Toyota News

by Robert Llewellyn I was only there for one day, and I'm still recovering; car shows are fairly energy sapping events. Everyone I met in Halle 7 said the same thing, "Oh, Geneva is the best one. It's not too big, you can get around and see everything." Remind me never to go to the really big ones...

Toyota, maker of the hybrid Prius and the upcoming plug-in version of the Prius, will launch its own home electric car charger, jumping into what is shaping up to be a crowded market. Major companies and startups alike have surged into the electric car charging segment. GE launched the WattStation...

Toyota announced this week that it had ended what it called a “decade-long debate” by decreeing that the plural of Prius would be Prii henceforth and to the end of time. Okay, they didn’t say that last part. Toyota unveiled the winning word at the Chicago Auto Show this morning...

Our reader Jonathan P asks: I have a 1997 Saturn that, remarkably, is still running. It probably has the book value of a large watermelon, so if anything major goes wrong with it, that's the end of that. If that Saturn were a hybrid, I'm guessing the battery pack would have died about four years...

While Toyota clearly hopes the worst of its recall problems are behind it, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a new investigation into an older Toyota vehicle. On February 15, the NHTSA opened an investigation into 32 complaints of engine stalling in 2006 Toyota...

If you use a cell phone, you'll be more than familiar with the concept of roaming. It allows you to continue using your cell phone when your home network isn't available, thanks to collaborations between networks in different countries. Now, it appears a similar concept may be heading towards the...

We have said it before and we will say it again: Electric vehicles will be all the rage in 2011. We have seen some great strides in the market, so much so that auto manufactures that were saying just last year that the technology wasn’t ready for the electric vehicle (EV) are now putting new...

At last month’s 2011 Detroit Auto Show, the wraps came off the new 2012 Toyota Prius V, a bigger and more practical version of the Prius hatchback that treads the line between wagon and minivan. Despite the extra height, weight, and girth, however, the vehicle is still limited to five...

Let's recap. After 18 months, recalls totaling 9 million Toyota, Lexus, and Pontiac models, and investigations by Toyota, Congress, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unit ... what have we learned? (1) A few accelerator pedals...

EV fans the world over have been getting excited about the prospect of Toyota's upcoming electric RAV4 model. The original RAV4 EV is still celebrated by its owners and EV enthusiasts alike - and commands impressive prices when examples come up for sale. Launched with a fanfare at last November's...

Last year, Toyota promised to launch a dozen new hybrid and plug-in hybrid models by the end of 2012. One of those new hybrid models may be unveiled in concept form at next month's Geneva Motor Show. Two Dutch websites are reporting that the company will use the show for the world debut of a Toyota...

With cars like the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf already on sale, plus a handful of startups either selling or building battery-powered cars on U.S. soil, it’s safe to say that the electric car revolution is truly upon us. Sadly, the cost of entry to be a part of this revolution is still...

Strange as it may seem from the CEO of a company now embarking the electric car bandwagon, Audi's boss Rupert Stadler still seems apathetic at best about EVs. Of course, the aim of any big business is to grow and make money, so perhaps Rupert is thinking of the lack of short-term financial gains to...

If you are like me, then you probably can’t stand the idea of ordering a car that cost five figures and part of what you make in the year without driving it. So what are you to do? If you are one of the tens of thousands of consumers out there then you probably go an take a test-drive. That...

Don't believe everything you read on the web. From the Department of Dangerously Wrong Information comes a horrifying piece on Yahoo's open content network, entitled "What New Prius Batteries Cost and How You Can Save Thousands." It looks like one of many articles that respond to consumer worries...

Car-derived vans are big business in Europe. Pick a subcompact at random and chances are there will be a light delivery van variant. Usually fitted with economical diesel engines, the small size and high economy suits small businesses down to the ground. Electric delivery vehicles have been...

2011 has been touted as the year when electric cars will well and truly break into the public consciousness. Unfortunately for Renault, the story making all the headlines so far hasn't been the launch of one of its upcoming Z.E. models, but the news of industrial espionage and selling technical...

As hybrid cars and electric vehicles increase in market share, rare earth metals like neodymium - a soft metal which is used to create the ultra-strong magnets used in electric motors - are becoming increasingly expensive and sought-after. But it’s not just demand causing a rise in prices...

California might be considered the U.S. spiritual home of the electric car, but according to a new study by Purdue University in indiana the cost of charging electric cars in California may be higher than anywhere else in the U.S. Or is it? According to the university’s Wally Tyner, the James...

Last week, I wrote about how Ford and GM have staged comebacks that hinged in part on the carmakers’ embracing of new electronics, launching greener cars with smartphone apps and wireless and voice-command capabilities. Toyota will soon be joining the crowd by offering all of the above...