Toyota

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Toyota to Add Solar Panels to Prius

Some 2009 models will have panels that help power air conditioning

(Newser) - Toyota plans to go even more “green” with its hybrid Prius, offering solar panels as a high-end option beginning with the 2009 model year, reports Reuters. And, although the panels will do little more than help power the air conditioning system, Toyota’s move shows just how far automakers...

Prius Shortage Hurts Toyota
 Prius Shortage Hurts Toyota 

Prius Shortage Hurts Toyota

11.5% June drop in US sales blamed on low inventory of popular small models

(Newser) - Popularity is proving quite the pickle for Toyota: Dwindling supplies of hot sellers like its hybrid Prius fueled the 11.5% drop in US sales last month, Reuters reports. With a waiting list 6 months long, Prius sales fell 26%—even as rival Honda bumped its sales 13.8% thanks...

US Auto Sales Off Big, But GM Holds Top Spot

21.4% drop keeps Toyota from No. 1; Honda manages gain

(Newser) - Sales for General Motors, Ford and Toyota all fell by double-digit percentages in June compared to the same month last year, while Honda managed an 11% gain, the Detroit News reports—with GM holding off Toyota as top US seller. In general, consumers passed over big, fuel-guzzling vehicles and luxury...

Kid Rock Endorses Grand Theft Everything

Pro-larceny YouTube video was just a joke, performer insists

(Newser) - Perhaps worried that he provides too wholesome a role model for America's youth, Kid Rock has posted a PSA on YouTube encouraging his fans not to stop at stealing music online. In the video, the rocker-rapper suggests people "level the playing field" by boosting iPods, computers, and cars. He...

Japan's Big 3 Move Into New Markets

Carmakers building plants in India, Africa, and Russia as traditional markets slow

(Newser) - Japan’s automakers, traditionally focused on North America and near-home markets, are expanding aggressively into new territories as opportunities shift to Africa, India, and the former Soviet Union, reports the New York Times. One analyst said 76% of the global growth of the Big Three—Toyota, Honda, and Nissan—in...

Home Is Where the Robot Is
Home Is Where the Robot Is

Home Is Where the Robot Is

New breed of metal humanoids can see, touch, and don't mind housework

(Newser) - A kinder, gentler, smarter Frankenstein may soon be mowing your lawn and folding your unmentionables. Manufacturers are developing a new generation of metallic humanoid that will not only carry heavy objects, but pull their weight around the house and at work, the Economist reports. These new-age robots can touch, see,...

Under the Hood, Size Does Matter
Under the Hood, Size Does Matter

Under the Hood, Size Does Matter

Even in SUVs, Americans opt for smaller engines to conserve on gas

(Newser) - Instead of saving on gas by getting smaller cars, many Americans are buying cars with smaller engines. Four-cylinder autos have been zooming off lots nationwide, leaving six-cylinder rides in the dust: Three quarters of mid-size cars sold in May sported the smaller engine, a swerve away from a trend in...

Honda Looks to Muscle in on Prius Market

Automaker adding 3 hybrid models to challenge rival Toyota

(Newser) - Honda is rolling out three new hybrids, looking to muscle in on rival Toyota in a world ever more receptive of fuel-efficient vehicles. The current Civic hybrid will be joined by a five-door compact, another compact already sold in Europe as the Jazz, and a new hybrid sports car, Forbes...

Prius: 1M and Counting
 Prius: 1M and Counting 

Prius: 1M and Counting

Toyota hybrid's sales into seven digits, and company sees no slowdown

(Newser) - The Toyota Prius is a now 1 million units strong, and the landmark gas-electric hybrid, introduced in 1997, is poised to keep growing, the AP reports. Toyota said today it expects to be selling a million a year by sometime after 2010; what’s more, the company claims 4.5...

US Woes Drive Toyota Profits Down 28%
 US Woes Drive
 Toyota Profits
 Down 28% 
Earnings report

US Woes Drive Toyota Profits Down 28%

World's No. 2 automaker sees tough year ahead

(Newser) - Even Toyota—with its array of popular gas-sipping vehicles—is struggling in a slumping global economy, according to the latest figures. The world’s No. 2 automaker today reported that earnings for the last quarter fell 28% to $3.05 billion from $4.2 billion a year ago, reports the...

Japanese Automakers See Bumpy Road Ahead
Japanese Automakers See Bumpy Road Ahead
EARNINGS REPORTS

Japanese Automakers See Bumpy Road Ahead

Honda's profits down 86%, Mitsubishi's off 37%—and forecasts call for more of same

(Newser) - A strong yen is hurting Japan's automakers, the Wall Street Journal reports, with Honda and Mitsubishi announcing big declines in profits today and forecasting tough times ahead. Honda saw an 86% decline in profits for the quarter ended March 31; Mitsubishi's were down 37%. Mazda bucked the trend, with a...

Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1
 Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1 

Toyota Overtakes GM in Q1

US giant's worldwide sales off 0.6% as overseas growth mitigates domestic dip

(Newser) - GM’s vehicle sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter, helping Toyota, on 2.7% growth, take the global sales lead, the Wall Street Journal reports. Toyota sold 2.41 million vehicles worldwide to 2.25 million for the American giant, which was hurt badly by a 10.2%...

Hybrid Sales Soar in 2007
 Hybrid Sales Soar in 2007 

Hybrid Sales Soar in 2007

Sales of hybrids up 38% last year, with the Prius leading the way

(Newser) - Sales of hybrid cars rose 38% in the US last year, with Toyota's Prius grabbing more than half the market. As fuel prices climb, hybrid sales are expected to continue to rise this year. Five states lead the rest in buying hybrids, calculated by percentage of sales:
  1. California (26.1%)
...

March Auto Sales Hit the Skids
March Auto Sales
Hit the Skids 

March Auto Sales Hit the Skids

GM, Chrysler Down 19%, Toyota, Ford Dip 10%

(Newser) - US auto sales plummeted last month, with GM and Chrysler's March sales diving 19%, and Ford and Toyota's down 10%, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rising gas prices, the credit crisis and fear of the future are blamed for the troubling trend. Detroit is bracing for even more bad news...

Toyota Make NASCAR History
Toyota Make NASCAR History

Toyota Make NASCAR History

Kyle Busch has first win in foreign car in more than 50 years

(Newser) - Kyle Busch and a Japanese car manufacturer were both big winners in the Kobalt Tools 500 today. The 22-year-old became the youngest NASCAR driver to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his first victory in nearly a year. The win also marked the first time Toyota won a Sprint Cup series...

Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly
Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly
OPINION

Boeing Doesn't Deserve Military Monopoly

Lawmakers are angry, but making aircraft giant compete is a good thing

(Newser) - There’s fury on Capitol Hill (and the campaign trail) over a $40 billion Air Force contract going to a European team, Mark Thompson notes in Time, but it’s entirely appropriate for the military to get the best technology it can. Indeed, anger over the snub to Boeing shows...

US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy
US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy

US Car Sales Sink in Slow Economy

GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Toyota saw sales fall last month

(Newser) - A tumbling US economy hit Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and Toyota today as all four posted declining sales for last month, Bloomberg reports. Chrysler fell 14% as Ford dropped nearly 7% and GM suffered almost a 20% drop in light truck sales. "Primarily it's driven by the weak economy,...

City Dweller: Drive These Top 10
City Dweller: Drive These Top 10

City Dweller: Drive These Top 10

Check out this list of the Top 10 vehicles for urbanites from Forbes

(Newser) - City streets are tight, and the stop-and-go driving eats up over-priced gas. Then there’s the parking … if you can find it. Forbes says urbanites should consider one of these city-friendly rides:
  1. Audi A3: Handles well, loaded with safety features, tiny turning radius
  2. Mazda3: Great at dodging potholes, safe
...

Looking for a Real Recession? Try Japan

Once-booming economy stumbles, yet people are 'indifferent'

(Newser) - While economists squabble over a possible US recession, Japan has quietly slipped into one. The country’s postwar riches have all but vanished, the Washington Post reports, as its GDP tumbles from fourth to twentieth among the world’s countries and its share of the world’s economy dips from...

Toyota, GM In Tie for Top Automaker
Toyota, GM In Tie for
Top Automaker

Toyota, GM In Tie for Top Automaker

Tie highlights two companies headed in opposite directions

(Newser) - Toyota has finally caught up with GM, after years of growing roughly five times as fast. GM’s sales rose 3% in 2007, to 9,369,524 vehicles, but it was only enough to tie Toyota, which last week announced sales of approximately 9.37 million, ending GM’s 76-year...

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