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2015 Toyota Sienna

It's hard to love a minivan, but it's very, very easy to use one. More than any other kind of vehicle - save a panel van, perhaps - the minivan is the most appliance-like of four-wheeled transportation devices. And most minivan buyers don't need to love their purchases; they just need to use them. So when it comes to a minivan's driving dynamics, who cares?
Well, we do. So we perked right up when Toyota talked about refinements it made to the 2015 Sienna, starting with some 142 added spot welds made to the body structure. Normally not stop-the-presses stuff, but Toyota says the added reinforcements prompted Sienna engineers to recalibrate the springs and shocks for improved handling, and our very limited wheel time along the (admittedly benign) roads on the Big Island of Hawaii revealed the 2015 Sienna SE model's handling to be tidier and more engaging than you'd expect for a porky, 4,560-pound, eight-passenger box on wheels.
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Toyota Camry incentives and fleet sales cranked to keep sales crown, insiders worried

We've been watching for some time now as Toyota has piled more incentives on the hood of its Camry sedan, and Automotive News reports that the we're not the only ones with raised eyebrows. The current Camry hasn't even been on the market for two years, but the family sedan segment is more hotly contested than it has been in years. It's that high level of competition that has led the automaker to uncharacteristically add more money on the hood in order to assure it maintains its long-held title of America's Best-Selling Car, a mantle it has owned for a dozen years. It's ramping up fleet sales, too.
According to the analysts at TrueCar, Toyota has bumped incentives per unit every month this year, now totaling some $2,750 as of May, a 38-percent hike over this time last year. That's more spiff money than the segment's other best sellers, the Nissan Altima ($2,400), Ford Fusion ($2,300) and Honda Accord ($1,400), all of whom have actually decreased their incentive spend by 20- to 40-percent over the same period.
The ramp up in incentive spending and fleet sales has analysts concerned that Toyota will tarnish the Camry's historically sterling resale value. ALG pegs the 2013 Camry's current 36-month residual value at 54.4 percent, well ahead of the segment average's 50.9 percent (but shy of the Accord's 55.6 percent). However, analysts are concerned that as the current generation ages, their resale values will eventually plummet if incentives continue to increase as Toyota looks to keep the Camry's best-selling car crown going forward.

Toyota lowering Prius sticker prices in California

For the citizens of the state that has the biggest impact on Prius sales, it's understandable that Toyota might be offering its biggest perks there. With the next-generation version of the world's most popular hybrid not likely to see the light of day until the 2016 model year, the Japanese automaker is looking to spur sales as a stopgap measure. And that's especially true for the Prius C compact and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Toyota has bumped incentives for potential Southern California buyers of the Prius C to about $2,000 off the MSRP, which is up from $750 and about the same size of the perk given to prospective Prius Plug-in buyers, according to numbers from CarsDirect. For the standard Prius Liftback and the Prius V wagon, Toyota increased its discounts by about $500. The perks went into effect April 1 and will last until May 4. Toyota spokeswoman Amanda Rice confirmed to AutoblogGreen that the $2,000 incentive for the Prius C is specifically for the 2014 model year, and that the 2015 model year spurs a $750 incentive. She also confirmed that Toyota this month increased standard Prius lift back cash-back offer to $1,750 from $1,250, though amount offered can change by region. "While we will do what is necessary to remain competitive, Toyota's practice is to always lead with the product, not the deal," Rice wrote in an e-mail to AutoblogGreen. "The use of our incentives is tactical, reinforcing our value and focus on keeping our products competitive in the market." The Prius family was California's most popular passenger vehicle in 2012 and 2013, but sales since then have fallen off. Through the first quarter, US Prius sales were down 14 percent from a year earlier after falling 11 percent last year to about 207,000 units. A Toyota representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from AutoblogGreen on the increased incentives in the face of reduced sales. Related Videos: