Autoblog

Mean Green: Tommy Kaira slams Toyota Prius and Honda Insight

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Hybrid, Hatchback, Honda, Toyota, Design/Style

Tommy Kaira Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery

Hybrids aren't exactly known for being the sportiest vehicles on the road, but that doesn't mean their owners don't want to look as good as possible behind the wheel. As such, perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising that Japanese tuning companies are jumping on the gas-electric bandwagon almost as quickly as the automakers themselves.

Chief among those hybrid tuners is Tommy Kaira, which has released a slew of new bodykit bits, suspension upgrades and wheel options for both the 2010 Toyota Prius (which we saw teasers of previously) and Honda Insight. We'll leave it up to you to decide if the add-ons add up to an improvement in the wedge-shaped hybrid hatchbacks. In any case, click here to see the whole kit and caboodle for the Prius and here for the Insight.

Gallery: Tommy Kaira 2010 Toyota Prius

Gallery: Tommy Kaira 2010 Honda Insight

[Source: Tommy Kaira]

Mean Green: Tommy Kaira slams Toyota Prius and Honda Insight originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Toyota Prius and 2011 Camry pricing rises a bit

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:31:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrid, Sedan, Hatchback, Toyota

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota has released pricing for their extensively upgraded 2011 Sienna and although the starting prices were down a bit compared to the current models, we can't say the same for the Prius and Camry. Tacked to the bottom of the Sienna presser was a chart showing that prices will be going up for the 2010 hatch and its 2011 sedan sibling. The new-in-2009 third-gen Toyota Prius will be $400 dearer, with base MSRPs ranging from $21,400 for the level I model all the way up to $28,070 for the level V. Those prices don't include delivery, processing and handling charges of $750.

The 2011 Toyota Camry prices will go up $200 across the board, while Camry Hybrid prices rise $250 to a starting price of $26,400. The base Camry with a stick now starts at $19,595, while a top-of-the-line V6 XLE is still under thirty grand, at $29,245. Those figures are up by about one percent for the Camry and 1.7 percent for the Prius. The 2011 Toyota Camry will go into production on January 6 in Japan with U.S. production starting February 1. The 2011 models should start showing up in dealerships by the end of January. The Prius price increase becomes effective January 24, 2010. Make the jump for the full details.

Gallery: Review: 2010 Toyota Prius

Gallery: Detroit 2009: 2010 Toyota Camry

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading 2010 Toyota Prius and 2011 Camry pricing rises a bit

2010 Toyota Prius and 2011 Camry pricing rises a bit originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota Prius gets visual makeover from Tommy Kaira

Sebastian Blanco — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Japan, Toyota

Tommy Kaira Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery

Without actually, you know, tuning anything on the powertrain of the 2010 Toyota Prius, Japanese tuning company Tommy Kaira has unveiled its tarted-up version of the third-generation iconic hybrid.

The efficient sleekness of the original front end has been replaced by a new front lip spoiler and air intakes, and the 2010 Prius' new vertical front lights get emphasized in the Tommy Kaira version, which somehow sort of works for us. The backside features a new bumper and a quad-pipe exhaust system, which sends a confusing mixed message for a car that's obviously green. Tommy Kaira has also added larger wheels and lowered the ride height for a driveway-averse stance.

No word yet on how much the package costs, but if we're going to spend extra money on a Prius, we sort of want it to go towards upping the mpg capabilities even further.

Gallery: Toyota Prius tuned by Tommi Kaira

[Source: Tommy Kaira]

Toyota Prius gets visual makeover from Tommy Kaira originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota Prius importation under threat due to U.S. patent trade case?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Crossover, Hatchback, Lexus, Toyota

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery

With every new vehicle introduced by Toyota powered by the automaker's proprietary Hybrid Synergy Drive comes a matching complaint filed by Paice LLC for patent infringement. In the latest case, Paice has filed a grievance with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington alleging that Toyota is violating a patent it holds for powertrains that feature both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor - better known as hybrids.

This isn't the first time these two companies have grappled over hybrid drivetrain patents. Back in 2005, Paice won an initial judgement against Toyota resulting in an order that the automaker to pay Paice monetary damages of $4.3 million, though the judge rejected a request to force Toyota to halt sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. at that time. Later, Toyota was ordered to pay royalties equal to a small percentage of every hybrid sold in the States.

This time, Paice is taking a slightly different tack, seeking to get importations of Toyota's super popular Prius hybrid (along with all the rest of the hybrids from Toyota and Lexus) stopped by U.S. Customs right at the docks. According to Bloomberg, it could take about 15 months for the ITC to investigate this case, so there doesn't seem to be any reason to rush out and storm your local Toyota or Lexus dealer for a new hybrid... yet.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Bloomberg]

Toyota Prius importation under threat due to U.S. patent trade case? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota's "Harmony Floralscapes" bloom along LA, SF highways

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:39:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Toyota

Toyota's "Harmony Floralscape" - Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota's TV ads for the 2010 Prius feature a world of flowers blooming whenever the iconic hybrid drives by. This visual message is now available in the physical world thanks to a living ad designed by Greenroad Media. Toyota is installing flowerbeds in the shape of the Prius along busy Los Angeles freeways, with the first unveiled yesterday along the Pasadena Freeway near downtown. Called a "floralscape," the image of a Prius in a sunrise is the first of nine that will promote the Prius around LA and in San Francisco.

The floralscape uses about 20,000 blooms from living flowers to make a 30' by 60' image. The green-ness of the ad extends to the solar energy and "ecologically responsible insect and fungi control" used to make the image. What's odd is that federal regulations require the floralscapes be non-commercial - no company names or logos are allowed - yet this is obviously an ad for the Prius. Somehow, the abstract nature of the flowerbeds allows them to be approved by California's department of transportation, Caltrans, and they are therefore okay to plant. Said another way, it's an ad that isn't an ad, but it really is.

Gallery: Toyota Prius Harmony Floralscapes

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Toyota's "Harmony Floralscapes" bloom along LA, SF highways

Toyota's "Harmony Floralscapes" bloom along LA, SF highways originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Battery bottleneck holding up Prius sales

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:26:00 EST

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for high-res image gallery

Toyota has a major hit on its hands with the redesigned 2010 Prius. While that's surely great news for the brand (which is otherwise posting huge sales declines along with nearly every other automaker in the world) it's reportedly exposing the availability of batteries as the biggest bottleneck to production. According to Takahiko Ijichi, Toyota senior managing director:

The new Prius model has been excessively popular, inconveniencing some of our customers, and the factories are working overtime at full capacity... Unfortunately, the batteries are not catching up with demand. Production of the batteries needs to be increased in order for our production to go up.

Panasonic EV Energy, the company that supplies nickel metal hydride batteries to Toyota for the Prius, can produce a maximum of 500,000 packs per year. Plans are in place to expand production capabilities, but that's not going to help eager Prius customers get their new hybrids any faster in the short term.

In related news, Ijichi once again confirmed that Toyota does indeed make money on the Prius, saying, "In terms of the Toyota lineup, I'd say it's probably in the midlevel of profit."

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

REPORT: Battery bottleneck holding up Prius sales originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Honda Insight sales withering in face of competition from Toyota Prius

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrid, Hatchback, Honda, Toyota

2010 Honda Insight EX - Click above for high-res image gallery

Honda's Insight hybrid is failing to live up to sales expectations here in the important U.S. market. While Honda claims the Insight was never meant to be a direct competitor to the Toyota Prius, the truth is that the two cars are very much rivals in the eyes of many new car shoppers (and some Honda dealers). With that in mind, the 2,079 Insights that Honda managed to sell in June pales in comparison to the 12,998 Prius hybrids Toyota sold in the same month. Further, Honda is on track to sell less than one-third of its stated goal of 90,000 units in its first year on the market.

According to The Los Angeles Times, some dealerships are hoping Honda can rebound with a revised marketing campaign highlighting the Insight's price advantage over the Prius, which currently sits at a few thousand dollars at the base end. There are surely any number of reasons why the Insight may be losing ground in the hybrid race, and you can probably pick out some of them by clicking here to read our review of the 2010 Honda Insight and then clicking here for our take on the 2010 Toyota Prius.

Gallery: 2010 Honda Insight

[Source: Los Angeles Times]

REPORT: Honda Insight sales withering in face of competition from Toyota Prius originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: 2010 Prius' design will influence future Toyotas [w/ POLL]

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: Green, Toyota

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for a high-res image gallery

The Toyota Prius has long been a love-it-or-hate-it design. The sweeping roofline of the hybrid hatch may have been penned to maximize the car's ability to cut through the wind, but its shape is now instantly recognizable to the masses - so much so that Honda has been accused of ripping off the Prius' basic design for its latest Insight (gasp!).

Whether you're enamored or disgusted by the Prius' aesthetic, you'd better get used to the new styling cues.
The 2010 model is the shape of things to come for Toyota, debuting a few new forms that will infiltrate the rest of the automaker's line-up in the near future. Toyota's global design chief, Wahei Hirai, calls the styling of the new Prius "free-form geometrics," and a few of the more prominent elements -- including the hybrid's sharply-creased corners, slit-like front grille and bolder, more pronounced hood badge -- are all bound for future models. Good thing or bad thing? Tell us in the poll after the jump.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: AutoWeek]

Continue reading REPORT: 2010 Prius' design will influence future Toyotas [w/ POLL]

REPORT: 2010 Prius' design will influence future Toyotas [w/ POLL] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 May 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Prius starts at $21,000; one with everything costs $32,500

Sebastian Blanco — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Hybrid, Green, Toyota

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Toyota has announced official pricing for the five (!) trim levels for the 2010 Prius, due to hit dealers in the States sometime in late May. The bare-bones version (which must be pretty bare, since Toyota hasn't divulged what's included) will be just $21,000. On the other end of the spectrum, the top trim level starts at $27,270 (add $750 to both prices for delivery), and the most you can pay for the new Prius this spring will be $32,520 for the V trim equipped with the Advanced Technology Package (ATP). Full details are available after the jump, but note that you can't get the ATP, which includes the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, the Pre-Collision System, Lane Keep Assist, and Intelligent Parking Assist, if you want the solar roof option.

As mentioned earlier, the $21,000 base price is important, since it is only $1,200 more than the new Honda Insight. The current, second-generation Prius starts at $22,000. For more on the third-generation Prius get the info overload and check out our First Drive.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius - First Drive

Continue reading 2010 Prius starts at $21,000; one with everything costs $32,500

2010 Prius starts at $21,000; one with everything costs $32,500 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota reportedly expects 40,000 pre-orders for new Prius

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Hybrid, Green, Toyota

2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for a high-res image gallery

The well-publicized battle for hybrid sales supremacy between Honda and Toyota has taken yet another intriguing turn. According to Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Toyota is saying that it expects to take 40,000 preorders in Japan for its new 2010 Prius hybrid ahead of its official rollout in May. For the sake of comparison, the Japanese automaker sold a total of 73,100 Prius hybrids in all of 2008.

More importantly, rival automaker Honda managed to sell about 18,000 copies of its latest Insight hybrid in its first month on sale. By all accounts, Honda was delighted to move that many Insights - the automaker had predicted that it would only sell about 5,000 units for the first month the hybrid was available in Japan.

A few months ago, Honda made a big splash by pricing the smaller, slightly less fuel efficient Insight a few million yen (or a few thousand dollars) below the starting price of the standard-setting Prius. In response, Toyota announced it would keep the previous generation Prius around for at least another year and dropped that model's price to match the Insight.

But that wasn't enough for Toyota - earlier this month, the automaker set the starting price for the new 2010 model at 2.05 million yen ($20,750), which is just about the same as the mid-level Insight. The next chapter: U.S. pricing for the 2010 Prius has yet to be announced. Let the games continue.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius - First Drive

[Source: Reuters]

Toyota reportedly expects 40,000 pre-orders for new Prius originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Toyota Prius: The steering wheel wants your Touch (Tracer Display)

Sebastian Blanco — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:19:00 EST

Filed under: Green, Technology

There is one aspect of the 2010 Prius that AutoblogGreen didn't highlight in its recent info overload post on the 2010 Toyota Prius: the Touch Tracer Display. There is usually nothing in front of the speedometer in most cars; we want a clear view of how fast we're going, right? But there are also a lot of buttons on the steering wheel and constantly shifting our view from the road to the volume or temperature controls isn't exactly a safe way to drive. To combat furtive downward glances, Toyota has come up with the TTD, which goes into action when you push the circular buttons on the steering wheel. Doing so causes little orange lights to appear on a screen that looks as if it's hovering on top of the speedometer. The effect is definitely neat and kind of surprising the first time it happens. Once you learn to expect it, however, the feature is a great visual cue to go along with the wheel-mounted controls. Toyota says this is the "the first display system in the world to allow steering wheel controls to read out on the instrument panel." We doubt it'll be the last.

Gallery: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Toyota]

2010 Toyota Prius: The steering wheel wants your Touch (Tracer Display) originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: 2010 Toyota Prius teaser... now with Blue Man Group

Jonathon Ramsey — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:57:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Toyota

Click above to see the Blue Man Group play around with the 2010 Prius

Now it begins to make sense: The previous performance art video teasers for the 2010 Prius were made up largely of edited shots from this teaser, with the Blue Man Group restored to its place. This one doesn't make any more or less sense than the previous videos, and there isn't much more to see, but it does offer a couple of chuckles. We would love to see how far you get with that eyedropper, though. Follow the jump to check out the video and see what we mean. Hat tip to reader Jerry!

Gallery: Confirmed: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: 2010 Toyota Prius teaser... now with Blue Man Group

VIDEO: 2010 Toyota Prius teaser... now with Blue Man Group originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Toyota Prius revealed more in YouTube video

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:27:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Hybrid, Green, Videos, Hatchback, Toyota

Click above to watch video after the jump

Toyota's irritatingly slow leak of seemingly insignificant 2010 Prius teasers has shown us such riveting details as the hybrid car's startup screen, power seat switch and some sort of all-knowing seeing-eye camera. A much more interesting set of leaks has also granted us an early but pixelated peek at the car's external shape, along with detail shots like the rear LED tail lamp assembly and a few different looks at the interior. Now, we've discovered a set of YouTube videos that definitely don't seem to have come from Toyota itself.

In the videos after the jump we see the new 2010 Prius spinning on a rotating stage, we see buttons on the steering wheel that change the digital readouts on the central dash and we see a brief glimpse of the car's generous storage capacity via its hatchback body style - all of it set to wonderfully numbing elevator music. There is one interesting bit that we've recently seen: an air conditioning button on an old-school key fob that allows the climate control to run via rooftop solar panels even while the car itself isn't running. Fortunately, we only have about two more months to wait for the car's official debut at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January. Thank God for small miracles. Check out both videos for yourself after the jump. Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Gallery: Confirmed: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Prius Chat]

Continue reading 2010 Toyota Prius revealed more in YouTube video

2010 Toyota Prius revealed more in YouTube video originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota: Separate Prius brand not a 'go'

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:11:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Toyota, Rumormill

Click above for more images of the 2010 Toyota Prius

Rumors from LLN that a separate Prius brand are "a go" are actually nothing more than a maybe. According to Toyota's own blog, the automaker can confirm that it's considering a hybrid-only brand that would see separate space in dealerships -- much like what is already being done with the Scion brand -- but a final decision has not yet been made and Toyota's not even sure what products would fall under that new brand name, besides, of course, the Prius. Rumors, though, abound regarding new hybrids from Toyota, including Prius-like hatchbacks both a bit larger and a bit smaller than the current model alongside a hybrid price-leader to do proper battle with the new Honda Insight. Now, if they'd just address those rumors of an 80-mile-per-gallon Volt-fighting hybrid that have also been swirling around the interwebs...

Gallery: Confirmed: 2010 Toyota Prius

[Source: Toyota]

Toyota: Separate Prius brand not a 'go' originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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