TRD Spices up New Toyota Aqua / Prius C Hybrid with Sport Package in Japan

Toyota is losing no time in pushing out its aftermarket proposals for the all-new Aqua hybrid that will be marketed as the Prius C in markets outside of Japan and which will make its North American debut at the forthcoming Detroit Motor Show in January.

On the same day that the regular Aqua went on sale in its home market, Toyota's TRD racing and performance division announced a slew of tuning upgrades for the sub-compact hatchback.

.

Toyota Forecasts 24% Rise in 2012 Production, Wants to Reclaim First Place in Global Sales

The many disruptions in production following the March earthquake in Japan and October’s Thai floods seriously hurt Toyota's profitability and production capability. Total sales for 2011 (excluding Daihatsu and Hino) are expected to reach 7.05 million units, which puts Toyota in third place overall behind General Motors and VW.

Japan’s number one car manufacturer, though, is readying a comeback to reclaim the throne it held since 2008 as soon as possible – which means, next year.

.

Toyota NS4 Plug-in Hybrid Concept Heads to Detroit Motor Show

This is our first look at the brand new Toyota NS4 Concept car that will make its world premiere at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, which takes place in Detroit from January 9 to 22.

Toyota is being as secretive about the NS4 as its premium Lexus sibling is about its own prototype that will be shown in Motor Town, with the only piece of information we get about the vehicle is that it will be "an advanced plug-in hybrid concept".

.

Cool Extreme Sports Lovers Car - Toyota

Check out this cool Toyota Billabong extreme sports lovers car mash up called the Ultimate Venza. This new project was started by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. which teamed with Billabong and Street Image to create the perfect active sports vehicle capable to take you the beach, lake, mountains, skate park or anywhere in between and have a blast.

This 2009 Toyota Venza was modified by Street Image in order to support top extreme athletes at future competitions. A new and aggressive custom body kit was added and this includes a unique Toyota/Billabong exterior paint design, fender flares and alloy wheels. The custom roof rack was designed by the manufacturer to accommodate surf, snow and wake boards.

Street Image also installed a front and rear hitch receiver and Grinch Winch in order to pull wake boarders into waves or snow boarders and skaters across flat land to a jump or rail. The kit is completed by the large Enkei wheels wrapped in Nitto tires. Behind these wheels, we have a new Toyota Racing Development (TRD) big brake kit that was added to provide superior traction and stopping power when driving off the beaten path or to the beach. Inside, the Ultimate Venza features genuine Billabong materials and construction: the seats are custom upholstered with wet suit materials and incorporate Billabong’s latest design scheme and colors while the headliner is an artistic color collage depicting Billabong athletes in action.

Also, the interior modifications includes “living” features that, according to the manufacturer, they will allow the athletes to conduct many everyday endeavors while on the go or at competition sites. One of the most interesting features would be the custom heated shower system with a 10 gallon capacity for rinsing off after surfing. A Verizon Wireless access point router was also installed, which will allow athletes to receive up-to-date surf or snow reports and other important information. Of course, the car needed a state-of-the-art audio and video equipment from Fujitsu Ten’s legendary Eclipse brand that features a multi-media DVD head unit, iPod interface, head rest-mounted LCD monitors, 18 speakers and 2,200 watts of power.

Top Gear Volcano Pictures Labels

Cool pictures from Top Gear last week when they went up the Eyjafjallajökull in a Toyota Hilux. Little did they know the active volcano would cause so much European travel havoc. Luckily, the Top Gear cast and crew escaped just hours before the volcano erupted. Finally a bit of good PR for Toyota. The Hilux remains truely a cool truck !

Top Gear Hilux Volcano Pictures:

By modifying the same Toyota Hilux they took to the north pole with water-cooled tires and a roof-mounted ash-guard, the Top Gear team just scaled an active Volcano in Iceland for an upcoming episode. "They never take risk!" said an Icelandic Volcano expert who traveled with the crew as an adviser.

Like all other episodes, this one appears to have been carefully planned, with full permission from the Icelandic government. In addition to volcanoes and a collapsed economy, Iceland is known for its ridiculously epic off-roading so we expect the episode to be insanely awesome and heroic.

It turns out Top Gear is taking partial responsibility for the blast:

According to local media, the shaggy-haired television presenter was witnessed driving a modified Hilux to the rim of the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano last week. Though initially assumed that he was simply filming a feature for the the popular motoring television show, it has since been speculated that May's purpose was far more devious. "It has been scientifically proven that TopGear is responsible for almost every evil in the modern world, so the eruption of a furious tectonic force barely a week after Richard Clarkson's ‘visit' can hardly be viewed as mere coincidence," says media commentator Annalisa Kneejerk.

Stig Volcano Qutoes

Some say that his helmet visor is made of volcanic ash, and that when he erupts every pilot in Europe has to leave the room.

Some say he can cause volcanos to erupt by looking at them.

Santa's Candy Cane Toyota Camry Packs 900-Candlepower, it Could be Yours for $1.7 Million…

It sounds and looks like an April Fool's Day joke, but the Candy Cane car is real and it's up for grabs on eBay.

But there's a small problem with this odd creation that's based on a 1991 Toyota Camry LE. It has a 'Buy it Now' price of...US$1.7 million or about €1.3 million if you live on the other side of the pond and it tickles your fancy instead of let's say, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari FF, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a Rolls Royce Phantom and then some for a condo.

.

Lexus Won't be Getting BMW Diesels Despite Toyota's Tie-Up with the Bavarian Brand

Earlier this month, Toyota and BMW signed an agreement to share engines and hybrid technology to spread the cost of developing low emission vehicles. Under the new deal, BMW will supply Toyota with 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engines starting from 2014.

At the time, many were wondering if Toyota's premium brand Lexus, which competes with BMW, would also receive diesel engines from the Bavarian firm. As it turns out, the answer is no.

.

Bah, Humbug! Are Holiday Car Ads as Effective as Automakers Think?

Tis the holiday season and all consumer goods manufacturers are looking for ways to draw clients to their products. Carmakers are not an exception, of course, and a common theme is the usual holiday gift-wrapped-present.

Advertising evaluation firm Ace Metrix, though, reveals in its latest report that the hype automakers wish to create with these kinds of ads doesn’t really materialize. In fact, they may have the exact opposite effect.

.

Toyota's Gloomy New Forecast Cuts Annual Profits by More than Half

After losing the top spot as the world's largest automaker, Toyota is now halving its profit forecast due to a number of factors, the most important of which are the production disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March and the recent floods in Thailand, as well as the strong yen.

Toyota said that it expects to bring in a net profit of 180 billion Yen [US$2.3 billion] for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, down 53.8 percent from the 390 billion yen [US$5.04 billion] it projected in August.

.

Video: Back and Forth Parking Job New York City Style

Video - Back and Forth Parking Job New York City Style

If you have ever lived in or at least visited a large city like New York, you'll know that, sometimes, finding a parking space can be than harder than searching for a needle in a haystack. And the worst thing is when you're driving in circles for hours and finally find a free space only to discover that you can't fit in.
Not surprisingly, some drivers are so desperate that they don't care if they have to bump their way to squeeze in, like this owner of an older generation Toyota Camry that just had to park no matter what. A time-lapse video is waiting for you just after the break.
 
Story References: Youtube via Jalopnik

VIDEO

 

Video: Back and Forth Parking Job New York City Style

If you have ever lived in or at least visited a large city like New York, you'll know that, sometimes, finding a parking space can be than harder than searching for a needle in a haystack.

And the worst thing is when you're driving in circles for hours and finally find a free space only to discover that you can't fit in.

Not surprisingly, some drivers are so desperate that they don't care if they have to bump their way to squeeze in, like this owner of an older generation Toyota Camry that just had to park no matter what. A time-lapse video is waiting for you just after the break.

.

Toyota Considers Making More Lexus Cars in North America

The forces of nature aren’t the only ones conspiring against Japanese carmakers, and Toyota in particular, this year. The strong yen, which in the past six months alone has risen by 9% compared to the U.S. dollar, is seriously hurting Toyota's profitability.

Pushing its suppliers hard to minimize their costs, or finding alternative partners, is one of the measures taken by the biggest Japanese carmaker. Moving more of its production out of Japan to more cost-efficient plants in other countries is t.

The weak dollar is making manufacturing in the U.S. increasingly more attractive, allowing for more competitive prices and higher profit margin – to the point that U.S.-made Camrys will be exported to South Korea.

.

Rumors: Toyota Readying a Supercharged Version of the GT 86?

Toyota Readying a Supercharged Version of the GT 86?

Toyota has repeatedly stressed that the GT 86 was developed as a pure, fun and easy to drive rear-wheel drive sports car, ignoring the horsepower race and concentrating instead on honing every detail of the chassis set-up. In fact, the Japanese carmaker was so determined to stay true to its promise that it even included drift tests in its development program. The production model is said to have an estimated 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).
However, almost everyone who has driven the 86 has found it lacking in oomph and, especially, low- and mid-range torque. In other words, you need to rev it hard to get the best out of it.
About a month ago, when the car was still known as the FT-86 and the first details were starting to leak into the web, we unveiled a Toyota Racing Development version of the car with a more aggressive bodykit.
Now, Autocar is reporting that Toyota chief engineer Tetsuo Tada has confirmed that TRD is indeed working on an even more powerful version of the GT 86 and prototypes are already being evaluated.
Despite the fact that Subaru, which provided the flat-four engine, employs turbocharging in its WRX and STi models, Tada said that he prefers supercharging as a way of increasing horsepower and low-end torque. That’s because, in contrast to turbocharging, it doesn’t affect throttle response of turbo lag nor the car’s drivability.
Supercharging has also been used in performance versions of previous Toyota models, such as the IS200, and as an aftermarket, TRD-developed power-enhancing accessory.
Toyota’s chief engineer wouldn’t reveal any numbers, but a 50HP increase in power should be easy.

PHOTO GALLERY

Patent Scoop: Is Toyota Readying Sports Version of the iQ?

During the world premiere of the new Toyota 86 sports coupe at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, the firm's global President Akio Toyoda made it crystal clear that his company is committed to produce more 'fun-to-drive' cars in the near future.

But don’t take it from us, read what Toyoda said:

"Today it is said that young people have little interest in cars as there are much more interesting things. As an automobile maker, I find this quite frustrating. It is for this reason that we are committed to making cars that will evoke this feeling of 'fun to drive, again' in as many people as possible. This is Toyota's declaration."

While the 86 is the only real sports car in Toyota's current range, we would like to think that Toyoda wouldn't make such a statement without standing behind it, which is why we found these official patent images of a sported up iQ (sold as a Scion in North America) very interesting.

.