PATREONItems tagged with toyota
Every new technology experiences growing pains; there is typically a period of innovation and then a period of standardization. The autonomous vehicle market is no exception. Industry leaders recently agreed to establish a common hardware and software platform for autonomous vehicles. The new Autonomous Vehicle Computing Consortium (AVCC) was announced at Arm TechCon 2019. This consortium includes leaders from companies such as Arm, Bosch, Continental, DENSO, GM, NVIDIA, NXP Semiconductors, and Toyota. They hope that other automotive and technology companies will join the consortium in the future. Dipti Vachani of Arm remarked, “The future of mobility and the safe, scalable deployment of...
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Toyota went official last week with the all-new Supra marking the return of an iconic sports car. The new car has been polarizing in the enthusiast community with many fans of the Supra unhappy with the styling, price, and power output of the car. Despite some fans of the Supra of yore not being happy with the new car, one fan has shelled out some serious money to have the right to own the very first production 2020 Toyota Supra. The very first Supra to roll off the production line, dubbed "Global #1", was auctioned off for charity over the weekend at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction. All proceeds from the auction went to the American Heart Association and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. When...
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It appears that Toyota still doesn't quite know what to make of electric vehicles (EVs). The Japanese auto giant was among the first to deliver a production hybrid vehicle to the public with the Prius. The Prius rode a wave of popularity starting with its first-generation and peaking with its third-generation. However, as traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles have become more efficient and the availability of hybrids has expanded, Prius sales have started trending downward. And according to Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz, electric vehicles are also starting to blunt Prius sales. More specifically, Lentz calls out the Tesla Model 3. Fourth-generation Toyota Prius...
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Enough with the damn leaks; here it is folks. Toyota has officially announced the 2020 Supra, two decades after the previous generation went out of production (for the U.S. market). The new 2020 Supra, which has the chassis code A90, takes many of the design themes of the FT-1 concept car from 2014 and melds them with the legendary Toyota 2000 GT and the fourth-generation Supra (A80). The styling is defiantly a bit "eccentric", but it's a thoroughly modern design with sinuous hips, a raised up and protruding "snout", and a "ducktail" spoiler integrated into the rear hatch. The interior is not nearly as wildly styled as the exterior, and is all business. This can be mainly attributed to the...
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Here it is: the 2020 Toyota Supra. In the second slip in as many weeks, Toyota -- or a contractor working for Toyota -- has leaked the upcoming rear wheel drive spots car. The time around Toyota Mexico posted an introductory video of the 2020 Supra to Twitter before realizing its mistake and deleting the tweet. Unfortunately for Toyota, excitement surrounding the new Supra has been so amped that enthusiasts quickly saved the video and uploaded it to YouTube (you can see it embedded below). Needless to say, there aren't in real surprises here thanks to the previous leak that showed the vehicle from the front 3/4 and rear 3/4 views. However, we do get some great head-on shots, a nice looks...
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After the years of teasing, spy shots, and camouflaged prototypes blasting through Europe, did Toyota actually slip up just weeks ahead of the 2020 Supra's official debut? That appears to be the case, thanks to a goof on Toyota Germany's website. The website allows you to get on the waitlist for the 2020 Supra, and states the following (translated from German): We are sorry, all Supra have already been reserved. Thank you for your interest in reserving a Supra. Due to the high demand unfortunately all vehicles are already reserved at the moment. Register now on the waiting list so that we can let you know when there are some vehicles available again. We only need your name and...
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At this point, we just wish that Toyota would go ahead and reveal the new Supra (MKV) instead of waiting for the official Detroit Auto Show announcement. The nameplate has been on hiatus in the United States since the late 1990s and Toyota has been teasing its return (and dragging us along for the ride) for the past five years. Most recently, we've seen the vehicle strutting around in plain sight covered in digital camouflage meant to mask its true shape. However, we're getting a nice good look at the car's butt courtesy of a photo leak. In the picture above, you can see a rather large integrated spoiler (first seen on the Toyota FT-1 concept car), a massive rear diffuser and dual exhausts. Also...
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Toyota is developing a new 'hypercar' that is based on its TS050 Hybrid LMP1 race car that won Le Mans. Called the GR Super Sport Concept, Toyota's Gazoo Racing (TGR) division showed off the at the 86th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, after having first revealed it at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon in January. The news at Le Mans is that Toyota is bringing the race car (or hypercar) to the consumer market, meaning it will be road legal at some point. "The development of Toyota's next generation of super sports car has started. It takes the cutting-edge hybrid electric systems and fuel economy technology that the TGR WEC team has tested and refined during the past six years in WEC, and showcases...
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Toyota has finally unveiled the new Supra at the Geneva Auto Show and the car looks absolutely fantastic. The official name of the car is the GR Supra Racing Concept, and it revives the most celebrated model in Toyota's sports car heritage. The automaker also says that the concept "demonstrates Toyota's commitment" to bringing the Supra back to the market and that it "shows the future potential for a car that can deliver high performance both on road and track." Looking at the Supra concept, you can certainly see the heritage of the previous models in its lines. The last time a Supra was in production was 16 years ago (in Japan). Despite being out of production for nearly two decades, the Supra...
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Hot on the heels of the Concept 8 Series that was unveiled at the Concorzo d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Lake Como, Italy, BMW has pulled the wraps off the successor to the long-in-the-tooth E89 generation Z4 convertible (first introduced way back in 2009). BMW’s Concept Z4 adopts a similar design language to the aforementioned Concept 8 Series, but in a more lithe package. For better or worse, the Concept Z4 shows no real stylistic links with the current vehicle, save for its two-door convertible layout. Even the super-long hood proportions of the last two generations of Z4 have been pared down somewhat. The front of the Concept Z4 is dominated by low and wide twin nostrils (a BMW signature)...
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Gas prices being what they are, we are always encouraged when automakers announce advancements in electrical battery technologies that could one day flip the automobile industry on its head. So it goes with Toyota—the Japanese automaker this week said it is getting close to a breakthrough in electric car battery technology that could see electrical vehicles drive a greater distance before needing a recharge.The new battery type Toyota is working on is a solid electrolyte that would lead to smaller and lighter batteries. In theory, these compact batteries could hold a higher charge than the batteries that are in use by electrical vehicles today. While there is still work to be done, Toyota said...
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Toyota is tapping NVIDIA to deliver the necessary artificial intelligence hardware that will power the automaker's autonomous driving systems. In doing so, Toyota joins a growing and impressive list of automotive partners that have teamed up with NVIDIA to push the autonomous vehicle category forward, a category that Toyota has spent more than two decades researching and developing. The Japanese automaker will use NVIDIA's Drive PX computer platform to power advanced autonomous driving systems that will be introduced in future vehicles. It is a joint collaboration in which engineering teams from both companies have already started developing software on NVIDIA's AI platform. "Toyota has worked...
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When most Americans think of the Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in the United States for the last fifteen years, they probably do not think of the words “sexy”or “trend-setting”. The 2018 Toyota Camry, however, returns as the ever-dependable vehicle it has always been, but with a number of sporty and high-tech upgrades. According to Bob Carter, Toyota's Senior Vice President of Automotive Operations, “The all-new 2018 Camry is, without a doubt, the most captivating mid-size sedan we’ve ever produced. It delivers on everything Camry owners have come to expect from America’s best-selling car, and adds to it, jaw-dropping design, more advanced technology, cutting-edge safety systems, and stirring...
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Parallel parking is the worst. It is a challenge for both experienced drivers on the road and newbies in Driver’s Ed. But Canadian inventor William Liddiard has come to the rescue with omnidirectional wheels that could help parallel parkers everywhere. Liddiard spent eight years and nearly $80,000 CAD ($61,586) on his research and patent costs. He stated, “I was watching somebody backing up a utility trailer and they were having a hard time doing it ... so that's how initially I came up with the idea of redesigning the wheel sideways.” Liddiard's Toyota Echo with omnidirectional wheels The omnidirectional wheels include small discs around the circumference which are perpendicular to the turning...
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Few things will force a smile the way a throaty V8 engine will when revving it even just in neutral, but the downside to muscle cars and sporty vehicles such as the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is gas mileage. Best case scenario is twenty-something miles per gallon. Compare that to Toyota's 2016 model Prius, which goes farther on a gallon of gas than any vehicle Consumer Reports has ever tested.The new model Prius averaged 52 MPG during testing, besting the record held by Honda Insight's 51 MPG set all the way back in 2000 when a gallon of gas ran in the neighborhood of $1.50. A year prior, gas prices averaged $1.14 per gallon, according to AAA. Given that gas prices continued...
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Wondering what happens when you task a group of college students with designing an automobile for the modern era? You end up with the uBox, a concept car that was designed, engineered, and hand-built by graduate students at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). The uBox is the result of a two-year "Deep Orange" collaboration between Clemson University's geeky gearheads and Toyota Motor North America designers and engineers. It's unlike any other vehicle out there, and it's intended to appeal to the next generation of car buyers, the busy and environmentally aware Gen-Z crowd. "Deep Orange gives students’ hands-on experience with the entire vehicle development...
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Toyota this week announced that it's partnering up with Microsoft in various ways to push new connected car technologies to the masses. The initiative begins with the launch of Toyota Connected, a new company that will serve as a data science hub for Toyota's operations around the world. "Toyota Connected will help free our customers from the tyranny of technology. It will make lives easier and help us to return to our humanity," said Zack Hicks, Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Connected and Chief Information Officer at Toyota Motor North America. "From telematics services that learn from your habits and preferences, to use-based insurance pricing models that respond to actual driving patterns,...
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Many have challenged Toyota’s dominant Prius, but none have come close to approaching its sales success. In fact, Toyota has upped the ante, expanding the family to include the Prius v and Prius c. And to top it off, Toyota just launched the fourth generation Prius, which brings with its unorthodox styling and increased fuel efficiency to fend off fresh competition. But don’t tell the to the folks at Hyundai. The company has probably the best chance yet at battling the Prius with its upcoming Ioniq hybrid hatchback. The South Korean automaker even has all of its bases covered, offering traditional hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric versions of the vehicle. With that being said, spy photographers...
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Toyota today announced that it will establish a new company that will serve as an research and development enterprise with an initial focus on artificial intelligence and robotics. Called Toyota Research Institute Inc. (TRI), the newly formed operation will be headquartered in Silicon Valley near Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. There will also be a second facility near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Between the two, Toyota has committed to an initial investment of $1 billion over the next five years, which will go towards creating the new facilities, staffing them, and conducting operations. Another $50 million will come from MIT and...
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Well, here it is, folks. We brought you images earlier this month that gave you a glance at the front 3/4 and rear 3/4 view of the fourth generation Toyota Prius. But late last night, Toyota officially pulled the wraps off the world’s best-selling hybrid vehicle. Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way — this thing looks weird; I mean really weird. With the exception of the first generation Prius which looked like somewhat like a normal econobox sedan, the following two generations were “different” in a boring kind of way. However, the new 2016 Prius has almost a French flavor to it with weird curves, jutting creases, and funky headlights that I don’t quite know how to describe. For its part,...
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The Toyota Prius has never been what we’d call a “looker” by any means. The first generation model looked like a budget econobox sedan (it was), while the second generation model introduced the frumpy hatchback form-factor in 2003. The third-generation Prius, which was introduced in 2009 as a 2010 model year vehicle, was a further refinement of the previous model’s design, but still was instantly recognizable as the world’s most popular hybrid-electric vehicle. Perhaps in an effort to grab some more attention in an automotive landscape that is already littered with high efficiency cars, Toyota is going bolder with the fourth generation Prius. Seemingly taking a few styling cues from the limited...
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Lexus first gave us a glimpse at its hoverboard prototype back in June and it definitely piqued our interests. For those of us that grew up watching 80’s flicks like Back to the Future Part II, the Lexus hoverboard was a dream come true — not to mention that it came from an unlikely source: a Japanese luxury car maker. Just when the initial hype of the hoverboard was starting to die down, Lexus is back in the headlines today with the release of two new videos that showcase the superconducting hoverboard. Lexus worked together with top scientists from IFW Dresden and Evico GmbH to create the hoverboard, which has internal semiconductors that are cooled by liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen brings...
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