 20, 2012 by admin
Filed under Green Auto
Filed under: Etc., Hybrid, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota
With all the news coming out recently about the small claims lawsuit over the Honda Civic Hybrid, readers may have forgotten the name behind a long-running legal issue over Toyota’s hybrid system: Paice. The latest development is that Paice and the Abell Foundation (an investor in Paice) have sued [...]
University study shows recalls have hardly hurt Toyota
Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Recalls, Safety, Toyota
If you think Toyota is still reeling from negative opinions stirred up by the company’s rash of recalls in 2009, North Carolina State University has some news for you. According to a new study conducted by researchers at the institution, the recalls had “little to no impact” on [...]
Toyota teases FT-Bh concept hybrid city car ahead of Geneva
February 12, 2012 by admin
Filed under Concept Cars
Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrid, Geneva Motor Show, Hatchback, Toyota
Most concepts you’ll see on the show stands of the Geneva Motor Show will come packing some manner of sci-fi powertrain and ultra-expensive chassis and body materials. That’s where the Toyota FT-Bh concept stands apart.
Toyota is calling it a “full hybrid city car study,” so the [...]
Feds investigating Toyota Camry and RAV4 over door fires
Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Toyota
According to a report from The Associated Press, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a probe into possible driver-side door fires in 2007 Toyota Camry sedans and RAV4 crossovers. A total of 830,000 vehicles may be affected.
Six fires have been reported to NHTSA, all stemming from [...]
Toyota sells 400,000th hybrid in diesel-loving Europe
January 31, 2012 by admin
Filed under Green Auto
Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Europe/EU
Some notable dates for Toyota and/or hybrid fans:
1997: Toyota introduces its first production hybrid vehicle, the Prius
August 2010: Toyota sells on millionth hybrid in Japan.
May 2011: Toyota sells one millionth Prius hybrid in the U.S.
June 2011: The two-millionth hybrid is sold in the U.S.
As of today, Toyota has sold over 3.5 [...]
