Tag Archives: Toyota

The best car for taxi use in Germany isn’t German

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Laurent J. Masson

German magazine Auto Bild did something unusual in its 20th January edition. Instead of writing about cars for private use, it went looking for the best car to use as a taxicab. The choice is wide for German taxi drivers. … Continue reading →

Posted in CO2 emissions, Fuel efficiency, Hybrids | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Toyota TS030 hybrid, made for Le Mans, to improve racing fuel economy

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Laurent J. Masson

Toyota’s announcement to race a hybrid car at Le Mans 24 Hours raised of a lot enthusiasm, but also many questions. Sure, the Prius is a great car, praised the world over, but it’s a fine road car with average … Continue reading →

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The Toyota Yaris hybrid, one for Europe

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Laurent J. Masson

The Toyota Prius c got its American premiere last week in Detroit, but Europe won’t get it. What Europeans will get instead is a hybrid version of Toyota’s subcompact: the Yaris. That one is a popular model in Europe. It … Continue reading →

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Green eco-warriors get one wild-looking Toyota Prius hybrid in Japan

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

There was one wild-looking Toyota Prius at the Tokyo Auto Salon (a tuning show) earlier this year. It was a concept, which was shown again at the Tokyo motor show 2 weeks ago, save that it wasn’t a concept anymore. … Continue reading →

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BMW and Toyota, with diesels in front, batteries behind

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

BMW and Toyota were partners already, a few years ago. Toyota was providing a diesel engine to BMW. That was the diesel from the Yaris, which BMW was using in the European Mini. But that didn’t last long. The Toyota … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Clean diesel, EVs batteries and BMS, Technology | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Toyota returns to Le Mans with a gasoline-hybrid race car

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

Toyota has raced in Le Mans before, it even set a lap record once, but it never won the race so a comeback was expected. It will happen next year with something few people expected: hybrid tech.

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Europe’s still waiting, but Toyota has priced its plug-in Prius in the US, is it worth its price?

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

The plug-in Prius was unveiled in its production version at the Frankfurt motor show, but Toyota didn’t revealed its price there. Would it be 10% more than the standard version? 15% more? In the US, where the base Prius sells … Continue reading →

Posted in Market, Plug-in hybrids | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Ford and Toyota to collaborate on developing new hybrid system for light trucks and SUVs

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

Toyota is the undisputed leader in hybrid technology, while Ford is the pick-up truck’s leader. The Ford F-150 is a perennial best-seller in America, and so is the Prius in Japan. But that was not enough. No large hybrid pick-up … Continue reading →

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Toyota RAV4 EV will be of a newer generation, hybrid version could be on its way too

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

It has been known for a while that Toyota will buy complete electric power trains from Tesla Motors for its upcoming RAV4 EV. Tesla said it will build motors and assemble battery packs at its facilities in California. Toyota now … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric cars (EVs), Family cars, Hybrids, Manufacturing | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Toyota will buy more from Tesla Motors to build electric RAV4s

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Laurent J. Masson

Tesla motors is working for Toyota. The Californian company is developing an electric version of the Toyota RAV4 SUV. I wrote about it last year, explaining that Tesla will be paid $60 million for this work. I don’t know why, … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Electric cars (EVs) | Tagged , , | 1 Comment