The Toyota Club News and From the Editor's Desk.

Toyota Prius C

by Steve Duda, EarthTechling

When Toyota launched the world's first mass produced hybrid in Japan in 1997, it felt like a bit of a gamble for the huge Japanese auto maker.

How would people react to a new kind of automobile? Would people understand what a hybrid was? Would anyone ever buy the thing?

Three million cars later, Toyota has its answer. The Prius family is, undoubtedly, the most popular hybrid car in the world and Toyota is seen as the leader in hybrid technology.

: Toyota Prius C

That success has allowed the auto manufacturer to expand the family, which now includes the standard Prius(known as the Liftback), the Prius v station wagon and the new Prius Plug-In Hybrid.

This past week, Toyota introduced the newest memberof the family to American audiences at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

If Toyota was facing a risky proposition upon the release of the original Prius, fifteen years later this new Prius is as close to a slam dunk as anything on the Detroit show floor. America is the largest market for the Prius line and the smaller, gas-sipping, less expensive Prius c is sure to find a welcome reception on these shores.

Toyota doesn't call the Prius cheap, of course, they prefer to call the c a "gateway product into the Prius family." But with a starting price starting below $19,000 you could put two Prius models in the garage for the price of many new hybrids hustling for some attention in Detroit.

Aside from the list price, the Prius also offers 53 mpg in the city, and 46 mpg on the highway, for a combined rating of 50 mpg. That's an impressive number and comes from reductions in both size and weight for the new Toyota.

The new c is 19.1 inches shorter and 542 pounds lighter than the standard Prius.   Toyota also replaced the standard Prius 1.8 liter, four cylinder gas engine/80 kW electric motor combo with a smaller 1.5 liter, in-line four banger hitched to a 54 kW electric motor.

The new powerplant generates a total system output of 99 horsepower and 82 lb-ft of torque — not enough to win many drag races, but the point of the Prius c is economy, not performance.

Prius c offers three distinct drive modes: Normal, Eco, and EV mode. Eco mode reduces overall energy consumption by governing climate control and throttle to improve vehicle efficiency. Under certain conditions, the EV mode allows the Prius c to be driven solely by electric power for a short distance (under 1 mile) while remaining below 25 mph.

The Prius rolls on 15-inch tires and features an exterior design that "helps project a fun, youthful attitude." That means you can choose three new colors that include Habanero, Moonglow, and Summer Rain Metallic.

Inside the new Prius you can select any interior color you'd like, so long as it's black. The car comes standard with AM/FM CD player, auxiliary audio jack, USB port with iPod connectivity, hands-free phone capability, phone book access and music streaming via Bluetooth. Toyota also includes nine airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction control and a multi-information dashboard display.

2012 Yaris

Toyota has now released the official details of the 2012 Yaris, which will be launched in Europe this summer.

“Developed from an original concept of ‘compact outside, spacious inside,’ new Yaris shows Toyota further improving the clever packaging that was a hallmark of its predecessors,” Toyota said.

Toyota also said that the 2012 Toyota Yaris will introduce a new affordable multimedia connectivity with the Toyota Touch & Go, which will be standard equipment on 95 percent of sales. The system features a 6.1-inch display with touch screen technology.

The new Toyota Yaris will be offered in Europe in three variants including a 1.0-liter VVT-i and 1.33-liter dual VVT-i gasoline units and a 1.4-liter D-4D diesel.

Here’s to hoping the 2012 Toyota Yaris will keep this look when it comes to the stateside.

2012 Toyota Camry

America’s best-selling passenger car will be getting a makeover this fall, a new report finds. Sources say Toyota will launch an all-new, seventh-generation of its Camry sedan by the end of 2011.

The Camry was once again America’s best-selling passenger car last year – tallying 327,804 sales – but newer rivals are starting to nip at the five year old sedan’s heels. Those 327,804 sales were the Camry’s lowest since 1994.

However, help is on the way in the form of the all-new, seventh-generation Camry, due out later this year.

“We haven’t announced the next-gen Camry, (but) I will tell you (the current) Camry is very close to the end of its lifecycle, and a fall introduction is a pretty good educated guess,” Bob Carter, Toyota group vice president and general manager, told Ward’s.

Carter didn’t comment on what to expect from the next-generation Camry, but it’s possible we could see the new version of the sales leader at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

New Yaris Hybrid

Compacts with battery packs and motors could become the most affordable and highest MPG cars on the road—pushing hybrid technology deep into the mainstream market. Yet, the $19,200 Honda Insight and $20,000 Honda CR-Z are the closest cars so far to attempt a grab of the entry-level affordable compact hybrid market.

Toyota wants those cost- and fuel-conscious customers, especially in Europe where small cars rule. The company debuted the Toyota Yaris Hybrid at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show—showing that it intends to downsize its proven full hybrid technology. The Yaris Hybrid is expected to go on sale in Europe next year. It’s still too early to know if it will come to the United States.

While Honda will utilize a mild form of gas-electric technology for its small hybrids, Toyota’s system is a full hybrid capable of moving the car down the road on electricity alone. According to Toyota, the company plans to bring full hybrid technology to all of its European models in the next decade. “Two years ago, 8 percent of European customers said they wanted their next vehicle to be a hybrid,” said Didier Leroy, President of Toyota Motor Europe. “Today that figure has doubled, to 16 percent.”

Unlike Honda’s existing mild hybrid technology--which might be a more immediate fit for small cars—Toyota engineers will need to work on packaging its electric system into a smaller space. That could mean reducing the size and weight of the battery pack used in current models. All systems will have to be optimized for the smaller format.

To help draw attention to the unassuming Yaris hybrid subcompact concept on display in Geneva, Toyota applied a solar panel to its roof. The solar panel could help power the car’s air-conditioning, making a modest improvement in overall fuel efficiency.

2012 Yaris

2012 Toyota Camry

New Yaris Hybrid

Toyota FT86