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Toyota quality chief: “I still think our electronic throttle system is perfect.”

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

Toyota

For years, Toyota was seen as an infallible, safe choice for consumers seeking high-quality, reliable and safe vehicles. That may still be the case, but recent events have made it abundantly clear that Toyota is as capable of making major mistakes as any other giant automaker.

Perhaps some of that lost image will be restored after a series of independent investigations into Toyota safety are concluded, assuming of course that the findings are favorable for the automaker. Steve St. Angelo, Toyota’s North American quality chief, believes they will be. At the Council for Automotive Research’s annual Management Briefing Seminars, St. Angelo said, “I can’t find a technician who has found a sticking pedal… I am 100-percent confident that there is nothing wrong with our electronic throttle control system.”

St. Angelo continued, saying that 80 percent of all owners of vehicles recalled for sticky accelerator pedals and bad floor mats have had their vehicles repaired. Interestingly, the quality chief added, “Recall is not a four-letter word,” suggesting that it’s best to admit to issues up front and repair them in a timely fashion – a practice Toyota hopes will keep customers returning to its showrooms.

[Source: Detroit News | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

Toyota quality chief: “I still think our electronic throttle system is perfect.” originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Look: 2011 Toyota Highlander to launch at Moscow Motor Show next month

Filed under: Crossover, Toyota, Misc. Auto Shows, Russia, Design/Style

2011 Toyota Highlander – Click above to enlarge

Toyota Europe has confirmed to Autoblog that the automaker’s popular Highlander crossover will go on sale in Russia and the Ukraine for the first time ever. Why should Statesiders care? Because the new-look model above will be unveiled at the Moscow Motor Show on August 25, and it’s almost certain to be the refreshed CUV that we will receive in North America.

From the looks of things, the 2011 Highlander will retain its strong body lines, but ditch the conservative front fascia of the 2010 model in favor of a leaner, more aggressive nose with angry looking headlamps. With appropriate helpings of chrome in all the right places, the new Highlander is downright handsome. As this is the only shot that we have, we don’t know what’s going on at the rear, but we would expect redesigned taillamps and perhaps some revamped trim. From what we can see, the Highlander’s profile appears unchanged, save perhaps for a new wheel pattern and a very discreet set of turn signal repeaters in the mirrors.

While we have no confirmation that we will receive this same model, European officials believe that it will make it to North America with “more or less the same look.” The Highlander is only built in three places at the moment – China, Japan and in Indiana, so it doesn’t seem likely that Toyota would bother to develop new sheetmetal for select European markets without disbursing it elsewhere.

Unfortunately, we don’t know too much about what’s going on under that hood or in the cabin. So far, the only thing that Toyota Europe has confirmed with us is that the hybrid version of the Highlander won’t be available in those markets. We’ll just have to wait for details from the Moscow Motor Show for more information. Thanks for the tip, Mike!

First Look: 2011 Toyota Highlander to launch at Moscow Motor Show next month originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2010 Toyota Tacoma 4×2 PreRunner is a troubled fish in a shrinking pond

Filed under: Truck, Toyota, Reviews, Off-Road

2010 Toyota Tacoma 4×2 PreRunner – Click above for high-res image gallery

There was a time when pickup trucks came in three sensible sizes; small, medium and large. That’s changed in recent years, as most pint-sized trucks have grown substantially to maintain distance compared to the similarly inflating half-ton pickup truck segment. The Toyota Tacoma is no different, as the second generation of the popular pickup is eight inches wider and over a foot longer than the 1995 Taco. And don’t even try comparing the latest Tacoma to Marty McFly’s stellar 1985 Toyota Pickup in the Back to the Future films, which could almost fit in the bed of a modern heavy-duty.

But while the Tacoma has adjusted to fit the growing whims of U.S. truck buyers, sales have dropped anyway. Over the past three years, nameplate sales have plunged by over 60 percent, and 2010 isn’t looking any better. Has the Tacoma – last redesigned way back in 2005 – become long-in-the-tooth, or are car buyers simply turning away from the mid-size truck? We spent a week reacquainting ourselves with a TR5 PreRunner Double Cab to find out.

Follow the jump to continue…

Gallery: Review: 2010 Toyota Tacoma 4×2 PreRunner

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Review: 2010 Toyota Tacoma 4×2 PreRunner is a troubled fish in a shrinking pond originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota Sienna score in Consumer Reports plunges, no longer top-rated

Filed under: Minivan/Van, Crossover, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Toyota

2011 Toyota Sienna – Click above for high-res image gallery

It’s generally accepted that every new iteration of any vehicle is somehow better than its predecessor. And that’s true of the 2011 Toyota Sienna minivan, which is festooned with more goodies (like a 16.4-inch widescreen monitor for rear-seat passengers) and a sportier flair (complete with a sporty SE trim) than the previous generation Sienna. The only question that remains, then, is this: Do those improvements automatically equal a better vehicle?

According to Consumer Reports, the answer is no. And surprisingly, it’s not even close, with the new Sienna’s overall test score of 80 paling in comparison to the 2010’s overall score of 94. The main culprits cited by CR for the plummeting score are poor fit and finish and excessive interior noise – bad enough that CR claims it’s not possible to have a proper conversation between front and rear passengers.

So, if not the Toyota Sienna – which held the honor for three straight years – what is CR’s top-rated minivan? The six-year-old Honda Odyssey. For what it’s worth, there’s a new Odyssey coming out next year, but as we’ve seen from the Sienna, a new model doesn’t necessarily equal one that tests better at the influential magazine. It’s also worth noting that the new Sienna’s overall score is roughly on par with that of the Kia Sedona, which has been available in its current configuration since 2006.

Consumer Reports also tested other people movers, such as the micro-minivan Mazda5 and the large box-on-wheels crossover Ford Flex. Both vehicles got rather positive reviews, and testers found that they may be looked at as realistic replacements for the tried-and-true minivan paradigm of the Toyota Sienna. Check out the official press release after the break.

Gallery: 2011 Toyota Sienna

[Source: Consumer Reports]

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Toyota Sienna score in Consumer Reports plunges, no longer top-rated originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Feds block Toyota ‘unintended acceleration’ doc release

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Toyota

A new report from the The Wall Street Journal claims that the Department of Transportation is blocking the release of National Highway Transportation Safety Administration findings on the Toyota unintended acceleration issues. According to the article, NHTSA has compiled all the relevant information and written a report on its findings, but George Pearson, the former head of the agency’s recall division, says that he was told that the Transportation Department doesn’t want the information released. Why? Pearson didn’t say, but the Journal seems to think that the information could add fuel to the argument that NHTSA is too close to automakers.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Department says that the report is incomplete, and that it will take more time to properly review all of the data associated with the issue. Pearson, on the other hand, claims that the report shows that in the majority of unintended acceleration cases, the vehicle’s black boxes clearly indicated that the accelerator was depressed and the brake pedal was not. That means that the cases could be chalked up to driver error – something that would serve to vindicate Toyota. Thanks for the tip, MKIV!

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Report: Feds block Toyota ‘unintended acceleration’ doc release originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog gets seat and simulation time with Toyota’s newest safety technology [w/video]

Filed under: Hybrid, Japan, Safety, Technology, Videos, Lexus, Toyota

Inside Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji tech center – Click above for high-res image gallery

Sitting in the shadow of Mount Fuji, Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji technical center is part proving grounds and part engineering center. But unlike most facilities, Higashi-Fuji includes an array of engineering and research offices employing over 3,000 employees, and an assortment of non-track test facilities.

The Higashi-Fuji campus opened back in 1966 and has grown to encompass nearly 2.7 millionsquare feet of facility floor space. We were given the rare opportunity to visit the facility where we witnessed one unique crash test, tried out one of the world’s most advanced driving simulators and sampled an assortment of new safety features, including a brake override system, enhanced pre-collision braking, pedestrian detection and updated ABS calibrations for the Prius. Make the jump for the full report.

Gallery: Inside Toyota’s Higashi-Fuji tech center

Continue reading Autoblog gets seat and simulation time with Toyota’s newest safety technology [w/video]

Autoblog gets seat and simulation time with Toyota’s newest safety technology [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Toyota Tacoma gets sweet-looking TRD T|X and T|X Pro packages

Filed under: Truck, Toyota, Off-Road

2011 Toyota Tacoma TRD T|X Pro – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’re like us, you’d probably do all manner of unspeakable acts to be able to call the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor your very own. Unfortunately, FoMoCo isn’t in the business of accepting black market kidneys as payment, which has left us without a desert stomping pickup in the driveway. Fortunately, Toyota has come out of left field with a stopgap savior in the form of its new 2011 Tacoma T|X and T|X Pro models. The packages are built around the T|X concept from the 2009 SEMA show, and pack much of the hardware we saw on that particular show truck.

Both packages are available on the Tacoma V6 Access Cab or Double Cab Prerunner models that are equipped with the TRD off-road package. In addition to the sweet electronic locking rear differential, Bilstein shocks and BFGoodrich Rugged Trail rubber, the T|X package throws in 16-inch blacked-out beadlock wheels and black tube side steps among other good-looking pieces. Step it up to the T|X Pro, and you’re also rewarded with a TRD cat-back exhaust.

Both trims cost $1,699 and represent a savings of over $700 compared to if you’d simply raided the TRD catalog yourself. The T|X and T|X Pro packages may not put you on the same level as Ford’s mad hatter, but it’s a start. Hit the jump for the press release and check out our massive gallery below.

Gallery: Toyota Tacoma TRD T|X Pro

[Source: Toyota]

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2011 Toyota Tacoma gets sweet-looking TRD T|X and T|X Pro packages originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius

Filed under: Hybrid, Hatchback, Toyota

The first decade of the Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery

As of 2010, the Toyota Prius has been available in North America for a decade, and it remains by far the best selling hybrid both here and around the world. Since its Japanese market introduction 1997, drivers have bought more than 1.8 million of the gas-electric dynamos, with about half of those ending up in the United States (and apparently half of those landing on driveways in the San Francisco Bay area!).

The original Prius was a gawky-looking four-door sedan that was slow and often didn’t meet up with customer’s fuel economy expectations. It wasn’t until the second-generation model arrived in 2004 with a new teardop hatchback body style that the Prius really took off. By 2007, cumulative sales topped half a million, with the third generation model arriving two years later offering improved efficiency and better dynamic performance than ever. This year, Toyota has begun to deploy a test fleet of plug-in Priuses with lithium ion batteries with full series production of those versions coming in 2012.

While we wait for our future corded Prius models to give us even more pull with our eco-minded friends, we’ll join Toyota in celebrating the now-iconic green machine by checking out the historic gallery below.

Gallery: Toyota Prius – Decade 1

[Source: Toyota]

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Toyota celebrates a decade of Prius originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Next Toyota Prius to be built in U.S… in six years

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota

2010 Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery

It wasn’t so long ago that Toyota was making big waves over plans to build the hybrid Prius here in the U.S. The company had originally planned to start cranking out the battery-powered people mover at its Mississippi manufacturing facility, but after GM pulled the NUMMI plug, Toyota was forced to move Corolla production to plant instead. That doesn’t mean there won’t be room for the Prius down that way in the future, though.

According to Reuters, Atsushi Niimi, the company’s executive vice president, said that production of the hybrid could shift to the Mississippi plant when the car undergoes its next revision. Thing is, that won’t be for another six years.

Niimi said that the car’s production isn’t likely to move until the fourth-generation Prius hits the assembly line, which is expected to be somewhere around 2016. Why the delay? Toyota doesn’t see the American auto market – or even the economy as a whole – recovering any time soon. While some analysts have said that buyers in the land of the free would snap up 12 million cars and trucks next year and 14-15 million the year after, Toyota says it’s not so convinced.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Reuters]

Report: Next Toyota Prius to be built in U.S… in six years originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota to kill Sequoia, Tundra redesigned in 2014

Filed under: SUV, Truck, Toyota

2010 Toyota Sequoia – Click above for high-res image gallery

At it’s peak in 2002, Toyota was selling over 70,000 Sequoias. Last year, that number dropped to below 20,000 units. So it comes as little surprise that ToMoCo will be nixing its Tundra-based SUV at the end of the current model’s lifecycle.

A source speaking with PickupTrucks.com confirmed that the Sequoia won’t live on, partially due to slow sales, but surely in part to get Toyota’s CAFE ratings in check before the new rules hit in 2015. But all’s not lost for the automaker’s body-on-frame offerings.

A redesigned Tundra is set to arrive in 2014, just in time for Ford, General Motors and Nissan’s newest half-ton pickups. Although sales of the Tundra haven’t lived up to Toyota’s lofty expectations, it’s obvious the automaker feels the need to compete in the segment, and a refreshed model should help sales, despite the market’s less-than-enthusiastic reception of Toyota’s largest pickup.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Sequoia

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Report: Toyota to kill Sequoia, Tundra redesigned in 2014 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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