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Street Image Toyota Venza Sportlux at SEMA

The Toyota Venza has already seen a huge modification by a tuner, but now Street Image has got in on the action with the Toyota Venza Sportlux. This performance car can be seen on show at SEMA, and it certainly means business. Read more

Toyota iQ micro car to get new rear window airbag

The most important feature of a car these days is safety, and achieving a five star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is what automakers aim for. Many would assume that it is the larger cars that have all the best safety features, but that is not the case. Read more

Toyota and EDF launching plug-in hybrid Prius

When it comes to the environment we all know that hybrid cars are the way forward, well it seems that Toyota and EDF are launching a new and what is to be UK’s first ever plug-in hybrid car today (September 10).

The launch event is happening at Hyde Park, the Toyota Plug-in Prius UK trial will determine the vehicles performance, driver behaviour and expectations and of course what customers will think of the plug-in hybrid.

I believe this new Toyota Plug-in Prius is the way forward, the question is “Will this vehicle be something special or just a flash in a pan product?

Source – Smart Planet

Oil prices force Toyota to Cut 2009 Sales Forecast

Toyota Motor Corp. has had to make the decision to cut their sales figures for 2009. The have reduced the sales forecast by 6.7 percent as a result of current oil prices, as gasoline is nearing the $4 a gallon mark.

The biggest blow for Toyota, the world’s second-largest automaker, is that the demand for trucks has dropped massively. It seems that it is now smaller cars that Americans are wanting. Read more

Toyota Profit hits five year low: Down 28 percent

Toyota Motor Corp. has seen a huge drop in their profit, the biggest in five years. The world’s second-largest carmaker has blamed poor sales of sport-utility vehicles and trucks, due to high fuel prices.

Toyota has reported that their net income has fallen by 28 percent to 353.7 billion yen or $3.2 billion, shares are now just 112.28 yen a share. The year earlier net income was 491.5 billion yen, or 153.89 yen per share.

According to Bloomberg, Toyota’s operating profit in North America feel by 57 percent, as we mentioned it is the sale of larger vehicles that have seen the biggest drop. Katsuaki Watanabe, President of Toyota Motor Corp. has had to halt the production of Tundra pickups and Sequoia SUVs for three months as a result of high oil prices.

Toyota has always been known for their larger vehicles, where Honda seems to produce smaller and fuel-efficient cars. This has seen an 8.1 percent gain for the automaker.

It is not just Toyota who is being hit with huge profit losses; Ford and GM are two more to add to that list. Automakers are now facing a fork in the road; they now have some tough decisions to make. One thing is certain; they will all have to think about producing smaller fuel-efficient cars.

Toyota lowers forecast as gasoline prices affects SUV sales

Toyota Motor Corp. has had to lower their sales and production forecast, this has been blamed on the high price of gasoline. The continuing increase in gasoline prices means that Americans are less willing to purchase SUV’s and pickups, which is having an affect on Toyota’s sales targets.

Toyota is expecting to sell 9.5 million vehicles worldwide by the end of the year, that is 3.6 percent down on the 9.85 million target, or 350,000 units. Last year Toyota sold 9.37 million vehicles.

The price of a gallon of gasoline topped $4 last month, this immediately dented SUV sales and Pickups. It was not just Toyota who was affected by this; even General Motors saw sales in SUV’s drop.

As a result Toyota had to suspend production of the Tundra pickups and Sequoia SUVs for three months from August.

Source

Toyota plans solar-powered air conditioning in Prius hybrid

Back in May we reported that the Toyota Prius Hybrid had achieved over one million car sales, this was great news for global warming and today we have heard some more news about Toyota’s efforts in this area.

Toyota are planning to put solar-powered air conditioning in high-end Prius hybrid models, this new feature will show that the Prius is a car that wants to be good for the environment.

The third-generation Toyota Prius will launch in 2009 and Kyocera solar panels will be used to generate between two and five kilowatts of electricity.

While Toyota has not commented officially on this news, it is believed to be a solid rumor.

With oil prices rising we will all have to look towards cars that use less oil and give more kilometers per gallon, this is one reason why the sales of Prius have been increasing.

How have oil prices affected you and will you be looking towards hybrid cars in the near future?

Source: Read

Review of the 2009 Toyota Venza Crossover Sedan

The new 2009 Toyota Venza looks as though it could be a winner for the Japanese car manufacturer, it seems that the time of the old station wagon is almost gone as these type of crossover sedans take over. The Venza is supposed to be like a sport-utility vehicle; however the vehicle is much more of a car than a CUV. No matter what you call it the 2009 Toyota Venza looks as though it will is a winner.

The car was unveiled at the Detroit International Auto show in January and it seemed to generate a lot of attention to its stand, if you were to ask the question “what does the 2009 Toyota Venza remind us off,” I would have to say like the Ford Edge crossover. As you would expect Toyota seems to lean heavily on Lexus to get the car looking sleek and give it a more luxury fell. The Venza looks a little like the Lexus RX350, however the Venza sits lower to the ground even though the vehicle comes with 19-inch alloys as standard however, if that is not enough as an option you can choose a set of 20-inch alloys.

The 2009 Toyota Venza is very roomy inside and will seat five adults comfortably, however as it is higher than a standard sedan the Venza offers a little more head room. When it comes to storage space in the rear the 2009 Toyota Venza seems to come up a little small, you will get the same amount of storage as you would in a Camery or a Highlander.

The basic engine is big at 2.7 liter, however if you want more grunt then the 3.5 liter V6 is a great choice. That engine will push out 268 horsepower and is mounted to a six-speed automatic transmission. Toyota will offer you the choice of either a front wheel drive or an all four wheel drive.

Toyota have worked on the safety features and has given the 2009 Toyota Venza front, side and head-protection airbags as well as a little knee-protection bag for the driver. Also included is the new Toyota STAR active safety system, this includes anti-lock brakes, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, stability control as well as traction control. You could not be in a safer environment.

There are a range of models in the 2009 Toyota Venza Crossover Sedan range even the lowest model comes with cruise control, automatic dual-zone air conditioning, electro-chromatic rearview mirror with compass, six-CD changer, remote keyless entry and a lot more. So you do not have to break the bank in getting some extra gadgets in your car.

Source – City Auto World

Top Secret Supra twin turbo V12 reaches 222mph or 358 km/h

Remember the old day with the cool but not so great Toyota Supra, well it seems as if the car has been given a new lease of life. Smokey Nagata decided to take out his tuned up Top Secret Supra twin turbo V12 out for a spin on the Nardo Ring test track in Italy, which makes a change as he normally tries out his cars on the road.

Well the guy managed to take his car up to 222 mph (358 km/h) on the race track; however Nagata was not pleased with the top speed as he was targeting a speed of 248 mph (400 km/h). The Top Secret Supra uses a V12 twin turbo which instead of the standard 276 horsepower, manages to pump out over 1000hp thanks to all the unique tuning.

Source – Bespoke Ventures via AutoBlog

Toyota and General Motors Recall: Corolla, Matrix and Pontiac Vibe’s

Today we are hearing that Toyota and General Motors have issued a recall of 662,093 small cars in the U.S. The cars being recalled include 122,593 Pontiac Vibes from GM, 539,500 of Toyota’s 2004 and 2003 model Matrix and Corolla cars.

The reason given for the recall was because of “a flaw that could cause power windows to fail” and Bloomberg reported, “In some cases, bolts in the driver and front-passenger doors may fail and allow the window glass to come loose”.

Even though this is the case, we are hearing that it will not be to the end of the month when Toyota will begin notifying owners by mail.

Toyota Yaris SR with fully-integrated TomTom GPS: dockable Sat-Nav

If I had to choose a great new car I would have to choose the new little Toyota Yaris SR, as it has a cool feature a fully-integrated TomTom GPS. This means that you no longer have to stick your TomTom on your Read more