Toyota passes three million hybrid mark

Toyota has sold just over three million hybrids globally since it introduced its first, the Toyota Coaster Hybrid EV bus in 1997, followed that same year by the first-gen Prius. More impressive is the fact that more than a million of those sales have come since August of 2009.

Toyota offers 16 different hybrid models around the world, and it’s about to introduce several new variations of the Prius to our shores. Toyota’s Lexus luxury division has augmented the company’s hybrid movement, offering a gas-electric electric option on the RX, GS and LS models, and two dedicated hybrids, the CT andHS.

By the end of 2012, Toyota says it will add 10 more hybrid models to the global market. According to Toyota, hybrid vehicles had saved the nearly 18 million tons of C02 it would have produced building similarly sized traditional gas-powered cars.

Source:Autoblog

Read More

Toyota FT-86 coupe to be named Scion FT-S?

We know the Toyota rear-wheel-drive coupe will wear a Scion badge, and now we might finally know what it’s going to be called. The just-make-it-already Toyota FT-86 concept has evolved into the Scion FT-86 and word on the web is that the production version will be known as the Scion FT-S.

Look for the Scion FT-S coupe to make its debut at the 2011 New York Auto Show. Rumor has it that a 2.5-liter engine, not a 2.0-liter, will power the rear wheels and that Toyota plans a heavy marketing push aimed at the drifting crowd.

The Subaru version is slated for a Geneva debut, and the rumormill now suggests that all-wheel drive is planned for the Subaru coupe, which should easily differentiate it from the Scion FT-S and help keep the two cars from cannibalizing each other’s sales. If anyone’s listening, we’ll take an AWD Subaru coupe in full STI trim, please.

Source:Autoblog

Read More

Toyota’s unstoppable Land Cruiser turns 60

The year was 1951 and Toyota was hard at work creating a new all-terrain vehicle for military use. After much development, the Toyota BJ was the result of the Japanese automaker’s hard work, and the go-anywhere SUV quickly established itself as a capable workhorse. In fact, it was the first vehicle to be driven to Mt. Fuji’s sixth hill station, a climb rising 2,500 meters. After that feat, the Toyota BJ was applied to police fleets around the country. Sixty years and a name change later, the Toyota Land Cruiser is still running strong around the world.

The Land Cruiser name was applied to the BJ in 1954 and five million of these tough trucks have now been sold around the world. Evolving from the beloved FJ through the 20 Series and on to the 200 Series, the Land Cruiser has gained a level of luxury far removed from its distant BJ ancestor. However, it remains a capable off-road vehicle suited for tackling whatever this planet can throw at it.

Turning 60 is a big deal and Toyota has created two 60th anniversary models of the 2011 Land Cruiser, though these special edition models are currently being built for the UK only. Essentially, the anniversary Land Cruisers are fully-loaded versions of the well-to-do SUV sporting special badging and trim pieces. Follow the jump for Toyota’s official press release.

Source:Autoblog

Read More

Toyota taking “devil’s advocate” approach to product development

If you don’t get pinched by the wiper arm on the new Toyota Yaris, you have the company’s new “devil’s advocate” product development philosophy to thank. The approach entails a team of engineers doing things with the car that Toyota wouldn’t normally be able to fathom. The events of the past year have shown that people will do wacky things with their cars, like making floormat layer cakes, and this spurred management changes like more local authority for North American operations.

Toyota has installed more executives in its American plants and given the U.S. arm of the business its own decision-making power on recalls, rather than waiting for word from the home office. A single database of internal and external vehicle quality discussions is also being put together to make Toyota’s reaction more nimble.

There are critics of the efforts. Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety doesn’t find a new attitude in Toyota’s response to quality complaints much of a departure from the past, calling it “pretty much the same-old, same-old.” Sean Kane of Safety Research & Strategies opines that Toyota is “biding their time” and still tends to blame the victims rather than solve issues like the ones recently plaguing the company.

Whether Toyota’s reactions are percieved critically or complimentary, there is at least the indication of a desire to rectify a damaging situation, and you can now be sure that many engineering mules are undergoing strange experiments deep in the bowels of some Toyota R&D bunker to quantify the effects of ECU pins shorted by a french fry.

Source:Autoblog

Read More