Akio Toyoda, the new President of Toyota and grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, is predicting another two years of tough times for the auto industry. In order to stay afloat, the Japanese automaker, under the direction of Toyoda, will build more autonomous operations in North America and concentrate on a more region-specific lineup to help the company pull through the recession.

While the company will be steered "back to basics," the changes will not involve plant closures – Toyota wants to make sure it retains capacity for when the market bounces back. Toyoda will also personally take a 30% pay cut this year. "The new Toyota sets sail in very stormy waters," said Toyoda at his first news conference. "But right now we're working at full speed to cut costs and jump-start sales with the support of various government incentives being rolled out... We want to do everything possible to avoid a third consecutive year of losses."

[Sources: Reuters / Reuters]

By now, we've all probably seen the commercials from Toyota's latest marketing campaign for the 2010 Prius hybrid... and we've all probably developed an opinion about them. Any time an advertising campaign is as interesting and different as this one, there are bound to be opposing viewpoints either favoring or strongly disliking them.

Fortunately for Toyota, it seems that more people like the commercials for the 2010 Prius than not. In fact, Toyota's "Harmony" spot topped Nielsen's Top 10 Most-Liked New Ads list in May, and the "MPG" commercial came in at #3. For what it's worth, an advertisement for Coke came in at #2.

If you've somehow managed to miss these commercials on television since the campaign was launched back in May, we've pasted three of them after the break for your viewing pleasure. Oh, if you don't like the American marketing campaign, there's always the Japanese commercials with Superman – or better still, check out Casual Mafia's "In My Prius" sendup.

[Source: Advertising Age via Prius Chat]

When Consumer Reports tested out the Hymotion L5 plug-in Toyota Prius conversion earlier this year, they weren't overwhelmed with the results. Sure, the mileage they observed was boosted to about 67 mpg over the first 35 miles of the drive, but that didn't match the claims of 100 mpg (or more) that Hymotion and A123 Systems make about their product.

To be fair to Hymotion, their qualifies mileage talk about their plug-in Prius MPG "that can achieve up to 100 mpg for 30-40 miles" this way:

Hymotion PHEV fuel economy is based on independent testing performed at Argonne National Labs and Idaho National Labs. Actual mileage will vary based on each individual's driving style, route, traffic, climate conditions, terrain and other factors.

Unfortunately for Hymotion, there are new results of tests done at the Idaho National Laboratory now available and they might make the company a little less eager to promote the work done by INL. The lab drove two groups of Prius test vehicles (one 40-car fleet and another 75-car fleet) from early 2008 until March 2009 for almost 500,000 miles and found that the average fuel economy tallied 46 and 49 mpg, respectively. As you might expect, driving style and the battery mode (charge sustaining vs. charge depeleting) had a big impact on the figures. You can view the result data in these PDFs: 1, 2. Add it all up, and it sounds like PHEV proponents might want to take former Tesla marketing boss Darryl Siry's advice to electric vehicle manufacturers to heart.

What do you think – are plug-in hybrids the next big thing, an overhyped solution, or something in between? Drop us a line in the comments.

[Sources: Idaho National Laboratory; Hydrogen Car Revolution]

Auto sales are down – that's not exactly a surprise to anyone anymore. But Toyota has revived a little something from last summer called a wait list – for people who are interested in buying a new 2010 Prius. According to a story in The New York Times, Toyota is running its Prius production plants in Japan 24 hours a day and offering overtime to workers – even bringing in workers from other areas of the country – to meet demand for the hybrid car. Panasonic EV Energy, the Prius' battery supplier, is also working constantly to keep churning out packs for the model.

This is the effect of those higher-than-expected sales numbers. The NYT says that the waiting list is "several months" long in Japan. While impressive considering the marketplace, Toyota is still warning that 2009 will not be a profitable year for the company.



[Source: The New York Times]

Toyota's third-generation Prius couldn't come at a better time for the automaker. Sales of just about every one of the company's models are down, and the Aishi, Japan-based automaker lost $7.7 billion last quarter. To make matters worse, sales of the second-generation Prius hit a wall in April, with sales in the U.S. dipping to 8,385 units, down 65% versus April 2008 levels. But the ebb in that model's sales could have a lot more to do with the imminent arrival of the 50 miles-per-gallon 2010 Prius, which is now in production.

Early reports coming out of Toyota are that the 2010 Prius is primed for big sales. There are already 80,000 global orders for the Prius, and some reports (which Toyota has so far denied) have 110,000 orders of the King of Hybrids. Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco says the company is "considering steps to increase production to meet demand." Meanwhile, rumors have been flying that Prius facilities were back on overtime, with reports from the Kyodo News saying that Toyota has increased Prius production from 43,000 units to 50,000. Toyota has squashed those rumors so far, but if the brisk demand for the 2010 Prius remains steady, increased production is all but inevitable.



[Source: The Detroit News]

When car buyers think of hybrids, the name that most often springs to mind is the Toyota Prius since it was the first really practical hybrid to come to market and has sold more than any other examples. Yes, of course, the original Honda Insight beat the Prius to market in the U.S. by about six months, but the tiny two-seater sold in equally tiny numbers and had limited appeal beyond hard core hyper milers.

In the coming weeks, Toyota dealers will start getting their first allotments of the all-new third-generation Prius, and while we got to spend a few hours with one on the west coast in March, we just spent a whole week with the new version of this iconic Toyota. While the efficiency of the Prius has never been in dispute, like many other cars from Brand T, its appeal as a driver's car has been, to say the least, limited. For its generation three model, Toyota has not given up on minimizing fuel consumption, but it has sought to make the Prius a bit more appealing on other levels. Read on to find out if the company has succeeded.



Photos copyright ©2009 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

To coincide with the official launch of the 2010 Toyota Prius in its home market of Japan, the automaker has unleashed a whole slew of styling and performance upgrades available through Modellista, its in-house tuning arm. There are three separate body kits available that offer varying levels of flair: Modellista Versions 1 and 2 and an Aero Tourer Kit. We're not so sure the exterior bits from the Aero Tourer kit actually improve the car's looks any, but perhaps they improve its already stellar aerodynamics somewhat.

Questionable aesthetics aside, there's also a few aftermarket bits that could potentially improve the car's handling performance, like optional 16-inch alloy wheels and a new set of springs that lower ride height by 20 millimeters. At this point, it's not expected that Toyota will import any of these kits outside of Japan, but, if you're really interested, there's always eBay.



[Source: Modellista via Le Blog Auto]

Sometime in early 2008, about the time when it became clear that Honda was planning to price its then-upcoming Insight hybrid very aggressively, rumors began to circulate that following the release of the redesigned third-gen Prius, Toyota was considering continuing sales of a de-contented second-generation version in order to compete. Ultimately, Toyota confirmed that plan, although the decision was made to offer the old Prius only in Japan. That model, now labeled as the Prius EX, is going on sale in its home market – mostly to fleet customers – starting June 8.

The EX is only available in black, silver or white with a grey interior (the car shown above is a 2009 U.S. model, as Toyota has not released images of the new model). Dual stage airbags and air-conditioning are standard, but luxury items like hub caps and foglights will now be dealer-installed options. The base price of the Prius EX is about $19,700 at current exchange rates (1,890,000 yen, the exact same base price as the Honda Insight in Japan) and Toyota hopes to sell about 2,000 a month.

Toyota vice-president of communications, Irv Miller, explained to Autoblog that the company opted not to offer this model in the U.S. because updated on-board diagnostics regulations for 2010 would require a significant amount of software development, an investment that would likely negate any savings in offering the older model.

[Source: Toyota]

We Americans want hybrid leadership. We want to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Trouble is, most of us aren't willing to pay for it. Johnson Controls surveyed 2309 adults on all matters hybrid, and it found that 84% of Americans believe the government should support the advancement of hybrid technology and fully 88% believe hybrid leadership is crucial to America's future. But the devil is in the details, and few things bring out the worst in people more than money.

The survey asked whether car buyers would expect to pay more, less, or about the same amount as a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle. 23% of the adults surveyed said they were willing to pay more for a hybrid, while 35% would only purchase a car with battery assistance if it cost the same as a comparable non-hybrid. 33% actually think they should pay less for a hybrid than a conventional vehicle. And the other 11%? They wouldn't purchase a hybrid at any price. Click through to the jump for more on the study, the official press release, and the chance to participate in our poll.

[Source: Johnson Controls]

In a historic move that's sure to irk their archrivals in Toyota City, Honda's new Insight has become the first-ever hybrid vehicle to top the sales charts in Japan. By shifting some 10,481 units last month, the teardrop-shaped model became Nippon's best-selling car in April, a feat no gas-electric car has managed previously. That's according to the Japan Automobile Dealer's Association, which tracks vehicle sales (in the interest of full disclosure, the group's findings exclude 660cc "kei" cars).

Those 10,481 units vaulted the Insight from its slot as Japan's 21st best-selling model in March, a major jump that's likely down to production ramp-up and increased consumer awareness (Honda launched the car on February 2). The Insight, which starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,190) outpaced its brother, the Honda Fit/Jazz hatchback, while Toyota's Vitz (Yaris) finished in third, Ironically, Toyota's Prius rung up in 21st place, but the third-generation model isn't expected to go on sale until May 18, and Toyota has already cut the iconic model's base price in order to be more competitive with Honda's upstart. Press release after the jump.



[Source: Honda]