Perhaps in an attempt to capitalize on the Honda CR-Z’s allure, Toyota has added a bit of sportiness to its ever-popular Prius hybrid. At this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas, Toyota unveiled the Prius Plus Performance Package. This unique package will add a seven-piece aero kit to the Prius along with 17-inch forged wheels [...]
Toyota
Lotus earned plenty of attention at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, as it showed off five gorgeous concept cars. Among these concepts was the Lotus Elite, a 2+2 grand tourer featuring a Toyota-sourced supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine producing 611 horsepower. What’s also an attractive feature is the retractable folding hard-top, which doesn’t interfere with the [...]
The Toyota FT-86 concept was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show and has since suffered delays, due in part to concerns over its powertrain and its price tag. However, the latest reports suggest this stunning, affordable rear-wheel-drive 2+2 will indeed make it to production as a Scion model, priced around $25K. Akio Toyoda has indicated [...]
According to Japan’s Nikkei business daily, Mazda will increase investment in research and development of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles. Already Mazda has boosted its R&D dollars compared to 2009, but the automaker is looking to earmark even more money in an effort to boost the efficiency of its entire lineup. Soon, Mazda will unveil [...]
At the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, Toyota showed off the A-BAT Concept; a compact pickup truck that looks somewhat similar to the Honda Ridgeline. While Toyota never confirmed production of the A-BAT, Automotive News is reporting that the A-BAT could live on as both a Scion and Toyota model. That latter would even borrow components [...]
Although the automaker dropped a few spots on Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands Rankings list, Toyota is still the top auto brand. Even despite recall and safety woes, the Toyota brand had been so strong and resilient over the decades that recent problems have not damaged its brand as much as some would have thought. [...]
Toyota and sports car maker Lotus celebrated a new partnership today at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Lotus currently utilizing Toyota engines and will soon offer tailor-made powertrain solutions for future Lotus cars. Lotus also gave Toyota Motor Corp’s President and CEO Akio Toyoda with a special edition Lotus Elise of his own to commemorate [...]
In hopes of rallying Toyota’s enthusiast base, the automaker has been planning a production sports car based on the FT-86 concept. But according to the latest reports, Toyota isn’t planning to launch just one sports car, but a new line of budget-oriented vehicles. While there’s no confirmation from Toyota on this new line, the Mainichi [...]
The Aston Martin Cygnet is a bit of an anomaly, and its very existence may be just a creative way to boost Aston’s fleet-wide fuel economy numbers. Essentially a re-badged Toyota iQ, the Cygnet wasn’t initially destined for the U.S. market, since microcars haven’t quite been proven here yet. But new reports suggest that the [...]
Toyota is already the king of the hybrid vehicle market, largely due to the popularity of its Prius. But that market dominance hasn’t stopped the automaker from setting even loftier goals for itself. By 2015, Toyota wants to sell five million hybrids. To put that into perspective, Toyota has sold just 2.68 million hybrids globally [...]
