Do you have too much money? Not sure what to spend it on? Do you hate trees and want to finally get rid of the bastards once and for all? If so, Toyota has great news for you.

Meet the 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser. This isn’t a full-on overhaul, so you won’t find the latest and greatest green technology here. No sir, this is a full-sized, dinosaur gulping big-honkin SUV, and it’s not ashamed about it. Under the hood is the familiar 381 horsepower 5.7 liter V8, hooked up to a six speed automatic transmission.

Since nothing changed from a powertrain standpoint, what’s the big deal? Well, there really isn’t a big deal. There are LED daytime running lights, which is cool I guess. There’s some more chrome trim. And, um, the fenders are bigger. So there’s that.

Anyway, if you’re looking to part with $70k or so, and just can’t wait to stick it to those damn trees, here’s your chance.

2013 Toyota Land Cruiser Gallery

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Toyota is running the board in hybrid sales, and they have no intentions of letting up. The Prius C is proof of that. The Prius C is a compact hybrid that will be both cheaper and more fuel efficient than the regular Prius. According to Toyota, the Prius C will have “the highest city mpg of any non-plug-in vehicle,” which is a pretty bold statement. The “big” Prius is not exactly a slouch in the city fuel efficiency department.

Since it’s smaller, the Prius C will also cost less than the regular Prius. Toyota hasn’t announced a starting price quite yet, but it will likely be in the $20-21k range.

How big is it?
Well, at 157.3 inches, it’s 19 inches shorter than a Prius. It’s actually 4 inches shorter than a Honda Fit, to give you a better idea.

What’s under the hood?
The Hybrid Synergy Drive, of course. Specifically, a 1.5 liter 4 cylinder gas engine hooked up to a battery and electric motor. Specs on the electric half of the powertrain aren’t available yet. We’re not even sure if it will use lithium ion or nickel metal hydride, though I’d bet on the latter. Remember, this is a low cost hybrid. Lithium batteries are still pretty pricey.

2012 Prius C Photos

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The hits just keep on keeping on for Toyota. This time, they’re recalling over half a million vehicles for a potential steering flaw. Roughly 80% of the affected vehicles are in the US, according to Toyota. Only V6 powered vehicles are affected by the recall, which involves replacing the crankshaft pulley.

So far, no accidents have been reported. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Source: Automotive News.

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There isn’t just one type of Prius anymore – Toyota is expanding the line. There’s the regular ol’ Prius, the Prius V, and the upcoming Prius c.

Now, more than ever, we have a grammar problem. What, exactly, is the correct term for more than one Prius? Toyota is running a poll to figure out exactly that. Prii, Priuses, Prius, Prium, or Prien? Head over to Toyota’s poll and vote.

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Hybrid Cars has their doubts about the usefulness of the upcoming 2012 Prius V:

It’s not that the Prius V is a bad car or idea. With almost 60 percent more cargo space, the Prius V might provide the kind of versatility that many Prius consumers have indicated to Toyota that they want. Nevertheless, it’s still just a 5 passenger car, and for a nearly 60 percent improvement in cargo space, 10 mpgs of fuel economy have been lost.

I don’t share the same doubts. Crossover type vehicles like the Venza sell very well, even though they seat just 5. Gaining the larger rear seat and huge cargo area will be plusses that a lot of people will go for, despite the MPG hit.

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What do you get when you stretch a Toyota Prius 5 inches, and fatten it up by an inch? The 2012 Toyota Prius V. With 38 inches of rear legroom and a hefty 34.3 cubic feet of cargo room, it’s a pretty nice step up in size from it’s little brother. (In fact, the Prius V is half an inch longer than the RAV4, though it’s a couple inches narrower. It gives up just 2 cubic feet to the RAV4 as well.)

Though it’s longer, wider, and (naturally) heavier than the regular Prius, the 2012 Prius V will still manager 42 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the highway. That’s not quite as high as the regular Prius, but still very respectable. Actually, it’s better than most cars of any size, and you get all the benefits of that extra space. So really, it’s pretty doggone great.

What about the looks?

It looks exactly like you would expect. It looks stretched Prius. It moves out of the hatchback world square into station wagon territory. I’m sure Toyota won’t market it this way, but make no mistake – this is a station wagon.

Let’s talk about the hardware

Though I refer to the Prius V as a stretched Prius, that’s not technically accurate according to Toyota. In fact, they say it’s all-new from the ground up, and not based on the Prius at all. That’s an odd choice, given the cost savings they could have realized by starting with the current Prius.

Under the hood is a 98 HP 1.8 liter 4 cylinder engine and an 80 HP electric motor. They combine for 134 HP – just like in the regular Prius. The battery is the tried-and-true NiMH – none of that fancy lithium stuff here.

If a giant Prius is just what you’ve been waiting for… well you still have to wait. Only until the summer though, so the wait is almost over.

2012 Toyota Prius V Gallery

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LLN has the digs on the 2011 Toyota Highlander Hybrid.  Here are some of the highlights:

• 280 combined HP (+70 HP vs 2010)
• 28 MPG city / highway (+1 / +3 vs 2010)
• EV only mode
• MSRP starts at $37,290

Toyota has wizards on its payroll. There’s no other explanation for adding 70 horsepower while improving fuel economy. It has to be wizards.

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TTAC reviews the 2010 Prius and writes – ‘The Prius is certainly not a driver’s car in the traditional sense, and no enthusiast would want one as an only car. But as a commuter, especially if the commute tends to be stop-and-go, the Prius makes a lot of sense. In addition to outstanding fuel economy, the Toyota offers reliability, a roomy, functional interior, the highly refined feel pioneered by Lexus, and, with the latest revision, even a stylish exterior. That Toyota has managed to bundle all of these attributes and leading-edge technology into a package most new car buyers can afford borders on incredible.’

Toyota really nailed their target market with the Prius. Folks who shop for this type of car don’t really care if it’s fast or if it handles well. They do care that it gets outstanding fuel economy and is refined. Read more about the 2010 Prius.

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As part of a shady sort of deal with the US Government, Toyota has agreed to pay a whopping $16.4 million fine to the US.  The catch?  Toyota admits no wrongdoing whatsoever.

Well that makes perfect sense.  Companies pay multi-million dollar fines all the time when they’ve done nothing wrong.  So really this is just further proof of Toyota’s guilt in handling the unintended acceleration issue poorly, but without the good will of actually admitting fault.

Fortunately for Toyota, the maximum fine for this type of offense is $16.5 million.  Otherwise, the feds could have levied a fine of $6,000 per vehicle, for a total of $13.8 billion with a b.

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Alright, so we’ve got runaway accelleration, funky brake pedals, and now this. Toyota is recalling about 8k 2010 Tacoma 4×4 trucks due to defective driveshafts. The rear joint is weak, and could crack, causing the driveshaft to, well, fall off the truck.

No big deal, eh?

Fortunately no accidents have been reported, and most affected trucks are still on dealer’s lots. Tacoma owners should probably have their trucks checked out at their local Toyota dealer. A quick visual inspection will let the dealer know if there is a problem or not.

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