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Toyota confirms 2016 Tacoma for Detroit

A week on from an announcement by Toyota's Bob Carter, the Japanese marque has formally announced that the 2016 Toyota Tacoma will make its global debut next month at the 2015 North American International Auto Show. Not only that, but the company has given us a very minute (and very muddy) teaser image, showing the truck's tailgate and driver's side taillight. Like its big brother, the Tundra, the 2016 Tacoma will feature its name embossed on its tailgate. Beyond that, though, there's really not much to be gleaned from this sole teaser shot. Of course, we'll have much, much more on the next-generation Taco when it arrives in a month's time. Until then, check out Toyota's hilariously brief and to-the-point press release, available below. Tacoma. Detroit. January 12. It's on. December 10, 2014 Toyota's rolling out the all-new 2016 Tacoma at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Jan. 12.

New Toyota Mirai videos continue questionable hydrogen claims

"Toyota engineers were simultaneously working on a brand new technology that met all the driver's needs with an even smaller carbon footprint." Toyota has released a number of new promotional videos for the hydrogen-powered 2016 Mirai. Most are exactly what you'd expect: pretty, full of promise and vaguely informational. But there was one line in the Product Introduction video that caught out ear. In the Product Information video about the Mirai, the narrator goes into a short history of Toyota's green car advances. After talking about the Prius and the Prius Plug In, making EVs for urban commuting and the rest of Toyota's advanced fuel programs, we hear this: "Never satisfied though, Toyota engineers were simultaneously working on a brand new technology that met all the driver's needs with an even smaller carbon footprint, one that took its lead from nature itself." You can watch the video (and four others) below. Plug In America co-founder Paul Scott told AutoblogGreen, "Show us the math! Toyota claims the FCV has a smaller carbon footprint than their EV, but every paper I've read indicates the FCV uses 3-4 times as much energy to travel a given distance as an EV. If they are making this claim, let's call them out to prove it. Show us the math!" There's some math that comes out in favor of EVs here and here. "BEVs and FCs have a very similar carbon footprint, dependent on fuel source." – Toyota's Jana Hartline Plug-in vehicle advocate Chelsea Sexton went further. "Assuming appropriate comparisons in energy feedstock, basic science doesn't support the notion that the footprint of an FCV is smaller than that of an EV," she told AutoblogGreen, explaining that "appropriate comparison" would mean using similar energy generation methods for both hydrogen and plug-in vehicles. Not the tendency, she noted, "of H2 fans to compare FCVs based on solar-based electrolysis to EVs running on coal-bases electricity and similar shenanigans." Besides, Sexton said, "focusing purely on efficiencies entirely misses the biggest struggles that FCVs face in the market, namely fuel price, inconvenience, and market fear, even if the vehicles themselves are initially subsidized.

Why Toyota Camry's Korea Car of the Year win is a big-time upset

The 2013 Toyota Camry is officially the car of the year in Korea. The country's motoring press graced the Japanese sedan with the honor for the first time, officially marking a shift in prevailing Korean attitudes toward Japan and its products. According to industry analysts, buyers in the country are no longer simply choosing their purchases based on whether or not they're made in South Korea, but rather based on quality and personal choice. That's a big jump from a few years ago, when buyers viewed their purchases through a patriotic lens.
The Camry managed to edge out a total of 44 other cars, including hardware from both Hyundai and Kia, to become the first foreign vehicle to take home the Korea Automobile Journalist Association's Car of the Year award. As The Detroit News points out, just 10 years ago, domestic manufacturers held some 99 percent of the Korean car market. But a change in trade regulations has opened up the country considerably, and buyers now have access to a wide range of products from around the globe. As a result, Hyundai and Kia have countered by cutting prices in an attempt to keep their grip on the market.