Toyota

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2013 Toyota Corolla: still a desirable, economical compact sedan

The 2013 Toyota Corolla continues the solid reputation of all Corollas, first sold in America in 1968. The front-drive compact Corolla is arguably the world’s top-selling car. Corolla rivals have come and gone, but they currently include the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Mazda 3. A sporty Corolla has been offered on and off during the past decade with a larger, more powerful four-cylinder. But it’s never fit the Corolla’s economy car image and thus has never sold very well. It’s gone for 2013. The refined 2013 Corolla likely will be the last version of the latest generation of Corollas. A larger, redesigned 2014 model with a longer wheelbase and more room is scheduled to arrive this summer.

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2013 Toyota Avalon: Redesigned as sleeker, lighter Lexus twin

The revamped 2013 Toyota Avalon sedan is a far cry from the first Avalon, which debuted for 1995 as a stretched, roomy version of the Toyota Camry with a front bench seat (remember those?) and a column shifter. Toyota called it the “most American of Toyotas,” and it was sort of a Japanese Buick. The plain-looking, front-drive Avalon eventually was upgraded with such things as improved styling for 1998 and a larger V-6 for 2005. But as late as 2011 it still had a soft suspension and floaty ride, with small steering corrections needed during turnpike crosswinds and pavement changes. Still, a turnpike trip from Chicago to Maryland showed the 2011 Avalon to be a comfortable, fairly economical long-distance cruiser.

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2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid: New competitor for dominant Toyota Prius

The all-new 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid is designed to outgun the popular Prius V model, the largest Prius hybrid model. That’s a big job because the Prius is the darling in its various forms of the hybrid-car crowd. However, the front-drive C-Max appears to be a fairly well proven vehicle in that Ford says more than 100,000 have been sold in Europe since it was launched in late 2010. The Prius V is rather boring to drive, but the five-passenger C-Max is based on the sporty Ford Focus, which Ford proclaims was the world’s top-selling passenger car in 2012. Ford calls the C-Max Hybrid “the right car for the time as it combines the dynamics and quality of a traditional

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Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda in massive global airbag recall

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi combined will recall more than three million vehicles dating to 2000 and for an often-repeated, recent-year auto industry woe — defected safety equipment. The latest crisis involves airbag inflators made by Takata, the Japanese safety gear producer. Takata made the products from 2000 to 2002. It’s the biggest recall involving Takata since 1995, when several automakers called back a then-record almost nine million vehicles to replace faulty seat belts made by the Japanese company. “It looks like the cost of the recalls may be pretty big,” Satoru Takada, a Tokyo-based analyst at Toward the Infinite World Inc., referring to Takata, told Reuters. “It doesn’t seem like something that would be easy to identify and fix.

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Mazda6, 2014: Sporty, redesigned sedan challenges Toyota Camry, Honda Accord

The 2014 Mazda6 is a slickly redesigned mid-size sedan that retains Mazda’s sporting nature, while providing lots of practicality. The new front-drive Mazda has to be good because it’s in a tough market. Rivals include the well-established Toyota Camry and Honda Accord—besides the popular Hyundai Sonata and new Ford Fusion. Virtually everything about the made-in-Japan 2014 Mazda6 is new, including the body, interior, powertrain and suspension. The stiff new unibody has straighter frame rails and more high-strength steel. A really nice thing about the new Mazda6 is that all systems work together flawlessly, making the car feel “just right.” The quick electric steering is nicely weighted, and the ride is supple. Handling is sharp, helped by anti-roll bars and dynamic

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2013 Toyota Camry: Top-selling sedan still reliable, efficient

The 2013 Toyota Camry sedan looks sharper since its much-needed redesign for 2012. It retained its long-standing status as America’s top-selling car last year. Could 404,886 buyers be wrong? Maybe not, if all they wanted was a reliable, efficient car with a good quality reputation—although most models aren’t fun to drive—just an appliance. There are a variety of Camry models, including several gas/electric hybrids, to fit various budgets. List prices range from $22,235 for the base “L” four-cylinder model to $30,465 for the XLE V-6 version The 2012 front-wheel-drive Camry sedan got a widened, lower stance and upgraded interior. It also got a bit more-responsive handling, which isn’t saying much. But at least the SE V-6 sedan was—and is—rather fun

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Toyota announces special editions for 2013 Corolla

The enduring Toyota Corolla, which debuted in 1966 and as it approaches its 50th birthday remains the best-selling car in history, will soon be offered in two 2013 model special editions. Toyota has announced the two 2013 Corolla Special Editions will offer standard features in two grade levels, LE and S. The LE Special Edition will offer 16-inch alloy wheels, Display Audio with Navigation and Entune™ (three-year subscription), Power and heated Beige leather-trimmed seats, Special Edition floor mats and exterior badging, and a unique Black Currant Metallic exterior color. The Corolla S Special Edition will provide new styling along with 17-inch alloy wheels, Display Audio with Navigation and Entune™, Sport fabric seats coordinated with a unique Hot Lava exterior color

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Toyota faces $1.1 billion settlement in runaway car lawsuit

The strange, twisting and lingering litigation against Toyota has been settled with the Japanese automaker agreeing to pay more than $1 billion to settle U.S. litigation via claims its vehicles suddenly and unintentionally accelerated. According to court documents the deal, pending California federal judge approval, includes direct payments to customers as well as installation of a brake override system in about 3.25 million vehicles. The terms include a $250 million fund for former Toyota owners who sold who sold or turned in their leased vehicles between September 2009 and December 2010 at reduced prices because of bad publicity. And there’s also a separate $250 million fund for owners not eligible for the brake override system. Plaintiff attorneys are slated to

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Toyota dominates new ALG top resale value rankings

Toyota and its automotive Lexus and Scion families combined for nine top spots among 22 vehicle categories in the annual list of highest projected resale values offered by ALG, Inc. The Southern California source for automotive residual values provides the list for buying or leasing consumers. The reason: Depreciation is the largest percentage of overall vehicle ownership costs. Among mainstream brands, Honda was top-ranked for resale value, followed by Hyundai and Scion. Among premium brands, Acura was top-ranked followed by Infiniti and Audi. Toyota, however, had the most vehicles chosen at the top of their category Category Rankings Sub Compact, Honda Fit; Compact, Hyundai Elantra; Midsize, Honda Accord; Fullsize, Hyundai Azera; Sports Car, Scion FR-S; Alt-Fuel Vehicle, Toyota Prius c;

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LA Auto Show, 2012: On the way home in a 2013 Toyota Prius c

My long haul returning to Sacramento from the LA Auto Show tested the limits of my weekly driver, the 2013 Toyota Prius c. I left Los Angeles just after 3 p.m. and arrived just after 11 p.m. Minus three stops, it was about seven hours of driving time, including the northbound negotiation of The Grapevine along Interstate 5. The north-south route negotiating the infamous mountain pass seemed more ominous than the drive to my Hollywood hotel, about eight miles from the Los Angeles Convention Center. And there were a few reasons: It was nightfall, there was sporadic rain and crosswinds and Interstate 5 had more than its usual massive amounts of 18-wheeler truckers and their varying driving habits. As a

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LA Auto Show: On the way in a 2013 Toyota Prius c #3

The final leg of my trip from Sacramento in a 2013 Toyota Prius c took me over the infamous Grapevine, from North to South, and into the heart of the beaten down mecca called Hollywood eight miles from the LA Auto Show. I’d driven for a total of about eight hours (including few brief stops) and covered 392.9 miles and averaged 44.6 mpg. The EPA averages for the Prius c hybrid are 50 mpg (city) and 46 mpg (highway). My biggest concern for the long haul in the hybrid subcompact was the incline over the Grapevine and its notorious stretches where 18-wheelers are forced to the right-hand lane(s) with heavy loads.  It’s on the same sections where drivers of powerful

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LA Auto Show: On the way in a 2013 Toyota Prius c, #2

Nearly 312 miles into my trip Tuesday (Nov. 27) from Sacramento to Los Angeles en route to the Los Angeles Auto Show in my 2013 Toyota Prius c weekly driver I stopped for gas. It was about 10 miles before the beginning of the gnarly, always aggressive ascent over the Grapevine, North to South, on Interstate 5. The Prius had fared well for more than five hours, but the major task of driving to Los Angeles was just a few minutes away. The car may or may not have needed a break, but I certainly did. The new Prius has a handy set of dashboard driving functions accessible on the steering wheel buttons. In addition to the standard setting, which

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LA Auto Show: On the way in a 2013 Toyota Prius c, #1

The 2013 Toyota Prius c, which joined the Prius family earlier this year, is among five finalists for Green Car of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Which means it made perfect sense to drive one to the show. Which is exactly what I’m doing. The easy-to-use navigation system in the Prius c (the lowercase “c” is for “city”) dialed in the route from my home in Sacramento to Los Angeles as 380 miles and the time en route as 6 hours and 4 minutes. The route is primarily south on Interstate 5. I left at 6:10 a.m. today and stopped at a truck stop rest area just north of Westley, about two hours into the trip.

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LA Auto Show: Honda, Subaru, Toyota among 12 carmakers in new green technology showcase

The Los Angeles Auto Show for several years has been at the forefront of the automotive industry’s green car technology. The selection of the Green Car of the Year is a highlight of the year’s first major car show. But this year, under a new category, approximately 25 vehicles from a dozen manufacturers will participate in the Green and Advanced Technology Ride & Drive. The program will offer a preview and media test drive sessions of the latest in-car innovations and fuel-efficient vehicles. The participating vehicles will represent the latest evolutions of electric, hybrid, clean diesel and fuel cell. The latest driver assist platforms featured will include front crash mitigation, adaptive cruise control, radar-based object detection systems, blind spot monitoring

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Acura to Subaru, BMW to Toyota among dozens of LA Auto Show world debuts

World debuts from Acura to Toyota and BMW to Subaru are among the nearly 50 vehicle unveilings at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the nearly two-week display of the automotive world’s best — electric vehicles to performance and luxury designs. Media days Nov. 28-29 will be followed by the public show, Nov. 30-Dec. 9, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The debut lineup also includes world firsts from U.S. manufacturers Chevrolet and Ford, as well as European automakers BMW, Fiat, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen. Asian carmaker debuts will also Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Nissan models. These debuts will highlight the latest in-car technologies, as well as continued fuel-efficiency with several hybrid, electric and alternative-fuel vehicles. Overall, there will be

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Toyota woes continue, 2.8 million Prius, Corolla models recalled

Toyota‘s ever-evolving, several-year run of recalls has two new chapters. Most notable is a steering problem that affects 670,000 Prius and Corolla models in the United States and 2.8 million units worldwide built between July 2001 and March 2009. Additionally, a separate recall, including 350,000 vehicles in the U.S. will fix water pump issues in hybrid vehicles. The faulty part issue may cause a knocking or rattling from the steering column intermediate extension shafts, and could cause a reduction in steering response. Toyota reported a handful of cases have been reported no accidents of fatalities have been reported. The carmaker stressed that even with the steering problem, the Prius and Corolla models affected are safe to drive. The recall affects

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