More than batteries and hybrids: for the third millenium we’re still in high seas for fuel sources. Or at least this is as much reported by the British publication the Sunday Times, in which a Toyota Prius and a BMW Series 520d were put to a long highway test. And the results are surprising.

Everything stemmed from some readers notes who sustain that the consumption declared by the Japanese company is 15 miles per gallon (six km per litre) higher than comparable values on the road. And at this point the experiment took off.

The test was conducted on the road from London to Geneva, taking in nearly 700km of highway and more than 150km of urban and suburban roads. Although we need to admit that high speed cruising penalises hybrid cars, and the German car weighs 230kg more, the comparison was quite stark.

Continue reading: The Bmw 520d challenges the Toyota Prius on consumption: are the results given?

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The Toyota Supra will return in 2010 to the joy of fans of the Japanese sports car. While waiting for more substantial news, Motor Trend has revealed the first ideas of its possible style, put together by the Japanese magazine Best Car.

Not everyone will remember the Toyota FT-HS, a very unusual prototype of a sports-hybrid presented in Detroit in January 2007. At the time there was talk that a new sports car, with production in 2009, would be born: give or take a year and that model is about to arrive, and according to reports at Sol Levante, the model is going to be the new Supra.

If the reconstructions are anywhere near the truth, the car is striking from the point of view of its looks, with a macroscopic difference in the rear where the Supra seems to have left behind the showcar of its parent. Outside of these premature considerations, a hint about the engine is needed: the heart of the project will possibly be a 3.7 V6 at 350 hp. Could the Nissan 370Z already have a rival?

Anticipazioni sulla Toyota Supra

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The global success of the Prius (at least in terms of image) has been such that Toyota could be thinking of launching a brand esclusively dedicated to the hybrid cars, that could produce an entire family of models dedicated to the celebrated parent.

Kazuo Okamoto, vice president of research and development at the Japanese company, announced the news in an interview published by Automotive News, saying: “The idea is being assessed but I cannot reveal what stage we are at. I think we’re following a natural course.”

Okamoto continued, conferming that “using the Prius’ platform to develop derived models is possible”, repeating that essentially the Japanese don’t want to leave anything unattempted in the increasingly interesting sector of hybrid cars.

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The new cars announced by Toyota should be a truly important addition to the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show. On display will be the IQ urban car and the brand new model, the Urban Cruiser. The IQ was first seen in concept form in Frankfurt in September 2007 and time-wise in terms of development it has beaten the Volskwagen UP!, which was displayed only a few stands away at the same show.

Three passenger spaces have been confirmed, despite the length being less than three metres. Also confirmed is the shape of the prototype, with large wheels and a smoother drive. Even though the glimpses we have had of the IQ seem to be similar in concept to the Smart For Two, Toyota insists that the technology, the security and the design research represent an automotive revolution. As of yet, the specification details and performance stats, as well as the pricing have not been released, but we do know that the car will not be available on the market before the end of 2008. As for the engine, on
the Italian site we recently covered a possible collaboration with Yamaha.

Continue reading: Geneva 2008: Toyota IQ and Urban Cruiser

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Toyota has started work on the facelift for the Yaris, which by all accounts should be released by mid 2008. In brief, the nose has been corrected and the rear lights have been modified. However, perhaps these modifications are not an example of a proper restyling but simply an annual model retouch.

The Yaris Japanese car will undergo a few minor changes, only recognisable by a keen eye. The radiator grille will become narrower, whilst the tail lights will have new covers. The engine line-up will most likely be upgraded for better fuel economy and lower emissions.

Via | World Car Fans

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The Toyota iQ concept shown at the latest Frankfurt auto show will soon be a production car that will feature several interesting innovations. A really striking one is a new kind of airbag which is designed to protect the rear seat passenger from rear impacts, as revealed by Hiroshi Nakajima, chief designer of the iQ concept in an interview with News.

The Toyota iQ concept features an unusual 3+1 seating configuration, with the back seat positioned just 30 cm from the rear window, in order to obtain more space for the back passenger’s legs. This arrangement required improved protection from rear impacts, to get good results in crash-tests.

Nakajima states that this rear-airbag system enables the iQ to get the five-star EuroNCAP rating for the passenger protection.

Via | MotorAuthority

Continue reading: Toyota: new rear-impact airbags for iQ concept

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Auto Express writes about the return of the Toyota Supra expected by 2009. The english magazine seems to expect the next Supra to closely follow the style of the Lexus LF-A, the Lexus super-car that should be on the market in 2008.

According to rumours, the new Toyota Supra should be powered by a hybrid system developed on the basis of the one that currently equips the Lexus GS450h. The more than 341 ps, coupled with rear wheel drive and a 7-speed sequential gearbox should make it possibile for the Supra to sprint from 0-100 km/h in less than 5 seconds and to reach speeds in excess of 260 km/h.

A prototype of the Supra might be shown in Detroit, in January.

Via | motor authority

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The Toyota Auris will debut on december 5th at the Bologna Motor Show. These first official photos show that the production car is little changed from the Auris Concept we saw in Paris.

It seems that the Auris isn’t really a substitute for the Corolla, but will be sold side-by-side with it, as a “sportier” model. This seems a bit strange, considering that the two hatchbacks have very similar proportions and differ very little in size: the Auris is 4.22 meters long, 1.76 m wide and 1.53 m high (+4 cm, +5 cm and +6 cm respectively when compared with the Corolla).

The Auris will be sold in two body variants (3 and 5 doors), while the engine range will include two gasoline engines and three diesel engines. The gasoline engines will be a 1.4 liter (97 ps, same as previously) and a 1.6 liter (124 ps, +14ps).

The three diesel engines will have capacities of 1.4 liter (97 ps), 2.0 liters (126 ps) and 2.2 liters (177 ps).

Deliveries of the Auris should start in the spring of 2007 on European markets. No information yet on prices and specifications.

Continue reading: Toyota Auris to be shown at the Bologna Motor Show

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Finally a couple of spy-shots of the 2007 Toyota Corolla in which its forms can be seen. If genuine, some details are not completely convincing, such as the front headlights (see below) or the “wavy” beltline.

The new Toyota Corolla should be officially presentend before the end of the year: we’ll wait for more detailed photos to express a judgement.

Continue reading: Toyota Corolla 2007 spy-shots

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Because behind every feature of a car there’s always the human touch. I don’t know if I’d like to seat on those carseats, though …
Via | Motorpasion

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