Toyota News
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Though not quite as premature as Christmas decorations in stores on Labor Day, Motor Trend's September 2009 issue hit the shelves just in time for August. The new edition includes capsule reviews of 168 cars for sale in 2010 and 2011. The Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight, the Fisker Karma and the Tesla Roadster are among the critiqued vehicles. The iconic Prius earned a four star rating (a.k.a. "fuel for your soul" according to the magazine). The editors were impressed with the voluminous, feature rich interior and the updated drivetrain which offers more power and better economy. The Insight...
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2010 Lexus HS250h Pricing Starts at Exactly $35,000The 2010 Lexus HS250h is an interesting beast. We've covered it quite a lot because, among other interesting traits, it pioneers a new market segment: the dedicated luxury hybrid sedan. We did an initial Drive Report and then, more recently, a full review, and now Lexus has completed the last piece...
John Voelcker -
Will The Next Acura NSX Be A Hybrid?Just over a year ago, Acura was building a V10 for the next generation NSX supercar, despite concerns about gas prices. Five months later, the project was put on hold as vehicle sales plummeted and the global economy fell apart. Now, the folks at 7Tune.com are reporting that the NSX project is back...
Robert Scardino -
Prius Driver Charged With Evading The Scene Of An AccidentLess than a week ago, we told you that hybrid drivers are more likely to get into accidents than non-hybrid drivers. Today, one Connecticut woman has become a mildly amusing example of this puzzling statistic. State police have identified the driver of a Toyota Prius who ran into a utility pole in...
Robert Scardino -
2010 Lexus HS250h Pricing Slots Neatly Above 2010 Toyota PriusFrom our first Drive Report to our recent full review, we've covered the 2010 Lexus HS250h quite a lot here at AllAboutPrius.com. Now the other shoe has dropped: Lexus has released the pricing. And, surprise, surprise, the 2010 HS250h slots very neatly just above the highest-spec model of the 2010...
John Voelcker -
Toyota To Build Hybrid Auris In the UK Next YearAwhile back, we speculated that Toyota's new, smaller-than-Prius hybrid would be based on the Auris Hybrid compact hatchback sold in Europe. We were wrong; in fact, the US will get a hybrid version of the already-high-mileage Toyota Yaris subcompact instead. But the Auris Hybrid is moving along...
John Voelcker -
There's been a fair amount of grumbling about so-called "Prius perks," including parking spaces set aside for hybrid vehicles at Ikea, Whole Foods, and other retailers. In fact, the spaces--although designated "hybrid"--are more properly allocated to any alternative-fuel vehicle. That includes electric cars, natural-gas vehicles like the 2009 Honda Civic GX, perhaps even one of the world's several hundred hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Parking perks, express lanes, and more Priority parking is one of an array of measures that helps a building achieve the US Building Council's LEED...
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High-Intensity Headlight Horrors Perplex Prius OwnersThere's nothing the media love more than a nice juicy auto problem. Imagine that your car's headlamps failed, and replacing them cost you THOUSANDS. OF. DOLLARS !!! Well, that's the premise of a late June story in AdAge, which discussed a potential problem with the optional xenon high-intensity...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Shortages Ahead Due To Global Demand?Last summer, with $4/gallon gasoline, you couldn't find a Toyota Prius on dealer lots anywhere. Early this year, in the depths of the economic doldrums, US dealers could hardly give away the high-mileage hybrids. Now, once again, the Tsutsumi factory in Japan is cranking out hybrids as fast as it...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Takes 1,500 Pre-orders For Lexus HS Hybrid In JapanThe people of Japan love their hybrids and the Lexus HS 250h is no exception. The Nikkei reports that Toyota has already taken 1,500 pre-orders in Japan for its upcoming luxury hybrid. This exceeds the automaker's expectations three times over. Not to be outdone, the overwhelmingly popular third...
Robert Scardino -
2010 Toyota Prius Technology: Bidding Bye-Bye to the BladderReading the reams of coverage pouring out on the 2010 Toyota Prius, we realized we hadn't covered one new feature that corrects an irritating problem with its predecessor, the 2004-2009 Prius hybrid. That was the earlier car's fuel "bladder" gas tank, a flexible membrane that expanded and...
John Voelcker -
2010 Toyota Prius Available For Immediate Delivery in U.S., 8 Month Waiting List in JapanAn email went out from a local Toyota dealership stating that several of the new 2010 Toyota Priuses are coming in soon and are available for immediate delivery, no waiting list, no deposit, they are there for the taking. 6 Priuses are coming in calling my name. In fact, this dealership...
Eric Loveday -
Japan Post Service Co., (the part of Japan Post Group responsible for mail delivery) is expected to start 5-year lease terms on 40 electric vehicles by the end of July. The company will utilize 20 Mitsubishi MiEVs and 20 Subaru Stellas primarily in Kanagawa Prefecture where some charging infrastructure already exists. The mail service will also try nine battery powered trucks with solar panels on top and several single seat vehicles based on the Ultra Small Electric Vehicle Everyday COMS produced by Toyota Auto Body. As if that's not a convincing statement of the company's intentions to...
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2010 Lexus HS250h: Your Reference GuideAs we've said before, we cover the 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid sedan more than any other car on this site--except, of course, the new 2010 Toyota Prius. We've now put up our review of the Lexus HS over on GreenCarReports.com, but we wanted to bring together for our AllAboutPrius.com users everything...
John Voelcker -
Prius Tops List in Japan's June Car SalesJune marked the first time in history that a hybrid topped the list of best-selling autos, out-selling all other vehicles across Japan. In May, the third-generation Prius beat out all other cars, which doesn't include popular mini-vehicles with engine less than 660 cc. But in June, the Prius...
Jennifer Knightstep -
Toyota To Produce Up To 30,000 Plug-In Hybrids In 2012The Nikkei Business Daily has reported that Toyota plans to produce between 20,000 and 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012. The Japanese automaker has already committed to leasing 500 plug-ins for government and corporate use by the end of this year. The plan is hardly a surprise. While traditional...
Robert Scardino -
2009 Toyota Prius: Preparing to Say 'Goodbye'Let us pay tribute to the car that defined not only defined 'hybrid' but paved Toyota's path toward world domination
John Voelcker -
June's Most Popular Posts: 2010 Toyota Prius Reference Guide RocksJune is about to exit, so once again it's time for the five most popular posts for the month on AllAboutPrius.com. # 1: 30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Your Reference Guide. Hanging onto its perennial top ranking, this one remains by far our most popular content page. We meant it to offer an easy...
John Voelcker -
According to a report in Bloomberg today, Toyota may give General Motors a version of their iconic Prius hybrid. This news broke even as General Motors announced that their joint venture with the Japanese automaker at the Fremont, California based NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated) facility is over. Two sources close to the plan, who asked to remain anonymous, say that Toyota's President, Akio Toyoda will meet with GM's CEO, Fritz Henderson, this August in Michigan, in part to discuss a GM model based on the Prius. Both car companies have emphatically denied these stories...
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The Greenest Aston Martin Will Be...A Toyota ?!?!?Clearly carbon constraints, higher gas-mileage mandates, and concern over oil supplies are putting pressure on carmakers to change their lineups. And the loss of one-third of global car sales has slammed the industry like never before. But still, we really thought we were hallucinating when we...
John Voelcker -
The Truth About Cars Reconsiders: 2010 Toyota Prius Is FantasticThree weeks ago, when Jay Shoemaker from The Truth About Cars reviewed the 2010 Toyota Prius, he didn't hold back. He hated it. Loathed it. Despised it. He didn't like the car, its looks, the driving experience, the interior, or the instruments. We poked some fun at him, and at the cranky...
John Voelcker -
First Drive Impressions: 2010 Lexus HS250hWe've devoted more space on AllAboutPrius.com to the 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid than to most other cars. That's because it can be considered a half-brother to the 2010 Toyota Prius: A fancier, pricier, more powerful sedan sibling to the practical, plain-Jane Prius. Lexus still hasn't released pricing...
John Voelcker -
Our Latest Feature: Live Tweets About Toyota PriusAs if life couldn't get any more digital and fragmentary, you may have heard about Twitter: short messages you can broadcast to a list of friends, each one no more than 140 characters long. The service has been in the news lately as one tool used by Iranians protesting election irregularities, but...
John Voelcker -
A Toyota Prius To Die For: The High-Mileage Hybrid HearseSometimes all we can say is that it's a privilege to write for AllAboutPrius.com. It's just never, ever dull around here. Today, for your delight, we bring you the world's highest-mileage hearse, which also happens to have the lowest carbon footprint of any casket-transport device short of the...
John Voelcker