FAIL or WIN? Toyobaru Prija is…Interesting

What do you get when a Toyota Prius mates with a Subaru Baja? A Toyota Prija of course.

Steve Woodruff is probably the only person in the world that thought combining the two ideas would be a good idea, but he went and did it anyway. The result is a rather ugly looking pick up that is probably the most efficient pick up in the world.

Woodruff claims his Toyobaru gets about 40 mpg (or 5.8 L/100 kms in Canadian speak) which is awesome. The added weight of the pick up bed hasn’t affected fuel mileage that much as it’s not far off from a regular 2006 Prius.

Even though the Toyobaru does amazing fuel wise, it still isn’t likely to have any towing capabilities. But hey, it still hauls a lot of stuff just like a pick up is supposed to. Woodruff didn’t mention how much the crazy experiment cost, but it was likely a lot. Which means any fuel savings would likely be a bit of a moot point. But in terms of the environment, it’s definitely a win.

Too bad it looks hedious.

[AutoBeYours]

Toyota Canada Issues Stop Sale On Lexus HS 250h

Toyota isn’t effing around anymore, are they?

Toyota Canada has quickly issued a stop sale on the Lexus HS 250h due to fire risk concerns. Apparently if a rear collision is severe enough, excessive amounts of fuel can spill out causing a risk of fire, or even an explosion.

Toyota said in a press release:

“As part of its annual compliance testing program, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently conducted a test of the
2010 model year HS 250h. The test involved striking the vehicle with a
deformable barrier from the rear at approximately 80 km/h. The vehicle
is struck by a moving deformable barrier with a 70 per cent overlap. As
part of the test, the vehicle was then rotated on its longitudinal axis
incrementally to each successive increment of 90 degrees. During the
rotation, the vehicle exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the
requirement in the standard.”

That’s all fine and good, but what is the solution Toyota? They have no idea. Until they can think of something, no new 2010 HS 250h’s will be delivered or sold to the public.

Better get on a solution soon, Toyota.

[Toyota Canada]

International Engine of the Year Award Winners Announced

Congrats to Volkswagen!

They picked up International Engine of the Year award honours for 2010 for the 1.4 litre TSI twincharger engine typically found in the Golf, Jetta, Scirocco, Tiguan, Touran, and Seat Ibiza Cupra. Unfortunately for us, we don’t get to experience that engine in any of VW’s offerings in North America. Volkwagen also picked up a second award for the 2.5 litre five-cylinder turbo that they use in the amazing Audi TT-RS.

BMW picked up the most awards for four different engines. The first was for the incredible 3 litre inline six D1 twin turbo used in the 135i, 335i, 535i, X5 35i, X6 35i and Z4. Next BMW was awarded for the 1.6 litre turbo found in the Mini Cooper S, Clubman S, Peugot 207 & 308 as well as the John Cooper works Edition Cooper and Clubman. BMW’s wonderful diesel was recognized as well, specifically the 2 litre twin turbo used in the 123d and X1 123d. Finally, and not surprisingly, BMW picked up an award for the 4 litre V8 used in the M3.

Mercedes-Benz and Toyota rounded out the list, each picking up one award. Mercedes-Benz won for their 6.2 litre V8 found in all the AMG models and Toyota was awarded for their 1 litre engine found in the Yaris and IQ.

Congrats to all the winners!

[International Engine of the Year]

FAIL: Yaris Batmobile

Either batman has been hit hard by the recession, or some douchebag thinks he actually is batman. Either way it’s a fail, but it’s likely the latter.

I’m not sure what possesses people to take perfectly fine cars and then transform them into their nerdy wet dreams, but it’s starting to get out of control. As proof, some fool did this to a brand new 2010 Toyota Yaris – one of the last car’s to ever be associated with the batmobile.

I sincerely hope one of this guy’s friends punched him in the nose for doing this to his car.

Oh wait, he probably has no friends.

[VW Vortex]

FAIL: Prius Driver Jailed for Racing?!

Huh?

I recently tested the 2010 Toyota Prius, and even though it isn’t the car for me, I came away quite impressed. One of the things that impressed me was its unexpected power. The Prius can get from 0-100 in 9.8 seconds. That isn’t fast enough to induce any sort of thrills, but for a hybrid, that’s pretty damned good. I even pondered whether I should even mention the Prius’ 0-100 time because I figured no one remotely interested in a Prius would really care. Speed = lots of fuel consumption after all. Apparently I was wrong.

Timothy Hird from Georgia seemingly had a fit of road rage as he was unimpressed with the way a Honda Civic was driving. He then decided to show non-hybrid owners just how fast his Prius could go by racing the Civic. There was lots of back and fourth yelling, and the Prius was apparently able to hold its own, but in the end, a close call with a police officer ended the Civic vs Prius affair.

Both drivers were booked for wreckless driving and Hird even got thrown in jail for it. All this just to prove your Prius is faster than people think?

[Top Speed]

Test Drive: 2010 Toyota Prius

By Kevin Harrison

I believe in climate change. There really is no reason to not believe it in my opinion. Is it a cash grab by certain companies and corporations? Maybe. Businesses are certainly shifting towards a more environmental angle and are starting to make products that they claim will help save the environment. We usually need to pay more than we’re used to. But really, when are businesses not jumping onto the latest trend? They’re here to make money and if they’re making it at the expense of saving our earth, then I’m okay with that. And if climate change turns out to be a hoax, then at the very least it means that we saved money on energy, fuel etc and we end up with a less disgusting, cleaner earth. So, in my mind there’s really no downside to trying to save our environment.

How we go about doing it is fairly controversial. In the car world, there are many interesting solutions. You have diesel, which has been around since 1892 and thus proven to be the most reliable way to save gas. Then there’s relying on pure electricity – burning no gas and emitting no emissions is pretty sweet… assuming you don’t run out of electricity in the middle of nowhere. But really the same risk of running out of gas exists in the cars we drive today.

Then there are hybrids, likely the most popular way to save fuel and emissions right now. Toyota has the most hybrids out of any manufacturer. The most popular is likely the Prius. In fact, the Prius is so popular that you simply need to say its name and everyone not only knows it’s a Toyota, but knows that it is the car of choice for environmentalists, celebrities and people who order chai lattes at Starbucks – you know, the trendy ones.

There’s no doubt that the Prius is the most frugal car when it comes to gas consumption, but there really is more to cars and driving than how much gas it uses. Is it actually a good car?

Read the rest of this entry »

FAIL: Making the Toyota Sienna Cool

Now, here’s the thing. There are certain vehicles out there that really seem to resonate with the people. This inevitably translates into celebs buying said vehicles because it is the latest cool thing to do. The Lincoln Navigator, the Cadillac Escalade, the Mercedes-Benz any-model and even the Toyota Prius all come to mind. In fact, I’ve pointed out that the new Chevy Camaro will be the new hot car in Hollywood as Lebron James & Ludacris seem to be all over it. Young Jeezy even made a song called “Camaro”.

Rick Ross also has several songs dedicated to Maybach’s, and Luda even did a song about the Cadillac Deville. There’s no doubt that certain vehicles make an impact on certain celebrities rappers. One vehicle yet to have a rap song made about it is the Toyota Sienna minivan…until now.

I’m all for good hearted goofy rap spoofs, but this one really isn’t funny. It’s trying too hard to get laughs and we know when you try too hard to get laughs you end up with Carrot Top.

The thing is, it is possible to make a funny rap song about a traditionally ‘uncool’ car. The Casual Mafia was able to make an amusing song about the Toyota Prius. This video, however, tries to do the same thing but falls quite short, even though it appears to be much more high budget. Oh and the song is called “Swagger Wagon” which would work if the Sienna was a wagon. Since it isn’t, it remains an unfunny title on top of it all. At least they’re “rapping” about the Sienna SE, which is probably the best trim level you can get.

But, you be the judge. check out the video above for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Leah!

Shocker: Lexus GX Recalled

Obviously it was going to happen, it was just a question of when. We predicted very soon and we were right. Just five days after Consumer Reports declared the Lexus GX as being unsafe and recommending not buying it, Toyota has officially made the call. The re-call that is.

Seriously though, 9,400 GX 460′s have been recalled and we’re shocked that Toyota even sold that many. This is a relief for current GX owners who will now have a brand new stability control system installed to ensure no over steer or rollovers.

Toyota Will Pay Fines, Claim They Did Nothing Wrong

Toyota is getting the first honours of the biggest civil fine ever to be issued to any automaker.

They will be fined $16.4 million for all the jazz going on with recalls, and that’s a steal of a deal for Toyota. Why? Because there is a cap on civil fines. $16.4 million is the absolute maximum civil fine allowed. The Detroit News is reporting that if that cap did not exist, Toyota would have been fined $6,000 per vehicle. That would have resulted in $13 billion in fines!

The kicker is, Toyota isn’t even accepting any responsibility for all the hoopla they’ve caused. The deal was that they pay the fine, but officially  they wouldn’t accept any responsibility of wrongdoing even though there have been reports that Toyota knew of sticking gas pedals since 2005. Toyota does admit that they could have done a better job in communicating relevant new information, however. Um, yeah probably.

All we have to say is we doubt that a $16.4 million fine is of much comfort to the families of those killed in faulty Toyotas, and saying you did nothing wrong is almost like slapping them in the face.

Toyota still isn’t off the hook as the U.S House of Representatives plan on holding another hearing on May 6th. With all everything surrounding the Lexus GX 460 and still lingering issues of faulty gas pedals, Toyota could still face more fines in the near future.

And Then There Were Three…

Alright let’s take an updated look at all the Toyotas (and Lexuses) that have been recalled by Toyota this year:

• Corolla
• Camry
• Matrix
• Avalon
• Highlander
• RAV4
• Tundra
• Sequoia
• Prius
• Tacoma
• Sienna
• Lexus HS 250

The only three Toyotas that have not been recalled are the Yaris, FJ Cruiser and 4Runner. The GX 460 has just received a “don’t buy” designation from Consumer Reports, so the 4Runner on which it is based could see a similar fate.

The Sienna, Tundra and Highlander have been recalled by Toyota Canada over the weekend. The timing is a bit suspect, no? Wait until the weekend when seemingly no one is paying attention.

Find out what they have been recalled for after the jump

Read the rest of this entry »

FML: Lexus GX 460 Edition

Toyota can’t seem to keep out of the headlines. The number one automaker in the world is in some serious dog doo as they have experienced a stop sale of most of their lineup, millions of models recalled, lawsuits galore, investigations by American, Canadian and Japanese governments, and loss of accolades. The latter is biting at Toyota’s heals yet again.

Consumer reports has branded the Lexus GX 460 with a very unflattering “Don’t Buy” designation. The reason is due to the GX’s apparent inability to stay sure footed in aggressive or emergency driving situations.  The GX can be prone to rolling over a little too easily as the traction control doesn’t quite do an decent job.

Check out CR’s explanation in the video above.

Interestingly enough, the Toyota 4Runner on which the Lexus GX 460 is based, is not a part of the ‘Don’t Buy’ recommendation. A bit of good news for Toyota then? Nope. As a result of Consumer Reports, Toyota has issued at ‘stop sale’ on the GX, temporarily.

Welcome to Canada, Scion

Canada’s newest car brand, Scion, has been confirmed for sale here this year. Toyota has decided to sell Scions here in Canada and they will go on sale this fall.

What can we expect from the supposed youth oriented brand?

Well the updated Scion TC shown above, pictured at this year’s New York Auto Show will be available for sale here.

The Scion TC is seen as a sort of successor to the Toyota Celica. It produces 180 horsepower and  173 pound feet of torque. Both a six speed manual and a six speed sequential automatic will be made available, though there is no official Canadian pricing yet. This should spice up the compact coupe segment a bit as the Honda Civic and Kia Forte Koup are mostly regarded as the front runners.

There is one other model confirmed for Canada. Find out what it is, after the jump

Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t Worry, No Sticking Pedals For Roll-Up RAV’s

Generally, we are not huge fans of Tim Horton’s coffee, but the chance to win a new car is enticing enough to make us buy it.

Roll Up The Rim To Win is back on for another year and for the past five years, a brand new Toyota has been the top prize. This was a pretty smart decision five years ago when Toyota was quickly climbing the latter to become the number one car company in the world.

With all the latest recall hoopla at Toyota however, aligning themselves with the brand this year may have been a bit of a risky move, especially since the RAV4 available to be won was indeed affected by sticking gas pedals. But Tim’s is sticking by Toyota despite the numerous recalls, kind of like how Elin is sticking by Tiger, despite the numerous mistresses.

Both Toyota and Tim’s are quick to relieve any anxiety you may have and are assuring that the 40 RAV’s have already had modifications done as a part of the recall.

We don’t care if they had sticking pedals are not because, frankly, if we win, we’re just going to sell it to buy something better anyway. Might be a nice down payment on a BMW M3.

Canadian Black Book Announces Best Retained Value Winners

If you want to get the most back from your car when selling it after four years, Canadian Black book has made it a bit easier for you to decide what to buy in the first place.

They have compiled a list of cars that best retain their value from MSRP four years later into 17 categories.

Find out who got the honours after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian Government Will Investigate Toyota

Just to clarify, we are not suggesting that the above cash was caused by the Prius or that it had faulty brakes. It’s more of a symbol of how Toyota’s direction is looking at the moment. Case in point, investigations galore. (And yes, that is a Tesla roadster involved in the crash).

President of Toyota Akio Toyoda is currently in Washington to testify against allegations that Toyota knew of recent sticking gas pedal and faulty brake issues prior to the recall, yet chose not to act. He is also offering apologies to all Toyota customers, especially to those injured or even killed in Toyota’s that needed to be recalled. The NHTSA is investigating Toyota’s actions in the matter.

The Canadian government seems to be following suit as they plan to hold similar hearings commencing March 3, with the full support of the opposition parties.

Although the purpose of the hearing isn’t exactly to place blame on anyone (how Canadian of them), the government wants to know how this happened, how it went undetected and what can be done to prevent a similar situation in the future.

All we can say is if Toyota knew of these problems and chose not to act, then they are getting what’s coming to them. They should’ve taken a page from David Letterman and came right out with it -it would’ve blown over a lot sooner. If they honestly didn’t know a thing before hand, then that means there needs to be a serious overhaul in every single department in Toyota to ensure this does not happen again.