Archive for category Toyota
2011 Toyota Matrix Design
Toyota is giving its 2011 Toyota Matrix five-door hatchback a blin
k-and-you’ll-miss-it refresh. Look closely and you’ll see new wheel designs and mild changes to the interior of the Matrix, which is set to hit the stage at the 2011 Chicago show.
The 2011 Matrix retains the same 132-horsepower 1.8-liter and 158-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines as before. All-wheel drive remains an option with the 2.4-liter engine and a four-speed automatic transmission. Other trims are available with either a five-speed automatic or manual transmission.
The only fuel economy change is with the smaller engine and a four-speed automatic: the highway rating improves one mpg to 32. The 16-inch steel wheels have newly designed covers and there are new 17-inch five-spoke wheels on the Matrix S. The only other exterior change is a color addition: Spruce Mica.
Toyota appears to have paid the most attention to the 2011 Matrix’s interior. A number of trim changes were made in an effort to freshen the cabin. Read the rest of this entry »
Design Toyota prius 2012
Back in the waning years of the previous millennium, th
e Toyota Prius was born, becoming the first Toyota hybrid. Since then, of course, many other Toyota and Lexus hybrids have hit the roads, as have many from nearly every other automaker. But it’s the Prius—thanks to distinct (if unsexy) styling and industry-leading fuel economy—that remains the unofficial greenmobile for Toyota and the world.
Naturally, then, the Prius is set to become the first Toyota to make the next big leap in fuel efficiency for 2012 by going plug-in with the new Prius PHV, or “plug-in hybrid vehicle.” And since 2012 is a long way off—in our impatient minds, at least—we jumped at the chance to drive one of the 150 powder-blue preproduction Prius PHVs bound for the U.S. in 2010. All are part of Toyota’s Prius PHV pilot program that places these vehicles with various utilities and government agencies to gather data on vehicle performance.
So how exactly does it differ? Other than silver paint on the mirrors, door handles, and tailgate, the blue-and-white “PLUG-IN HYBRID” lower door decals, and a cutout in the left front fender that houses the plug, there are no visible distinctions between the regular Prius and the PHV. Ditto the interior, where a few PHV-specific info displays and a slightly raised cargo floor for the PHV’s larger battery pack represent the only notable changes. Read the rest of this entry »
Design Toyota Yaris 2012
Toyota has been one of the most well known names in the car manufacturi
ng industry for its subcompact cars that it has been releasing since 1999. Toyota has used the label “Yaris” to name the export versions of the several Japanese-market models. The Toyota Yaris 2012 is likely to move into the market by the mid of 2011 with a slightly polished style retaining the major attributes that it had in its previous generations. Toyota will offer 2012 Toyota Yaris in three different trim levels all of which will be available in oval shape, thereby heightening the interior of the 2012 yaris.
Toyota proposed this design because of the popular demands from people for a taller roofline as well as a spacious legroom that would offer extra comfort to the driver. This, however, has been one of the best features of several generations of 2012 Toyota Yaris designed, manufactured and launched by the renowned company. The emptor can avail the sport package to enhance the appearance of the car while purchasing. Read the rest of this entry »
