Toyota has made the bold move to turn down a prestigious Japanese automotive award, given to the automaker for the new Prius model just days after a recall was announced for the hybrid’s ABS brake system. The award, handed out annually by the Japanese Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry celebrates a vehicle’s energy...
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Toyota’s recent recall issues may cost the company an estimated $2 billion. Along with the company’s third quarter report, Toyota estimated the costs of the global recall at 180 billion yen (US$2 billion), including 100 billion yen (US$1.1 billion) for repair costs and another 70-80 billion yen ($787-899 million) in lost sales. Toyota predicts a...
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The Japanese Ministry of Transportation has now asked Toyota to investigate its new third-generation Prius model after complaints from owners of potentially faulty brakes. This news comes as Toyota currently has recalls out for millions of vehicles (not including the current Prius) which are mostly for two separate recalls. The first recall for 5.1 million...
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How much could possibly be reported out of Toyota’s Tokyo Auto Salon booth? With G Sports and Gazoo Racing sharing the real estate it’s no surprise there’s plenty to see. Along with the FT-86 G-Sports Concept, Toyota displayed a pair of Gazoo Racing cars: the iQ-based FR Hot Hatch with a widebody and stylish flat...
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Damned if we report another body kit manufacturer but DAMD’s Styling Effect is highly worth mentioning. (Groan… we know). DAMD showed off a selection of its latest products at the Tokyo Auto Salon, with two new aero kits for Subaru products as well as one for, you guessed it, the Toyota Prius. As the most...
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While not as well known in North America as VIP tuners like Wald International or Junction Produce, Branew is a Japanese tuning powerhouse specializing in various luxury and tuning markets including Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Nissan, Bentley, Hummer, Porsche and Land Rover. The big buzz leading up to the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon from Branew was the...
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Not to be left behind with all the other Japanese aftermarket manufacturers that have taken to the trend of modifying hybrid/green cars, Tommy Kaira not only impressed with its GT-R at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon, but with its Prius and Insight offerings too. Earlier this month both vehicles were released to the public and...
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Seen at the booth of wheel manufacturer RAYS Engineering at the 2010 Tokyo Auto Salon was a nicely tuned Prius by ASI. Called the ASI Green Prius, this car is part of a new line of ASI tuning kits aimed at hybrid models. Currently it also includes a kit for the Honda Insight. Sporting a...
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Remember back when Honda announced pricing for its Insight hybrid would start at under $20,000 and Toyota, in a bid to compete, said it would offer the Prius for just $21,000? Several months later, and the launch of the Prius II, III, IV and V and Toyota is now saying the Prius I isn’t likely...
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The Prius could surpass the Camry as Toyota’s best selling model in the U.S. in the next ten years says the head of Toyota’s sales department. Toyota Motor Sales boss Jim Lentz made the comments, stating that he sees the Prius gaining ground, rather than the Camry (the top selling passenger car in the U.S....
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After much speculation, Toyota has finally confirmed that a concept version of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid will appear at the Frankfurt Auto Show next week. Designed to take on the Chevy Volt, there is no word on when full public sales of the Prius PHV start, while the Volt is scheduled for sale in early...
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Several reports of price gouging on the new 2010 Prius have been reported at Toyota dealerships across the country. While the $4,500 rebate offered with the (now completed) cash-for-clunkers program made the Prius an attractive buy, many dealerships were apparently engaging in a little creative market value adjustment of their own, to capitalize on the...
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The 2010 Prius has been a popular car for Toyota since it first went on sale several months ago, but the pace of sales will slow considerably over the next few months. The reason for the lull is that the Prius’s battery supplier, Panasonic EV, can’t keep up with the demand. The third-generation of Toyota’s...
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According to the U.K.’s Autocar, Honda is fast-tracking a list of updates for the Insight originally scheduled for a mid-cycle makeover that’s still several years off. The focus of the changes will be to further improve fuel-economy, which while impressive at 40/43 mpg (city/highway), lags significantly behind the 2010 Prius and its 51/48 mpg rating....
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While Toyota’s sales may be suffering as a whole, sales of the all-new 2010 Prius are well above expectations. In fact, the Japanese automaker is having trouble keeping up with demand – something which may result in lengthy waiting lists for the third-generation of Toyota’s successful hybrid. At the two facilities where the Prius is...
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Toyota has announced that it will lease 500 plug-in hybrid-electric Prius models starting this year. These will be the first plug-in version of the Prius on the road and will feature new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold more energy than the conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries used in other hybrid systems. Of the 500 vehicles, 200...
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The all-new Toyota Prius was the most popular selling car in Japan for the month of May, according to numbers just released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. In total, Toyota sold 10,915 Prius models to take the top sales spot, which was held last month by rival Honda Motor Co. and its new Insight...
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The new 2010 Toyota Prius isn’t about to let the Honda Insight take over in the hybrid segment and strong initial sales show the Toyota model will be another big success for Japan’s largest automaker. Japanese business magazine Nikkei is reporting that Toyota has already accepted 75,000 orders for the new Prius. This news comes...
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Toyota is expected to release pricing for the new 2010 Prius tomorrow and the cost of ownership will be 21,000. This is $1,000 less than the current model. Bloomberg is reporting the drop and citing an unnamed source. This news comes several weeks after Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported Toyota made a similar move in it’s...
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Toyota is taking Honda’s Insight threat seriously… very seriously. In fact, the world’s largest automaker will price the new (third-generation) Prius directly in competition with the Honda’s Insight in the Japanese market. Set to go on sale on May 18th, the new Prius will cost just $20,750 (2.05 million yen). The number isn’t official from...
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Honda may have beat Toyota to the hybrid game, but Toyota has certainly been beating Toyota AT it. It is for that reason that Honda has created a stand-alone hybrid model, the Insight. Unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show without fanfare – or even without a press conference, two different Insight models sat in the...
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With 700,000 Toyota Prius models currently on the road in the United States, Toyota today launched the third generation of the car that started it all. The 2010 Prius will get better fuel economy and more power. Incredibly, Toyota has raised the mpg rating from 46 mpg in the current model to 50 mpg in...
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Honda already makes a Civic Hybrid, but Toyota has a stranglehold on the Hybrid market do to the clever idea of building the Prius as a standalone platform. Named the “greenest automaker” by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2007 for the fourth straight year, Honda is eager to make sure the world sees it...
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