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Toyota says you might have the 40-millionth Corolla ever built

The guy who bought the 50-millionth Toyota in the US got a free Camry and RAV4, but whoever in the world bought the 40-millionth Corolla in August gets a hearty "thank you" from the Japanese automaker. On sale since 1966, the Corolla is the best-selling nameplate in the world by a goodly margin (more than the Volkswagen Beetle and Ford Model T combined). So while you'd think that vehicle number 40 million would be sitting in a museum somewhere, Toyota can't even say in which country this milestone Corolla was sold, let alone to which customer.
One reason that Toyota is unsure where this Corolla was sold is the fact that the Corolla name itself is more than just the compact sedan sold in the US. On our shores alone, sales of the Matrix are lumped in with the Corolla, but around the world, numerous vehicles wear the Corolla name or share its platform. Scroll down for Toyota's press release, and it has also put together a website celebrating 47 years and 40 million sales for the Corolla... and counting.

Toyota i-ROAD goes to carsharing service Park24 in Tokyo

Drivers in Tokyo citizens can now soon a handle on what "active leaning" is all about. That's because a small number of Toyota's funky, three-wheeled i-Road electric vehicle will soon be available for a car-sharing program throughout the Japanese capital city. Let the party begin. Toyota is collaborating with parking-lot operator Park24 Co. on the car-sharing program. The automaker will contribute five i-Road vehicles to the project, which will start April 10 and run until the end of September. Users will be able to pick up the trikes at the Times Station at Yurakucho ITOCiA and will be able to drop them off at five locations throughout the city. Toyota will charge 412 yen (about $3.50) per every 15 minutes and will impose a maximum checkout time of two and a half hours. We first became aware of the i-Road when Toyota posted a groovy video of the vehicles sashaying through town a couple of years back. The car, which has so-called "active leaning" technology, is less than eight feet long and less than three feet wide, and has a top speed of 28 miles per hour. Check out Toyota's press release below and get more details here. Park24 and Toyota to Trial i-ROAD Sharing Service in Central Tokyo February 24, 2015 Tokyo, Feb. 25, 2015 -- Starting in April, Park24 Co., Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corporation will trial a car sharing service in central Tokyo using the Toyota i-ROAD, an ultra-compact three-wheeled electric vehicle. The i-ROAD, designed for flexibility and ease of use, will be paired with Park24's "Times Car Plus" service, which allows members to use share cars at any time of day or night. The trial will also incorporate elements from Toyota's "Ha:mo" optimized urban transport system. The trial will run from April 10 to the end of September. Usage data and user feedback will be gathered with the goal of assessing ease of use. The trial will also be used to assess changes in user activity patterns and receptiveness to new mobility systems of this type. For more information about the program, go to: http://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/detail/6168109/ Related Video:

Vote to unionize Toyota Canada plant faces delay

Volkswagen isn't the only automaker with high-profile unionization efforts afoot at one of its North American factories. Unifor, Canada's largest private-sector union, is attempting to organize Toyota's factories in Ontario, reports Reuters. A vote was originally set for next week, but Unifor has apparently found more workers eligible to vote, delaying the proceedings. It hasn't rescheduled the ballot yet, but claims there are 7,500 employees with the right to vote, with over 3,000 having already signed union cards.
Toyota is pushing against organizing, saying that workers already have a payment and benefits near the top of the industry, and noting that it has never laid off a permanent employee in Canada. Unifor has reportedly countered by saying that about a quarter of the workforce is operating under a temporary contract, which receives lower benefits.
The automaker has three factories in Ontario - two in Cambridge and one in Woodstock. To form a union, a majority of eligible employees must vote to join Unifor. If successful, they would be the first wholly owned Toyota plants in North America to be organized. Previous attempts to unionize the Japanese automaker's Canadian factories in 2001 and 2008 failed due to lack of support.