2011 Toyota Camry Le Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Toyota Auris gets new Touring Sports variant

Toyota showed off the Touring Sports version of the Auris next to the newly introduced Auris Hybrid at last year's Paris Motor Show, but didn't say much about it. Six months later, just ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, the company is crowing about that wagon going on sale with the Hybrid Synergy Drive, creating the Auris Touring Sports Hybrid.
The hauling version of the exceptionally popular Auris hatchback doesn't just add a hybrid wagon to the compact segment, Toyota says it offers class-leading load capacity of 1,658 liters with the Easy-Flat one-touch rear seats down. With the rear seats up, it offers 530 liters. The little big gulp is possible because the hybrid batteries have been placed under the rear seats instead of being in the luggage area.
It looks the same as the hatchback save for the fact that it's 285 millimeters (11.2 inches) longer behind the C pillar, has a redesigned tailgate and a lower load floor. Engines beyond the hybrid will match the rest of the lineup: 1.3-liter and 1.6-liter gasoline engines and a 1.4-liter D-4D diesel. There's a chance we'll see it in Geneva, if we don't there's a press release below to tell you all about it.

Toyota's Mirai fuel cell car gets its own special showroom

If the car's unique, the showroom better be as well. That's the approach Toyota is taking with the Mirai, its first production hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle. In fact, the model is getting its own special showroom starting this Friday. The Japanese automaker is opening the showroom in Tokyo. The facility takes up two floors totaling about 1,800 square feet and, from the pictures, it looks to have a very Zen-like quality. Toyota will be displaying one Mirai vehicle and will have another vehicle available for public test drives available every Friday. Toyota started selling the Mirai in Japan late last year and has announced plans to debut the car in the US – starting in California – this fall at a base price of $57,500, or a lease option of $499 a month for 36 months ($3,649 is due at signing). Earlier this year, Toyota said it was going to bump production to 2,000 vehicles next year (and 3,000 in 2017) from 700 units this year. With such a ramp-up in store, Toyota will spend about $170 million increasing production capacity of the fuel-cell vehicle. That total probably doesn't take into account the stylish new Tokyo showroom. Related Videos: New Toyota Mirai Showroom in Downtown Tokyo Offers a Glimpse of the Future Tokyo, Japan, April 13, 2015-On Friday, Toyota will open a showroom to highlight the groundbreaking Mirai fuel cell vehicle, which went on sale last December. Located within a hydrogen station operated by Iwatani Corporation in Tokyo's Minato Ward, the space will serve as a hub for sharing information on fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen, with the aim of promoting a hydrogen-based society. In addition to having one Mirai on display and another for test drives, the showroom will use videos and other media to raise awareness about the features of the vehicle, the benefits of hydrogen and more. Overview of the Toyota Mirai Showroom Location 4-6-15 Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo Opening April 17, 2015 Floor area 1st floor84 m2; 2nd floor81 m2 Hours 9:00-17:00 Closed Tuesday (The Iwatani hydrogen station is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) Display vehicles 1 Test ride vehicles 1 (available to public on Fridays only) Website http://toyota.jp/mirai/showroom/ (Japanese only)

KBB 2013 Brand Image Awards has some obvious and oddball winners

The sixth edition of the Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards have crowned a wide range of winners - in a couple of cases the recipient of the laurels might say more about KBB users than they do about the actual winner. Compiled from the responses of more than 12,000 shoppers on KBB.com over the past year, there are 13 categories broken into non-luxury, luxury and truck segments "representing the combined wisdom of the American car-buying public."
The award categories have been revamped this year, with some dropping off, some new ones appearing and at least one other given a new term. What isn't surprising is that Honda won Most Trusted Brand for the second year running, Best Value Brand for the third year in a row and took Best Overall Brand, which wasn't on last year's list of awards.
On our own shores, in the non-luxury categories Chrysler got Most Refined Brand and Buick took Best Value Luxury Brand. Neither one of those marques won anything in last year's Brand Image Awards, while Cadillac, which won Best Interior Design Brand and Best Comfort Brand last year - those awards disappeared this year - went home without a single accolade.