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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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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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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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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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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Gazoo Racing Builds Toyota Yaris Turbo Concept with 180-Horses [Video]

While Toyota has no current plans to develop a performance version of its latest generation Yaris (marketed in Japan as the Vitz), the automaker's tuning and motorsports partner Gazoo Racing introduced an interesting concept model at this past weekend's Tokyo Auto Salon 2012.

The Vitz Turbo Concept is based on the three-door Yaris and comes with a raft of performance upgrades that may become available to the public in the very near future.

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Gazoo Racing Supercharges Toyota iQ, Production Limited to 100 Units [Video]

Remember the patent drawings of a wide body Toyota iQ (branded as a Scion in North America) that we showed you back in December? As it turns out, the drawings were for the GRMN iQ 130G that was revealed today at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan.

It's the creation of Toyota's motorsports and performance partner Gazoo Racing and is scheduled for a limited production run of 100 units later this year.

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New Toyota Prius C Hybrid Hatch Debuts in Detroit, Promises up to 53 mpg for Less than $19,000

About a month after Toyota revealed the Aqua at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan, the North American version of the model named the Prius C made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show today.

The Prius C is the most compact member of the Prius Family, which also includes the third generation Prius Liftback, the new Prius V minivan and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid that will arrive in early 2012.

About the same size as the latest Yaris, Toyota's new dedicated hybrid model is a sub-compact five door hatchback that measures 157.3 in. long, 56.9 in. tall, 66.7 in. wide and tips the scales at 2,500 lbs (1,134 kg) or 542 lbs. less than the regular Prius.

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Toyota Aygo City Car Retouched for the 2012 Model Year [with Video]

The prize for the least surprising announcement of the day goes to Toyota. That’s not to say that the number one Japanese carmaker has done anything wrong. It’s just that, after Peugeot and Citroen revealed their updated 107 and C1 respectively, it was only a matter of time before Toyota presented the 2012 version of its jointly-developed and built Aygo city car. Read more »

1970s Toyota Corolla Sleeper with Nissan V6 Turbo Runs 1/4 Mile in 11s

We all love us some cool sleepers and what a better mechanical wolf in sheepskin than a third generation Toyota Corolla sedan [KE30 series] from the mid-1970s with a completely stock look right up to the rear window shades sporting a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 Nissan engine under its tiny hood.

The ride comes to us from Australia and according to the blokes over at FullBoost, it was created in just four weeks' time. The force-fed VQ30 is linked to a ZX five-speed manual gearbox while the car runs on 14-inch tires.

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Toyota Video Teases New NS4 Plug-in Hybrid Concept Car – Is it a Coupe?

In addition to a very closely cropped teaser photo, Toyota has now published a new video on the NS4, a plug-in hybrid concept car that will be fully revealed at next week's 2012 North American International Motor Show in Detroit.

While mystery continues to shroud the details on the NS4, the new promotional clip gives us a sneak peek on some of the car's styling and tech elements such as instrument panel and center console.

We also get a quick glimpse of a few sketches that appear to be showing a coupe or perhaps a sporty looking four-or five-door fastback, but we can't be sure. Follow the break to watch the video for yourself.

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Russian GAZ-69 Shows Toyota Land Cruiser 100 Who's the Boss

Not all four-wheel drive models are made equal, and while Toyota's Land Cruiser series has made a name for itself as a durable and capable 4x4, there are certain vehicles out there that were purpose built for the harshest off-road environments.

One of those vehicles is the GAZ-69, a light off-road vehicle designed for the Soviet Army. The all-knowing Wikipedia tells us that it was produced initially by GAZ from 1953 to 1955 and by UAZ from 1954 until 1972, while Romania's ARO also built the truck under license from 1957 to 1975.

In the following video, we see a GAZ-69 successfully pulling a Toyota Land Cruiser 100 across a river. An impressive feat to say the least.

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Burglar Suspects Play Real Life Need for Speed in Florida [Video]

Sometimes life imitates the virtual gaming world, as was the case of two burglar suspects that were pursued by the Sheriff's office in Orange County, Florida, last Wednesday.

Video footage from a KVOA news chopper that was following the white-colored vehicle, which could be a Toyota Corolla sedan, shows the suspects weaving through traffic at high speeds, driving over medians and entering the other side of the road in their attempt to escape the unmarked police cars that were chasing them.

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New Toyota GT 86 Video Pays Tribute to 1965 S800

It has been about a month since Toyota pulled the wraps off its new 86 sports coupe at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, but the Japanese company isn't about to let its rear-wheel drive model fall off the radar as it gears up for its market launch next spring.

Toyota released a new promotional clip for the 86 (called GT 86 in Europe) that pays homage primarily to the company's first production sports car, the S800 (or Sports 800) and to a lesser extent, the AE86.

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Santa's Candy Cane Toyota Camry Packs 900-Candlepower, it Could be Yours for $1.7 Million…

It sounds and looks like an April Fool's Day joke, but the Candy Cane car is real and it's up for grabs on eBay.

But there's a small problem with this odd creation that's based on a 1991 Toyota Camry LE. It has a 'Buy it Now' price of...US$1.7 million or about €1.3 million if you live on the other side of the pond and it tickles your fancy instead of let's say, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari FF, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a Rolls Royce Phantom and then some for a condo.

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Video: Back and Forth Parking Job New York City Style

If you have ever lived in or at least visited a large city like New York, you'll know that, sometimes, finding a parking space can be than harder than searching for a needle in a haystack.

And the worst thing is when you're driving in circles for hours and finally find a free space only to discover that you can't fit in.

Not surprisingly, some drivers are so desperate that they don't care if they have to bump their way to squeeze in, like this owner of an older generation Toyota Camry that just had to park no matter what. A time-lapse video is waiting for you just after the break.

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