Today’s vehicles are more powerful, more efficient and safer than ever before. In fact, today’s car buyer would be hard pressed to spend his or her money on a genuinely bad vehicle. But those overall improvements may have also led consumers to believe there are no real differences between the various products offered by the world’s major automakers. According to the Consumer Reports 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey, Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevrolet have all seen their scores drop by double digits compared to last year. Read More »

A new Lexus LX 570 is going to set you back nearly $82k after you add $875 delivery to its $80,930 base price. The luxury version of the Toyota Land Cruiser wears a new Lexus spindle grille, one that’s big enough to make Rumplestiltskin proud, and it has revised front and rear fascias among the other upgrades that Lexus says justify its 1.9-percent price increase.

Among the other new-for-2013 features are an updated Crawl Control mode and terrain-select for the all-wheel-drive system, because what Lexus owner doesn’t enjoy serious rock-crawling? A new multimedia system with the next-generation Lexus Enform system is also part of the deal, which seems much more in line with real-world customer behavior, as Enform allows drivers to use Facebook and Yelp, among other services.

For those LX 570 buyers who just must have it all, there’s also a $1,510 luxury package that adds some higher grade trim and features, and a backseat entertainment system for $2,005.

Toyota only sold 3,167 units of the Lexus LX last year, down by about 20 percent.

To read the full release, click past the jump. Read More »

Drivers in Japan have once again taken to the track in an effort to wring maximum mileage from their Toyota hybrids. According to AutoWeek, the Prius Cup resumed this year after a two-year hiatus.
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Toyota is bringing a new concept to the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. The company calls its NS4 showcar an “advanced” plug-in hybrid, though it hasn’t shared any more information beyond the vehicle’s name. While we can’t say for certain, odds are the concept will give us a glimpse of what the company has planned for future hybrid design instead of boasting any tangible next-generation technology. As you may recall, Toyota and BMW recently partnered up to create a new lithium-ion battery pack, so it may be some time before we see the tech debut, even in a concept vehicle.

Toyota has also made it clear the company will bring along the Prius C, which will make its North American debut at the Detroit show (see gallery below). The Prius C rides on a platform about the same size as the Yaris, but comes packing a hybrid drivetrain. Word has it the vehicle will come with Prius-besting EPA fuel economy figures, too. Hit the jump for the brief press release, and stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the Detroit show. Read More »

The stereotype of elderly drivers preferring Lincolns and Buicks has to come from somewhere. TrueCar.com took a look at the past two years of car sales to buyers at least 65 years old and found a couple common threads. The first thing these buyers are looking for is familiarity. The nameplates and vehicle types that were popular when these buyers were younger rank high with senior buyers, kind of the same way people’s musical preferences get frozen in time.
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For years Detroit automakers carped about the low value of the Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar, but these days, the opposite is true. The yen has rocketed up in value versus the dollar, and Japan’s automakers are taking significant measures to mitigate its bottom-line-killing effects. In October Toyota demanded lower prices from its Japanese supply base, and now the Camry will be built in the U.S. and shipped overseas.

Toyota notes in the post-jump press release that it will build 6,000 Toyota Camry units in Georgetown, Kentucky and ship the units to Korea. The massive Georgetown plant employs nearly 7,000 employees working around the clock. This marks the first time Toyota will export the American-made Camry, yet Toyota isn’t new to U.S. exports. The automaker exports 100,000 vehicles built in the U.S. annually, shipping them to 19 countries.

The announcement is likely an exciting one for workers at the Georgetown plant, and Toyota feels more exports could be forthcoming. Toyota’s North America President, Yoshimi Inaba, states “we look forward to other opportunities to continue growing exports from our American operations.” Hit the jump to read over the press release. Read More »

Toyota is flush with buzz surrounding the company’s new 86 sports car, and that could translate into additional performance models if the vehicle’s chief engineer has anything to say about it. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Tetsuya Tada, the mind that brought the Toyota 86 to life, believes there’s room in the stable for two additional sports cars. Tada is quoted as saying that while the 86 is a mid-sized sports car, he’d like to see one vehicle positioned below the boxer-powered coupe as well as an additional model slotted higher in the lineup.
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