Nik J Miles

Posts Tagged ‘Toyota’

“Toyota’s Camry lineup undergoes reinvention”

Toyota’s Camry is all new for the 2012 model year. The Camry has been America’s best-selling car for nine years running, and for 13 of the past 14 years. This latest iteration Camry represents the seventh generation of the iconic Toyota model, which was first introduced in 1983 and has since sold over 15 million Camry models globally.

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 Prius dealers are now receiving two additions to their Prius menu, a new wagon-like-like Prius v and a Prius Plug-in.

 Prius v

The Prius v is designed to meet the needs of growing families with active lifestyles while providing the same attributes traditionally found in the Prius DNA including Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive.  With 58 percent more cargo space than the Prius Liftback (a total 34.3 cubic feet), the v approaches the capacity of small SUVs.   It could also be a good addition to taxi fleets with the extra rear seat and cargo room.

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When you’ve had the best-selling car in America for 13 of the last 14 years, you don’t want to stray too far from the winning combination, and Toyota appears to have done just that.  It’s a bit more sophisticated looking, perhaps, but your neighbors won’t likey know that you have the new generation Camry.

The seventh generation Camry’s evolutionary design has a more spacious interior, with better driving dynamics and an even quieter ride.  They also boast class leading safety, fuel economy and multi-media technology with Toyota proclaiming this is the best Camry every, which it should be, after 28 years of improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

Ford CEO Alan Mulally

A chance meeting between Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda in an airport lounge appears to have resulted in an agreement for the two companies to jointly develop a new gas-electric hybrid fuel system for pickups and sport utilities.  They have also agreed to work on standardizing telematics systems and technologies.

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda

The two companies announced last week that they signed a memorandum of understanding on the product development and expect to ink a formal agreement on the pack next year. Read the rest of this entry »

In a move that should help a both Toyota and Tesla, the pair has announced they will jointly develop a Toyota RAV4 electric vehicle to be built at the Toyota Woodstock, Ontario plant starting next year.

“The Tesla-Toyota joint development team has agreed that building the vehicle at the Woodstock plant on the same line as the gasoline-powered RAV4, will streamline and simplify the production process and guarantee the highest level of quality control,” said Ray Tanguay, TMMC Chairman. “This is a great example of Toyota’s determination to collaborate with companies with leading edge technology.” Read the rest of this entry »

More of a Good Thing

Monterey, Calif. – By now nearly everyone is familiar with the Toyota Prius.  With more than one million of them on the American roads, they have become the standard for hybrids outnumbering all the other hybrids combined.

What most people don’t know is there are now three Prius models, or will be this fall, and a forth due soon.  In addition to the current Prius, there is Prius Plug-In, the midsize Prius v and debuting earlier this year at the Detroit auto show was the Prius c Concept. Read the rest of this entry »

Road trip! During a typical year we each fly 30 to 50 flights, but as automotive journalists, we only have time to make perhaps three to five road trips each year.  What’s wrong with this picture?

Most of our driving time is centered on getting a feel for the two new cars we get each week to test at home.  We used them for everyday driving, like running to Costco and Home Depot and then we drive them over one of our fun-to-drive test loops through the mountains near our home.  Between that and the travel to new car introductions, we only have time to drive about 150 to 200 miles for most cars we test. Read the rest of this entry »

A hybrid performance package sounds like a dichotomy doesn’t it?

First shown at the 2010  Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show — the Prius PLUS Performance Package features components of the new PLUS hybrid performance line from Toyota Racing Development (TRD).

The package was developed to meet growing demands by hybrid drivers to have their car look cool, or different from the other million Prii on the American road.  It also makes it handle better, too. Read the rest of this entry »

Toyota expects to have its North American vehicle manufacturing levels back to 100 percent by September after production cuts caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March.  Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, Sequoia, Sienna and Venza, which are all built in North America, returned to previous production levels as of June , and on average, the company expects to be a 80 percent back overall by August. Read the rest of this entry »

“2012 Prius V : Expands Toyota’s Hybrid family”

The Toyota Prius for 2010 was better in nearly every way imaginable, moving from its pioneer status to that of a Hybrid icon. It was a genuine “Hyper-miler”. The claimed EPA mileage estimates were 51 mpg City, 48 mpg Highway, and 50 mpg combined which could be bested with only a minimal amount of effort and focus, but given the way most Prius owners really drive their cars, the actual mileage will probably fall considerably short of the Prius’ potential for economy.

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