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Spy Shots: Subaru’s RWD sports car caught wearing same outfit as Toyota sibling

Filed under: Spy Photos, Scion, Subaru, Toyota

spy shots subaru coupe

Spy Shots: Subaru Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

Judging by the recent influx of spy shots, Toyota is working hard, fine-tuning its upcoming Scion FR-S sports car. Now, we’re finally getting a look at the Subaru version. Spy photogs snapped the two-door Subie undergoing some road testing. The style is similar to the Scion we’ve been seeing, but the Subaru appears to get a different front-end treatment.

Though most of the important bits and pieces are well-covered by all the swirly graphics, the spy photographers did manage to grab a shot of the interior of the coupe. A paddle shifter is clearly visible, and we hope to eventually spy a version with a manual transmission as well. Check out all of the spy shots of the Subaru coupe by clicking through the gallery below.

Subaru’s RWD sports car caught wearing same outfit as Toyota sibling originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: No $1M prize winners in contest to crack Toyota sudden acceleration syndrome

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Toyota

Last year, Edmunds asked its readership to recreate a mechanical or electrical cause of sudden unintended acceleration of the kind that allegedly plagued Toyota in 2009 and 2010. The prize for coming up with verifiable proof of mechanical failure causing SUA was a cool $1 million dollars. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that contest just concluded without a winner.

Over the course of the year, Edmunds readers were unable to come up with proof that a mechanical or electrical fault caused the accidents that led to Toyota’s drastic recall. That backs up NASA’s finding that absolved Toyota of any wrongdoing. With mechanical failure ruled out as a viable cause of SUA, we’re left with an uncomfortable thought: Short of those dealing with binding floor mats or those sticky recalled pedals, driver error was almost certainly the culprit for the flurry of unintended acceleration claims.

No $1M prize winners in contest to crack Toyota sudden acceleration syndrome originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Mazda RX-9 to borrow hybrid tech from Toyota

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Mazda, Rumormill

Mazda Kabura Concept

2006 Mazda Kabura Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

The rotary rumormill continues to spin about as fast as a Renesis engine at redline (that’s 9,000 rpm, for those keeping track). Might the next rotary-powered RX from Mazda be a hybrid? It very well may, if you believe a report from Motor Trend.

Lending credence to the story is a 2010 agreement signed between Mazda and Toyota that would have the Zoom-Zoom company licensing the technology that makes the Prius tick. At the time, Mazda indicated that its first hybrid using Toyota technology would hit the market in 2013. Will it be in the form of an RX-9?

Motor Trend reports that the successor to the RX-8 will eschew reverse-opening rear doors for a standard coupe format with an architecture based on the platform of the next-gen Mazda MX-5. If true, we may be talking about the world’s first real rear-wheel-drive hybrid sportscar for the mass market.

It’s worth noting that a hybrid powertrain may very well cure what has forever ailed the rotary engine: low torque (electric motors make gobs of the stuff at low rpm) and high fuel consumption. We like the idea of Mazda forging forward with the rotary engine, especially one that’s tuned to make a ton of horsepower at stratospheric spinning speeds like a proper rotary should.

One potential weakness, though, is that Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology uses a complicated continuously variable automatic transmission, and those have typically failed to provide the excitement of a proper row-for-yourself manual gearbox, or even a dual-clutch. In any case, we’re content to adopt a wait-and-see attitude on this latest rumor.

Mazda RX-9 to borrow hybrid tech from Toyota originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota announces its own social network

Filed under: Etc., Technology, Toyota

There isn’t a Trent Reznor score attached to this story, but Toyota must’ve finally received The Social Network courtesy of its Netflix queue. The automaker has announced that it’s creating a virtual online hangout of its own. Dubbed Toyota Friend, the service will connect Toyota owners with a shared love for the Japanese automaker.

Toyota has teamed up with cloud computing solutions company Salesforce.com. One of the tech firms products is called Salesforce Chatter, which is a private social network designed to allow a specific group to communicate. For the automaker’s purposes, Toyota Friend will allow vehicle owners to interact with dealers, the manufacturer and each other. In fact, Toyota Friend will even connect owners to their cars by tapping into the vehicles telematic systems.

Initially, Toyota Friend will roll out to Japanese customers. Specifically those that have purchased 2012 model year electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

This partnership involves more than shared technology. Toyota is investing 442 million yen (approximately $5.4 million USD) into the company that oversees the application of the automaker’s global cloud computing development, which is called Toyota Media Services. Salesforce is supplying 223 million yen ($2.7 million USD). Additionally, Microsoft has agreed to provide 335 million yen ($4.1 million USD) as part of the recently announced strategic partnership between the computing giant and Toyota. See the full press release after the break.

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Toyota announces its own social network originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 May 2011 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Toyota still tops in supplier relations, but only just

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota

When it comes to manufacturing and selling a complicated product like an automobile, a company’s relationship with its suppliers is of huge importance. A good working partnership can translate into higher levels of reliability and lower cost as well as early access to cutting-edge tech. According to a new study conducted by Detroit-based consulting firm Planning Perspectives, Toyota has one of the best relationships with its suppliers among all of the world’s automakers. The Detroit Bureau reports that this is the first time in three years that the Japanese automaker has held the top slot.

Honda came in just behind Toyota in the study, but Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have made serious strides toward improving their supplier relationship. In the past, the domestic automakers have continuously pressed their suppliers to produce parts with a lower price tag, which generated conflict. That seems to be changing, however. The Planning Perspectives study says that Ford may even overtake Honda and Toyota in coming years.

Meanwhile, Japanese automakers have seen their supplier relationships degrade over repeated recalls and other quality issues.

Toyota still tops in supplier relations, but only just originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2012 Toyota Prius V

Filed under: Hybrid, Wagon, Technology, Crossover, Toyota, First Drive

Toyota Masters The Art Of The Conjunctive

2012 Toyota Prius V

2012 Toyota Prius V – Click above for high-res image gallery

The hybrid lexicon is a language built on a foundation of disjunction. Buyers may have phenomenal fuel economy or space for kids and cargo. You can embarrass your neighbors at the fuel pump or have a satisfying driving experience. In fact, opting for a battery pack is so fraught with compromise that it’s almost as if hybrid manufacturers have completely deleted the conjunctive ‘and’ from their diction. Even so, that fact hasn’t stopped buyers from seeking out electrified vehicles in increasing numbers.

Toyota has sold over one million Prius models in the United States since the vehicle first debuted a decade ago. That number blossoms to two million if global sales are accounted for, and the model’s popularity has helped usher in a bloom of hybrid products from over 16 manufacturers. The technology may not be the perfect solution to our fuel economy concerns, but the Prius has taken off in ways that would have been difficult to imagine when the first gangly example whirred off the line.

Now Toyota is set to grow its Prius lineup with three new models. In fact, Bob Carter, Toyota division group vice president and general manager, says that the Japanese automaker fully expects the Prius family to become its best-selling product line in the near future – beating out internal combustion titans like the Camry and Corolla in the process. As a result, the company is planning to unleash of a barrage of products that include a model based on the Prius C Concept, a plug-in version of the hybrid and the taller, boxier Prius V. The thought is that a few simple variations on the company’s successful battery-powered recipe will offer buyers solutions that the conventional Prius simply couldn’t match. The only question is whether or not the will respond to what is effectively a few clever re-body jobs. If the Prius V is any indication, the answer is a resounding yes.

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2012 Toyota Prius V originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota and Subaru to unveil production sport coupes in Tokyo?

Filed under: Coupe, Budget, Performance, Tokyo Motor Show, Scion, Subaru, Toyota, Rumormill

Scion FR-S Concept

Scion FR-S Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

The wait is over… almost. According to a report from Inside Line that jives with what we’ve been hearing ourselves, Toyota (or Scion, or both) and Subaru are set to use the Tokyo Motor Show to jointly unveil the hotly anticipated rear-wheel-drive sport coupes that they have been working on together since what seems like the beginning of time.

Yes, that means we need to sit back and keep waiting until December, but at least it’s some sort of real real date to mark on the calendar, right? Until then, you’ll just have to be content with what is sure to be an endless series of spy shots and leaked information on the affordable sportscar duo.

Inside Line also offers something of a timetable for production, saying that the Scion FR-S will hit American shores sometime in 2012 (rather nebulous, no?) while the unnamed Subaru version will begin production in the spring of the same year.

Toyota and Subaru to unveil production sport coupes in Tokyo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 May 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota offers free badge of honor to Prius owners

Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrid, Marketing/Advertising, Hatchback, Toyota

To commemorate the epic milestone of one million Prius hybrids sold in the United States, Toyota is literally giving away “Prius Goes Platinum” badges to more than 11,000 current Prius owners.

If you own a Prius, don’t delay. Starting today, only the first 1,000 Prius owners who sign up at ToyotaPriusProjects.com will get their hands on a free custom-molded, adhesive-backed vehicle badge. The next 10,000 takers get their badges in sticker form, while everyone else gets their badges digitally. The auto-generated badge reflects, in an artistic sort of way, the CO2 emissions saved by each individual Prius.

Attention Prius owners: Click here to claim your one-of-a-kind “Prius Goes Platinum” badge.

Toyota offers free badge of honor to Prius owners originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 May 2011 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Judge’s ruling paves way for owners to sue Toyota over economic losses *UPDATE

Filed under: Government/Legal, Toyota

toyota emblem

If Toyota was hoping to end its ongoing unintended acceleration-related legal issues, the latest bit of courtroom news will make the automaker quite unhappy. U.S. District Judge James Selna has ruled that vehicle owners can sue Toyota over economic losses. Some Toyota owners claim the automaker is responsible for diminished resale value of vehicles wearing the Toyota badge.

“A vehicle with a defect is worth less than one without a defect,” said Selna.

Toyota, however, has stated that it remains confident it will emerge from the courtroom victorious. Selna’s ruling moves the burden of proof over to the plaintiff’s lawyers, and Toyota believes that no such proof of wrong-doing on its part exists. Lawyers for the plaintiffs will be tasked with proving that the automaker was aware of a defect and chose to ignore it.

One particular issue from Toyota’s point of view, with regards to James Selna’s ruling, is the judge has applied a California law to the case. One that may make it easier for plaintiffs to recover damages. Toyota argues that vehicle owners from all over the country are involved in the lawsuit, and therefore local state laws should be applied with respect to the owner’s location. Either way, it appears that Toyota’s legal drama is going to continue for quite some time.

*UPDATE: Toyota reached out to Autoblog.com for clarification. It appears the ruling has not yet come down, but that Selna is merely considering the application of California law to a case that reaches across the entire country.

Judge’s ruling paves way for owners to sue Toyota over economic losses *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 May 2011 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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