 |
Toyota ReviewsToyota Motor Co., the world’s largest automaker, has been producing cars for more than 70 years. It wasn’t until after World War II, however, that production started to pick up. Toyota went from making 8,500 cars a year in 1955 to 600,000 in 1965. Models like the Toyopet and Land Cruiser hit the United States in 1957. Today Toyota is among the leaders when it comes to hybrid technology. |
You would think (and I secretly hoped) that Toyota would see the wisdom in handing me a corrupt-assed perk the same way Cadillac does MotorTrend randomly accepting my application to buy an FR-S, but NOOOOOOOOOOO! I’m “on the waitlist”. Did any TTACers make the cut? Speak up so I can ban your IP.
I remember looking at the then brand new Ford Five Hundred and thinking to myself, “This would make one heck of a Volvo.”
Like the Volvos of yore this Ford offered a squarish conservative appearance. A high seating position which Volvo’s ‘safety oriented’ customers would have appreciated. Toss in a cavernous interior that had all the potential for a near-luxury family car, or even a wagon, and this car looked more ‘Volvo’ than ‘Ford’ to me with each passing day.
Something had to be done…
Chrysler is facing a dilemma straight out of “Sophie’s Choice” – whether or not it should kill the wretched Dodge Avenger to help the marginally better Chrysler 200 thrive. But words straight from the mouth of Dodge boss Reid Bigland made it seem like it’s all but a done deal.
The die is cast for Ultramarine and six-speed manual. What did my mortal enemies fellow TTAC hachi-roku-ers pick?
Cities around the country have begun dropping the use of red light cameras,which were once touted as the best way to stop drivers from “blowing through” red lights. Disappointed municipal officials invariably point to the systems’ failure to generate the promised amount of revenue as the reason for the change. To keep from losing more clients, the red light camera industry’s latest move has been to ticket drivers who stop at red lights to boost the number of potential violations.
Several years ago the industry significantly increased its yield by transitioning away from ticketing vehicles for running red lights. Instead, camera focused on right-hand turn lanes so they could mail citations to the owners of vehicles that make slow, rolling right turns on red. In some jurisdictions, right-turn tickets account for 90 percent of all tickets issued — even though national and local data suggest the maneuver is not dangerous. In some cases, however, right-turn tickets failed to be profitable when the public refused to pay citations — as happened in Los Angeles, California — or because of legislative restrictions on right-turn citations — as happened in Florida.
Last April, the city of Denver became the first jurisdiction in Colorado to allow a private company, Affiliated Computer Services, to issue red light camera tickets to stationary vehicles. Issuing tickets to stopped drivers only required a simple software change, but it boosted the city’s profit fourfold.
Newark, California is one of the cities where ninety percent of the $480 tickets issued by Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia go to the owners of vehicles photographed turning right on red. Through December 2011, the change has contributed significantly to the grand total of 41,575 tickets Redflex has been issued, worth $19,956,000.
One of those ticket recipients, who asked not to be identified, drove his Toyota Prius on August 27 at the intersection of Newark Boulevard and Jarvis Avenue. He pulled up to the intersection at a speed of 16 MPH with his turn signal activated. He came to a full stop and waited for several seconds for traffic to clear before proceeding. His front tire crossed the first line of the crosswalk, which Newark and Redflex contend is a serious violation of the law. At 9:42pm, there were no pedestrians visible anywhere near the intersection. Though the Prius driver was outraged at receiving the ticket, he decided to plead guilty before a judge known for reducing turning tickets to $110 rather than risk losing the full $480.
Scion’s “First 86” promotion opens tomorrow at noon EST. The first eighty-six deliveries of the new FR-S will be allocated to “winners” of the competition. To enter, one simply has to be willing to put $500 down within 72 hours — and willing to take delivery of the FR-S when it’s ready.
I am willing to do both.
Like small SUV’s, the small towns of the South have a bit of a split personality. On one side of the brain are the transients. They generally don’t care who you want to marry, whether you own a firearm or not. Or what political party you favor. They are here for the (few) jobs and the cheap real estate.
The you have the Bible belt ‘conservative’ with a big old silver confederate belt buckle in the middle. The ‘Good Old Boys’ liked things just fine before their town became known and sure as heck don’t want anything to change now. Their ideology is right wing, family focused, and you can take it or leave it.
They are genuinely nice to you.. so long as you’re not too weird.
But if you’re too much of a drag on business, weirdo, the door does swing both ways. Much the same way as the door ended up swinging both ways for this Chevy Tracker.
Over the past weeks we have flown into Zimbabwe, New Caledonia, Iceland and The Entire World (yes Sir!), this week it is time to stop in my own country, France. Yes I know I am confusing you, I am based in Australia but come from France… Only the French…
Now if Paris, baguettes, berets and grumpy old men are not your tasse de cafe au lait that’s ok, rest assured I won’t be offended because I have prepared 159 additional countries for you to visit in my blog, so don’t be shy and click away, oui oui!
Well this year in France the best-selling model had not been in that position in 5 years…Oh la la!
When we talked about Japanese auto sales in 2011, we told you that sales of imported cars were missing, and that they would be available today. They are. Aided by a shortage of domestic cars and a strong yen, Japanese connected with their inner gaijin and bought 22.5 percent more imported cars in 2011 than in the year before. According to data released by the Japan Automobile Importers Association, 275,644 foreign-built vehicles entered the allegedly closed Japanese market, gaining a market share of 10.3 percent. Read More >
The Toyota NS4 is said to preview a future Prius – but not really. Although the family resemblance is there, and the NS4 is unequivocally a plug-in hybrid, the NS4 is the same size as a Prius, but is explicitly separate from the rest of the Prius range, according to Toyota corporate mouthpieces.
The Toyota Prius c made its North American debut today at NAIAS, boasting a 53 mpg city rating, said to be the highest of any vehicle that isn’t a plug-in hybrid. The Prius c will also supposedly return 46 mpg on the highway, for a combined 50 mpg.
Photos courtesy of Cars In Depth. Click here for a complete gallery of photos.
Before I get into the details of Acura’s press conference at the NAIAS, as the Acura presser was unfolding I couldn’t help but compare the affect at Honda’s luxury brand to the mood at Lexus. Both Honda and Toyota have had to dea; with supply chain and production disruptions caused first by the Tsunami that struck northern Japan and then complicated by large scale flooding in Thailand. More to the point, both companies were introducing new sports cars at the Detroit show. Acura announced the revival of the NSX model name and Lexus showed a sleak concept sports car called the LF-LC. Both cars are intended to change the image of their companies, but the sense that I got at Acura was “we’ve made exciting cars before and we’re going to get our mojo back”, while the vibe at Lexus was “See? We really don’t make boring cars”.
Acura used the NAIAS to introduce three new models that executives says will be the first stages of a two year process that will result in a complete makeover for the Acura lineup, a revival of Acura if you will. The goal of that makeover is a 40% increase in sales to 180,000 units in 2012, driven by what Acura says is their threefold mission statement: Value, sustainability and “time is luxury”, Acura’s characterization of aids that ease the driving task.
Scion debuted a “racing” version of its FR-S at Detroit today. The word “racing” appears in quotes because this vehicle will actually compete in Formula DRIFT, which is no more “racing” than it is “championship chess”. When a real racing FR-S appears — and it certainly will — it’s likely that the Grand-Am Continental Tire Series or Speed World Challenge will be its first port of call.
Race teams who want to make sure their FR-S arrives in time to participate in the 2012 season might want to take advantage of another bit of FR-S news… a “hand-raiser” opportunity to be one of the first eighty-six owners in the United States.
With 8.16 million cars delivered globally, sales of the Volkswagen group grew14.3 percent from 7.14 million in 2010. Volkswagen estimates that the global passenger car market grew only 5.1 percent, therefore, the Wolfsburg group expanded its global market share. With GM (due to report next month) expected to be in the low 9 million, and Toyota expected to be in the high 7 million, Volkswagen will end the year as the world’s #2 auto maker, behind GM and before Toyota. Read More >
I’ve seen quite a few BMW E12s in wrecking yards over the last couple of decades, but they haven’t really quite caught my eye the way Detroit and Japanese cars of the same era tend to do. But what other Middle Malaise Era machine gave you rear-wheel-drive, independent rear suspension, a manual transmission, and a fuel-injected overhead-cam six-cylinder engine making close to 170 horsepower? Read More >
Recent Comments