Japanese market Toyota Crown gets a revamp, adds hybrid option

Toyota has just introduced a new generation of their Crown luxury sedan. The Toyota Crown is a model that is only available in the Japanese market and a few other Asian countries. The rear wheel drive or all wheel drive sedan has been a staple of the Toyota brand since 1955 and the latest edition has an all V-6 engine lineup. The conventional models range from 2.5L to 3.5L in displacement, but the new 2008 model now offers a hybrid setup as well. The 3.5L V-6 hybrid is borrowed from the Lexus GS450h. One interesting feature available on the Crown is Active Noise Cancellation. Like noise canceling headphones, this system has a microphone detected engine noise and the system generates an opposite sound wave with the speakers to cancel the noise. The new Crown Hybrid is rated at 33mpg (U.S.) on the JC08 test cycle.
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[Source: Toyota]