HKS Dyno-Tests Toyota 86 Drift Racer, Prepares New Tuning Lineup that Includes a Supercharger

Famed aftermarket and motorsport specialist HKS has released a new video of the Toyota 86 race car it is working on to participate in the 2012 season of Japan's D1 Grand Prix production car drifting competition. The new clip shows the 86 being tested on the dyno.

As well as the motorsports version of the 86, which you should know by now is a sister model to the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ rear-wheel drive coupes, the Japanese company is also preparing a raft of tuning parts for the production model.

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New Toyota Yaris Hybrid Priced Under £15,000, Returns up to 80.7mpg UK

We will get our first opportunity to see the production version of the Yaris Hybrid at the 82nd Geneva Auto Salon in March, but prior to that, Toyota today announced pricing for the UK market and also gave out details on its fuel economy and emissions levels.

The new Yaris Hybrid is available for pre-order from Toyota showrooms in Britain now with an on-the-road price of "less than £15,000" with customer deliveries to commence from July 1.

In comparison, pricing for the regular, 99hp 1.33-liter gasoline powered Yaris ranges from £13,260 to £15,385, while the 90hp 1.4-liter diesel from £14,260 to £14,760.

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Toyota Releases New Teaser Photos and First Video of FT-Bh Supermini Concept

We now have a slightly better view of Toyota's brand-new FT-Bh Concept, as the Japanese automaker published the first real life teaser photos and a slightly more revealing video. The name of the prototype model is an acronym for Future Toyota B-segment hybrid.

Toyota says that it designed the FT-Bh for maximum fuel efficiency while using economically viable methods and materials for its construction.

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Lexus Regains Crown in J.D. Power's 2012 Dependability Study, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Flop

Each year, J.D. Power and Associates release their findings on the overall dependability of three-year old vehicles sold in the States. The 2012 Dependability Study polled some 31,000 owners of 2009 model-year vehicles measuring problems they experienced in the past 12 months.

To understand the numbers you see listed below, the "overall dependability" is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score translating to higher quality.

In this year's study, J.D. Powers found that overall vehicle dependability improved substantially as the industry average was 132 problems per 100 vehicles, representing a 13 percent improvement from last year (151 PP100), while it's also the lowest problem rate since the survey began in 1990.

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Vintage Japanese Cars Gaining a Strong Following in the U.S.

When you hear the term “classic” car, you surely think of something old but rare and most likely expensive, like an Aston Martin, a Ferrari or perhaps even some good ol' American iron.

The sole Japanese model that fetches serious money in the classic car market is Japan’s first supercar, the Toyota 2000GT. Collectors pay more than US$400,000 for the road versions while a 2000GT racer is currently being offered for US$1.7 million.

Whatever you think about the insane prices that some people are willing to pay for them, you would never apply this term to 30-year-old run-of-the-mill Japanese compact cars.

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NHTSA Investigating 830,000 Toyota Camrys and RAV4s Over Door Fires

Federal safety regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into a possible fire risk in approximately 830,000 Toyota Camry sedans, Camry Solara coupes and cabriolets and RAV4 SUVs from the 2007 model year.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it has received six consumer complaints, and other manufacturer reports supplied through Early Warning Reporting data submissions, all of which allege a fire in the driver's side door.

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Only in Japan: New Stripped Down Toyota 86 RC and Subaru BRZ RA

The Toyota 86 and the Subaru BRZ go hand in hand, in whatever they do. The two brands have launched stripped down variants of their respective models in Japan offering a low cost solution for those buyers looking to use the coupes for track racing, as a blank canvas to create their own project or simply to own the most affordable variant.

The Toyota 86 RC and the Subaru BRZ RA are very similar, the only main difference being that the Toyota model gets unpainted front and rear bumpers. From there on, on the outside, both models come with unpainted door handles and mirror caps, 16-inch steel wheels, while there are no fog lights up front.

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New FT-Bh Affordable City Car Concept Leads Toyota’s Geneva Motor Show Lineup

In the aftermath of Toyota's below-par performance in 2011 due to natural disasters and the strength of the yen, the Japanese automaker decided to focus its efforts for a comeback mainly on hybrid models such as the Prius family.

Therefore, today’s announcement that five out of the six Toyota models that will make their world or European premieres at the Geneva Motor Show in March will be hybrids, comes to no surprise.

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Karma is, Indeed, a Bitch: Toyota Yaris Driver gets what he Deserves

Don’t you just hate it when another driver won't let you merge into traffic or cross a road even though he or she won't move on more than a car's length? Of course you do which is why we're going to assume that you'll find the following video staring the driver of a previous generation Toyota Yaris hatchback extremely rewarding...

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Toyota Ramps up Production of Highlander SUV and Corolla at its U.S. Plants

After the natural disasters that crippled its production in 2011, Toyota is pulling ahead with a new plan to make up for the lost ground. This week, the number one Japanese automaker announced that it will increase production of the Highlander mid-size SUV at its Princeton, Indiana plant from late 2013. Read more »

Arab Spring Brings Increased Car Sales in the Middle East as Governments Toss Around Money

When oil prices go up, car sales, especially those of gas-guzzling models, go down. There's one place, though, where the exact opposite is happening right now: it’s the Middle East where new car sales are booming.

Sure, many countries in the region, like Bahrain and Syria, are facing severe political turmoil, but on the other hand, since oil prices are on the rise with crude oil having gained 6.7 percent over the last 12 months, revenues of local governments have increased accordingly.

Said governments, wanting to avoid uprisings, are injecting cash into the economy increasing their citizens’ income.

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New Toyota Prius C Hybrid Hatch Priced from $18,950*

Toyota has released pricing on its new Prius C, which is the third hybrid model to join the Prius range in the States after the original liftback and the new minivan.

The subcompact hatchback will arrive at Toyota dealerships in March 2012 with prices starting from $18,950, not including a $760* destination, processing and handling fee that puts the total to $19,710.

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February Recalls: Toyota RAV4, Honda Accord, Crosstour and Ridgeline, Ford F-53/59 and Maserati GranTurismo

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced several recalls in the first week of February.

Starting with Toyota, the Japanese carmaker has issued a recall on a total of 427 RAV4 vehicles manufactured from November 24, 2011, through December 19, 2011, because the curtain shield airbags may not deploy. Toyota said it would check the RAV4s and if necessary, replace the assemblies. The safety recall is expected to begin in early March.

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A Pair of Toyota 86 Coupes Engage in a Drifting Dance

If Subaru's overemotional Japanese spot didn't touch a chord with you, then we'll have to assume you're the kind of person that prefers the sounds of screeching tires over the sounds of crying when it comes to cars.

If that's the case, you might want to take a look at what a pair of Toyota 86 sports coupes are capable in the hands of two talented drifters. Watch the video after the break.

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Toyota's "Connections" Super Bowl Ad will Take you from Zero to Snooze in 61 Seconds

Toyota has a secret weapon against its rivals in this year's Super Bowl (well, at least those that have scheduled to air their commercials after the Japanese company): it's called "Connections" and it's one of two spots that it will run during the big game.

Provided you haven't already fallen asleep from the soft voiceover heard in the background, the only vaguely interesting part of the commercial is the appearance of a jacked up older generation Camry riding on massive alloy wheels at around 40 seconds into the clip.

Now that you've been warned, feel free to hop over the break to watch Toyota's second Super Bowl XLVI spot.

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New Toyota GT 86 Priced from £24,995 in the UK, Puts it Between the MX-5 and the 370Z

One of the most strongly anticipated sports cars of the year has been priced in Britain. Toyota revealed today that the new GT 86 coupe will carry an on-the-road price of £24,995 (equal to €30,206 or US$39,550) when sales start in June.

This puts the GT 86 between two other popular Japanese sports cars in terms of pricing, the Mazda MX-5 that starts from £17,990 for the 124bhp 1.8-liter soft-top model, and the Nissan 370Z that begins at £29,950 for the 324bhp 3.5L V6 Coupe.

For the record, the base GT 86 is £2,000 more expensive than the Mazda MX-5 with a retractable hardtop and the 158bhp 2.0-liter engine.

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Toyota Taxi Driver has Some Really Bad Karma

Did you ever have one of those days that everything seems to go wrong? We don't know how the rest of the day went for the Toyota Camry taxi cab driver seen in the video but in this act everything that could go wrong did.

It all started when he abruptly stopped to let a pedestrian cross the road. We don't know who said what first but the short story is that the pedestrian punched the cab driver a couple of times in the face as he exited the taxi.

However, before he could do anything, his Camry started rolling by itself and hit the SUV that was in front of him! Watch the incident in the video that follows.

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Toyota Reinvents its 2012 Camry Super Bowl Commercial

It has been a while since we last saw Toyota advertising at the Super Bowl game, but the Japanese carmaker is back after a three-year hiatus with a new commercial for its redesigned 2012 Camry sedan.

The brand's 60-second long spot is called “Reinvented” and continues the same theme as the first ads of the 2012 Camry last year, albeit with a more cheeky and humorous tone.

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Toyota TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer Sounds Like the Batmobile when it Takes Off

The first thing that came to mind upon viewing the videos of Toyota's brand-new TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer as it was leaving the pits at the Paul Ricard circuit in France for its first test run was the Batmobile – well, that or Anakin Skywalker's podracer from Star Wars Episode 1.

And no, we're not referring to the racecar's shape and styling but the sounds emitted by the hybrid powertrain which starts off with the electric motor before the V8 engine kicks in like an afterburner – yes, it's that cool.

After that, you get the usual screaming sounds produced by race-prepped engines.

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Where Do You Think You're Going? Woman Tries to Escape Three Times After Being Stopped by Police

Surely, anyone with an iota of common sense would give it up when surrounded by at least three police vehicles, right? Well, maybe most people but not Alexandra Osteyee-Hoffman.

The 28-year old North Carolina woman tried not once, but three times (!) to escape from the police last Friday. It all began when deputies came to her house to serve papers on a hearing. The officer approached her Toyota Corolla and asked for her at which point she took off only to be cornered by at least three police vehicles shortly after.

From that point on, we have the video footage from the police car dashboard camera, which shows her fleeing the scene for the second time leading the police on a high-speed chase – well, as fast as a Corolla can go, that is…

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