toyota blog
New articles:
On the Road : 2006 Toyota RAV4
Feds Probe Toyota Pickup, SUV Suspension Failures
Toyota Doubles Hybrid Production
Past articles:
Honda Ridgeline Named Truck of the Year 
30.11.1999.
Toyota Boosts Prius Price, Cancels Fleet Sales 30.11.1999.
Toyota Recalls Scion tC to Fix Wind Deflector 30.11.1999.
Tokyo Motor Show - a little late
Its been a busy few months and I haven't had a chance to update this blog recently. So here's a bit on the Tokyo Motor Show that took place a few weeks ago. This show was much more interesting than Frankfurt, with many more concept vehicles and a number of ideas for making cars more fuel efficient and better for the environment. Cars shown at the Tokyo show just seem a bit more exciting and more fun than at many other shows. As I mentioned, green cars were a big deal in Tokyo. A variety of fuel-cell vehicles were shown, ranging from the sleek Honda FCX to the boxy-looking Toyota Fine-X. Mazda showed a version of the Premacy van (not sold in the U.S.) that was a hybrid, combining an electric motor with a rotary engine, and the rotary engine could run on gasoline or hydrogen. Subaru showed its first hybrid. Built in house, this system mated an electric motor with a turbocharged boxer engine. Geared more towards performance, the electric motor provided power while the turbocharger spooled up, removing all instances of turbo lag. This was shown on a stylish 2-door hatchback built on the Legacy platform, called the B5-TPH. Volkswagen also showed that high-performance and high-efficiency were not mutually exclusive. The EcoRacer is a sporty little car that uses VW's new TDI diesel technology. The company claims this concept can hit 155 mph, but still gets around 70 mpg. Impressive. Other cool stuff included the Nissan GT-R Proto. Styling is about 80% production, this is the next-generation of the legendary Skyline GTR. And this one should be coming to the U.S. Mitsubishi debuted the Concept-X, which will likely become the next Lancer Evolution. This is one mean looking sports car, and one of my personal favorites. Other debuts included the Audi Shooting Brake - possibly the next TT; a variety of Suzuki concept cars; a Giugiaro-designed Ferrari; the Lexus LF-Sh concept - likely the next LS replacement; and a slew of wild concept cars from Nissan. To see all the pictures and details, check out our coverage of the show at http://autos.msn.com/as/minishow/default.aspx?s=Tokyo2005 . -- Perry Stern
Frankfurt Motor Show 2005
The Frankfurt Motor Show is about to open to the public, and I?m at the Frankfurt airport heading back home after several busy days at this huge international auto show. And not only is it huge in importance ? more than 80 vehicles made their world-wide debut ? it?s massive from a size point of view. There are ten buildings filled with cars and car-related items, all connected by hallways that seem to go on for ever. My feet are still tired. The Frankfurt show happens only once every two years, alternating with the Paris Motor Show. There are three days reserved for just media, and there are press conferences happening as often as every 15 minutes, sometimes three at a time. To say that it?s been a busy few days would be an understatement. There was plenty of new products that debuted here in Frankfurt, many of which will be coming to America ? eventually. Here are some highlights: Porsche Cayman S ? It?s been in all the car enthusiast magazines, and its finally being shown to the public. Based on the Boxster, the Cayman is a hard-top 2-seat coupe. It looks good in pictures, and even better in person. Initially will be available with a 295-hp flat six, likely that there will be a non-S trim with less power, and eventually a more powerful version as well. On sale in the U.S. next spring. Volvo C70 ? The original C70 was available as a coupe or convertible, and when it was introduced it was quite stylish. But that was quite a while ago, and it is time for a refresh. Apparently Volvo agrees, and the Swedish company debuted the all-new C70. Rather than producing two bodystyles, Volvo gave the C70 a retractable hard top. With the top up, it?s ready for all weather ? sun comes out and the top can quickly be completely hidden underneath the rear decklid. The C70 is based on the S60, and carries through similar styling cues from the rest of the Volvo lineup. Driving should be good as well ? the body is twice as stiff as the outgoing C70, and the 200 hp T5 engine should be available. Manual transmissions are available in Europe, unknown for the U.S. Should arrive early next year. Volkswagen Eos ? There certainly seems to be a trend towards hard-top convertibles ? VW had one too. The Eos is a Golf-based convertible, so its not very large. However, it does have seating for four, and yes, it does have a retractable hard top. The system is quite innovative ? the main section of roof features a glass sunroof that can be tilted or slid open. The 5-section roof folds completely under the rear deck, and while truck space with the top stowed is not huge, VW did have two pieces of luggage in there. Eos will come the U.S. sometime next year. Mitsubishi Sportback Concept ? This car was one of my favorites of the show. This sleek 4-door hatchback has a mean face, and with the sloped roof and small windows, it looks fast sitting still. Word is that this is built on the same platform as the Caliber, the new small crossover coming from Chrysler next year. Personally, I think this would make a great next-generation Lancer Evolution. Jaguar XK ? I was disappointed when this car debuted as a concept at the Detroit show earlier this year, especially with the grille. Jaguar made a few tweaks to the car since then, and now it looks much better, in my opinion. Expect a super charged R and a convertible to be introduced in the near future. Fisker Coachbuild ? Henrik Fisker has been responsible for the designs of some of the most beautiful sports cars on the market, including the BMW Z8 and the DB9 and V8 Vantage from Aston Martin. So now Fisker has left Aston Martin and started his own company that designs new bodies and interiors for current production cars. He will pick two production models each year and build 150 vehicles based on each. The first two are the Latigo CS (based on a BMW M6) and the Tramonto (based on the Mercedes SL55). The cars are gorgeous, but they?re expensive. $128,000 for the transformation ? after you?ve purchased the production car. There?s plenty of other new product that debuted in Frankfurt, but I just don?t have time to cover everything. Here?s a quick list of other significant vehicles:
- Mercedes- Benz S-Class, ML63 AMG, R63 AMG concept
- Audi Q7
- Jeep Compass Concept
- Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
- BMW Z4 Coupe Concept
- Toyota RAV4
- Ford iosis Concept
- Honda Civic 5-Door
High-Tech Highlander Hybrid
Just spent a few days driving the largest of the available gas-electric hybrids on the market, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. This is one impressive vehicle. It has great performance, seats up to seven and gets great gas mileage. The Highlander features one of the most high-tech hybrid systems available. Toyota calls this advanced system Hybrid Synergy Drive. There are two electric motors that combine with the internal combustion engine - one drives the front wheels along with the gas engine, while the other drives the rear wheels, giving the Highlander 4WD. The combined power of all these powerplants is 268 horsepower, with a lot of torque available at very low rpm. In other words, this SUV takes off like a rocket from a standstill, which is quite different from the less-powerful hybrids like the Prius and Civic. Because much of the power comes from the electric motors, the gas engine doesn't need to work as hard, so fuel economy is quite impressive. I drove about 150 miles and averaged 27 mpg. This may not seem like a lot, but in comparison, my Ford Explorer with a 210-hp V6 gets 16 mpg if I'm lucky. Granted, the Explorer is bigger, but 27 mpg for a 7 passenger SUV is pretty impressive. Aside from the badging on the rear, there's no way to tell this isa hybrid from the outside. Inside there are indicators of where the power is coming from, as well as how much charge the batteries have. No, you don't plug the Highlander Hybrid in - braking and coasting generates power to charge the batteries. Our test vehicle was the top-of-the-line Limited, which runs around $40,000. For that, you get leather, nice stereo with CD player, sunroof and running boards. A base 4WD starts around $35,000. The non-hybrid Highlander V6 4WD is about $7,000 less, so from just fuel savings its probably not worth it unless the price of gas goes up even higher or you plan to keep the car for a long time. But it is good for the environment, and its cool to drive around at low speeds on just electric power. The technology is quite impressive in this SUV, but it may be hard to justify the extra cost. -- Perry Stern
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30.11.1999.
