#toyota

Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda recently discussed a sporting EV prototype the company has been working on, noting that the model has the simulated manual transmission that’s been the subject of much controversy. Many have claimed a stick-shift electric wouldn’t happen, as it would add cost and needless amounts of complexity for a brand that’s traditionally been averse to both concepts.

However, the brand seems to be running with the concept. Lexus had already toyed with the idea and Akio is now praising the unit that’s been equipped with the Toyota-branded prototype.

Lexus is hitting the public with a one-two punch this week. After showcasing the next-generation GX, the brand introduced an all-new model designed to replace the three-row RX L. However, where the RX was stretched as an afterthought, the TX was always designed with extra seating in mind. 

Lexus has finally shown the brand-new GX midsize SUV for 2024 and it’s leaning hard into its status as an off-road vehicle. Whereas the previous generation offered something a little more brutish looking than your typical Lexus utility vehicle, the new model is about as butch as luxury vehicles come. The only way the manufacturer could have been more clear about what this vehicle was about would be if it put a giant decal on the side that read “BODY-ON FRAME 4X4 FOR DIRT PLEASE.”

We reported yesterday that the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado might come to the United States.

So, naturally, the question is ... should it?

We haven't featured a Toyota MR2 in this space very often -- maybe ever. This one is based in Florida, and sadly not a stick.

Until the 1984 model year, every new Corolla sold in the United States used a rear-wheel-drive configuration. Today's Junkyard Find is an AE72 Corolla station wagon, from the final model year of its generation sold here, found in a car graveyard in John Steinbeck's hometown.

On Wednesday, Toyota Motor Corp. confirmed that its first U.S.-made all-electric vehicle will be assembled in Kentucky starting in 2025. The Georgetown facility is the automaker’s largest in the world and will be incorporating a three-row EV into its production lines once Toyota’s battery plant in North Carolina is completed.

On Tuesday, Toyota Motor Corp. confirmed plans to merge its truck-making subsidiary Hino Motors with the rival Mitsubishi Fuso that’s owned by Daimler AG.

If you’re confused by the news, Mitsubishi only has a minority stake in the Fuso brand with Germany’s Daimler having owned 89 percent of the whole since the early 2000s. Meanwhile, Hino Motors has been wholly owned by Toyota Motor Corp. since 2001 and enjoyed a working partnership with Japan’s largest automaker since the 1960s.

We told you the other day about a Toyota owner who is upset a damaged engine won't be covered under warranty after he drove his car on the track.

We've also covered an issue in which Ford Bronco owners complain that a factory feature has damaged their vehicles after off-road use -- and that Ford is denying warranty claims.

With the 2024 Lexus GX forthcoming, the manufacturer has been issuing teasers to whet the public appetite. Thus far, it seems like the company will be offering a boxy design hoping to balance a rugged aesthetic without sacrificing a sense of luxury. But the initial teasers looked extremely aggressive, undermining the premium nature of the brand. 

But Lexus issued another teaser image this week, offering a better sense of the vehicle that’s slated to debut next month. 

When you buy a new car, the warranty is one of those things that is just a given, but a Toyota GR86 owner recently found the limits of his coverage, despite appearing to use his car in a way sanctioned by Toyota.

Toyota sold new Camry station wagons in North America from the 1987 through 1996 model years. I've found a couple of examples of the first-year longroof Camry during my junkyard travels, but the final-year cars remained elusive… until I spotted this one in a Silicon Valley car graveyard in April.

A chief scientist at Toyota has said that forcing people to buy EVs could actually make them want to keep their internal-combustion engine vehicles longer.

Why are we asking you to pay attention? Because thanks to Toyota’s glacier-like design cycle, it is entirely possible this is an event that will happen infrequently in our lifetimes. Hot on the heels of a new Colorado/Canyon and fresh Ranger, the Big T has unleashed a new Tacoma.

Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, and Yamaha have just collectively promised to develop a slew of hydrogen-reliant engines designed to power small vehicles. While this is supposed to encompass construction equipment, small boats, airborne drones, and even motorcycles, the scheme doesn’t seem to focus on automobiles. However, Japanese automakers have already been working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for years and Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda has even been championing the development of hydrogen-burning motors for some of the brand's racing applications.

It’s largely counter to what the rest of the world is doing and begs the question of why Japan seems so intent on making hydrogen power work. What exactly makes the scheme so appealing to the island nation?