Have a Great Halloween!

What's this fellow driver thinking? Can you come up with a caption for this picture?

The All-New 2013 Avalon - This Time It's Personal

As part of our look behind the scenes of the new Avalon, we’re introducing some of the people who helped create it.

We start with a member of the youthful team at Toyota’s Calty Design Research studios in California and Michigan. Creative designer Miljan Jevremovic guided the design for the car’s exterior.

“Our vision was to create a vehicle that conveys an athletic, sporty image while maintaining the class and elegance of a flagship sedan,” says Jevremovic. The outside has a sleek profile, with dramatic LED taillights and dual, chrome exhaust pipes in the back. Up front, there are two bold intake grilles and square, Quadrabeam headlights.

Pictured is the Avalon designers.

“For me personally, I knew I wanted to design an Avalon that I would want to drive,” Jevromovic adds. “To see the vehicle on the road looking identical to the first sketch holds testament to how hard both engineering and design worked to achieve a successful end result.”

 

Some Tips on Minimizing the Risk of Your Vehicle Being Broken Into or Stolen

Keep it inside a locked garage with an armed guard and Doberman on duty! Or, drive a car that nobody would want to steal.

Seriously, there are some common sense precautions you can use to minimize the risk of your vehicle being stolen or broken into:

Never leave the keys in the ignition, and never leave the engine running while you run into a store or drop something off. You car might not be there when you come back, and you might even be issued a ticket for such stupidity!

Always lock your car, even when running short errands to the grocery store or leaving your car in your own driveway. A car thief will walk right up to an unlocked car in broad daylight, hop in and be gone in 30 seconds. Locking the doors won't prevent him from breaking into or stealing your car, but it will slow him down and may discourage him enough to pick on someone else's car.

Never leave valuables (purses, briefcases, radar detectors, money, portable electronic devices, leather coats, etc.) in plain view. They encourage thieves to break in and help themselves. Either take the valuables with you or lock them out-of-sight in the luggage compartment.

Avoid parking where you have to leave your keys with a valet or parking attendant. It's a simple matter to make a duplicate key and steal your car later. Use self-park facilities where possible.

Park in well-lighted areas, preferably where there are people and/or traffic nearby. This discourages casual thieves from breaking and entering.

If you're installing an expensive stereo system in your vehicle, think hard about getting a "pull-out" unit that can be removed for safe-keeping if you have to park the vehicle outside. Or at least buy a radio that has a theft-deterrent code that makes it inoperable if somebody rips it out of your dash.

 

Courtesy of Yahoo! Autos

Our RAV4 Entune Apps Revolutionize Your Connectivity To Your Vehicle

Entune® is a collection of popular mobile applications and data services integrated with select 2012 or newer Toyota vehicles. Entune includes three years of complimentary access to apps and services. (After three years, access charges will apply; excluding Pandora®) Once the phone is connected to the vehicle using Bluetooth® wireless technology or a USB cable, Entune's features are operated using the vehicle's controls or, for some services, by voice recognition. If your Toyota is equipped with the Display Audio Multimedia system then it is required to cable all iPhone mobile digital devices to the USB port. This requirement allows the Display Audio Entune system to operate with full functionality and it also recharges all iPhone mobile digital devices. Entune's apps include Bing™, iHeartRadio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable®, and Pandora®. Entune's data services include fuel guide, sports scores, stocks, traffic and weather. Entune Plug-in Hybrid Advanced model and RAV4 EV Applications include Charge Management, Remote Climate, and Vehicle Finder. Please go to toyota.com/entune for details.

Be Sure To Take Advantage Of Our Savings!

Print off this coupon to receive 5% off parts and service OR 10% off your oil change and tire rotation. Hurry, this expires October 31st!

Toyota boosts home reconstruction in Joplin since devastating tornado

Like most residents of Joplin, Tara Johnston's mind is frozen in time when she thinks back to that late Sunday afternoon on May 22, 2011 – the day a catastrophic tornado destroyed thousands of homes, including her house on S. Jackson Ave.

"Losing my home was one thing; the worst part was I thought I lost my daughter," she said.  "It was horrifying."

While her daughter and the rest of her family survived the tornado, she was faced with the daunting task of rebuilding her home – made even tougher because she had no insurance.  Johnston told her story from the front porch of that very home today at a press conference.  The house, which is just weeks away from being completely rebuilt, is the result of many helping hands coming together to get one more displaced family back into their home.

As part of the celebration, a partnership between Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA) and Rebuild Joplin, a local non-profit group whose mission it is to get storm survivors back into their homes, was outlined.  Toyota has worked with the group the past six months in an effort to reduce the amount of time it takes to rebuild homes and get Joplin residents out of temporary housing.  In addition, Toyota donated $100,000 to Rebuild Joplin and its home-building efforts.

"Rebuild Joplin helps people like me who can't get loans; they help you either rebuild your home, or if damaged, help you fix it up at no cost or little cost to you," said Johnston, a single mother and full-time student whose two children and grandchild live with her.

The partnership is working.

"This has allowed us to take donated dollars and donated time from volunteers and make it more efficient," said Jerrod Hogan, co-founder, Rebuild Joplin. 

Hogan said that by using lessons from the Toyota Production System (TPS), Rebuild Joplin has reduced construction time by three weeks on average.  Bottom line, he said, "these improvements are making an incredible difference in our ability to rebuild homes for families in Joplin quickly and affordably."

He added: "We are so excited to be partnering with Toyota.  Now, one of our biggest challenges is securing enough volunteers so we can get people back in their homes.  We not only need corporate support, we need the help of volunteers to get the job done.  We still have more than 160 families in FEMA trailers and hundreds of families who don't have funds to rebuild their homes."

Toyota, through its non-profit arm – the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) – partnered with Rebuild Joplin in May with the intent to help the group make substantial improvements by increasing quality, productivity, safety and reducing customer wait time in the rebuilding of houses.

Rebuild Joplin is just one of 189 companies or not-for-profits that have been aided by Toyota. 

"We've seen over and over again where our manufacturing techniques can help any kind of organization – whether it's a manufacturer or a non-profit group," said Steve St. Angelo, executive vice president, TEMA, and a managing officer for Toyota Motor Corp.  "There is a lot of demand for this and we are sharing it free of charge."

Since Toyota came on board, the time it takes for Rebuild Joplin to reconstruct a home has dropped from an average of 62 days to 41 days – a 34 percent improvement.

This time reduction can be credited to the following:

- Improved processes: the collaboration has consisted of sharing TPS know-how and working closely with Rebuild Joplin's professional staff, skilled construction supervisors and AmeriCorps volunteer members to improve homebuilding efficiencies;

- Better scheduling of volunteers and construction contractors:  while there was no organized system before, today, as you enter Rebuild Joplin's headquarters, "management boards" track everything from volunteer/worker schedules to inventory to status reports on homes being rebuilt.

TSSC's Sylvester DuPree, who has worked closely with Rebuild Joplin since the onset, points to another success: "One of our main goals coming into Rebuild Joplin was to reduce the amount of time it took from when a home owner applied to when construction began on their house.

"Couple that with reducing the amount of construction time and we are getting people back into their homes faster."

NEW ORLEANS CONNECTION

Rebuild Joplin is the first affiliate of the St. Bernard Project (SBP), a non-profit organization that was founded in 2006 by Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney, an attorney and teacher, respectively, from Washington D.C., after they saw the tremendous needs in the New Orleans region following Hurricane Katrina.  Following a month of service in the area, the pair started the nonprofit, focusing on finding a solution to fulfilling the needs expressed by community members.

SBP believes that by sharing lessons learned and best practices, disaster recovery in America will be more effective in reducing human toll.  Through St. Bernard Project's Disaster Recovery Lab, a community hit by a natural disaster can get a head start by using these lessons learned and utilized in New Orleans, and, now, Joplin.

"We have seen the toll of delay in post-disaster recovery; clients have died waiting, seniors have had their 'golden years' irreparably tarnished, and young people have spent their formative years in untenable living situations," Rosenburg said.  "Understanding the urgent need for a new model – recognizing that disaster recovery in America is broken and that families in other parts of the country impacted by disaster yearn for home as strongly as families in New Orleans – St. Bernard Project decided to share its model with other disaster-impacted communities."

Developed in collaboration with skill-based corporate partners, Disaster Recovery Lab is an answer to reduce recovery time and minimize the devastating impact of delayed recovery on businesses, government and the social and civic fabric of a community.

Communities at-risk will be trained to develop resilience by understanding and mitigating risks, by learning SBP's model, understanding challenges that they will face and by developing an initial recovery plan.

Disaster-struck communities will learn SBP's model, receive a playbook/framework for action and will benefit from technical and on-the-ground support.

"We are a one-year-old organization operating with four-plus years of experience," said Hogan, the Rebuild Joplin co-founder.  "It makes an enormous impact on our ability to serve families."

The Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) is a not-for-profit corporation affiliated with Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA).  TSSC was established by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1992 as the Toyota Supplier Support Center to share TPS knowledge with North American manufacturing companies and other organizations that have a true desire to learn and adopt TPS.  In 2011, TSSC became a not-for-profit in order to share its know-how more broadly to nonprofits and other community organizations.  Since its inception, 189 companies and organizations have used TSSC's services.  TSSC's team is comprised of team members from Toyota manufacturing affiliates in North America and from TEMA headquarters in Erlanger, Ky.

Courtesy of Sacremento Bee

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/23/4932032/toyota-boosts-home-reconstruction.ht...

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/23/4932032/toyota-boosts-home-reconstruction.ht...

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/23/4932032/toyota-boosts-home-reconstruction.ht...

Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Great Car Battery Maintenance Tips

Owning jumper cables is like owning a truck. When you own a truck, people seem to cozy up to you when they are moving. When you own jumper cables, you're suddenly like Batman but for dead batteries. You might as well give your friends a Jumper Cables Signal that they can point at the cloudy sky in times of crisis. With great power comes great responsibility, I guess. (And now I am mixing metaphors.)

Car batteries are full of toxic chemicals and have to be dealt with specially when they die. The green thing to do is to squeeze as much life out of them as possible and decrease the overall amount of batteries that you are going to need in your lifetime. Here are some tips for that.

1. Park in a Garage

A thoroughly insulated garage will keep your battery warm in the winter. Skip heated garages. They will rust your car.

2. Keep Your Battery Clean

Remove the clamps and clean away grease, dirt and oxidation. A filthy battery connection will weaken the charge.

3.Insulate Your Car Battery

If you don't have an insulated garage, you can always insulate the battery. It's a cheap way to protect the battery.

4. Recharge it with Solar

You can purchase an inexpensive solar charger for your car battery. The charger refills your battery's charge with solar energy. Combo this device with a monitor so you don't overcharge the battery.

5. Add Distilled Water

If you're stretching the life of a conventional battery, you may have to add some water to it. Here is how this is done.

6. Secure the Battery

If your battery is jiggling around, it could tip over. A loose battery bashing against other parts of your engine is bad. Battery acid spilling all over your motor is also bad. Keep the battery tray clean. Make sure the battery sits correctly.

Courtesy of How Stuff Works

Toyota Presents: The Tundra Endeavour - Overbuilt

Mission Accomplished! Watch what went in to the successful Endeavor tow. Hint: It's overbuilt engineering.

Toyota Tundra Makes History Towing Space Icon

A Toyota Tundra half-ton pickup truck without any special modifications successfully towed the space shuttle Endeavour and custom-built dolly -- a combined weight of nearly 300,000 pounds -- across a bridge spanning the nation’s busiest freeway on Friday night, Oct. 12. The tow was a result of a 20-year partnership between Toyota and the California Science Center to raise awareness of the space program and continue public education through exhibits and events.

The shuttle’s 12-mile route over city streets to its new home at the California Science Center includes one passage over the 405 Freeway. The Tundra assisted in the transport of the Endeavour as it journeyed over the Manchester Boulevard Bridge—an area that required a lighter tow mechanism than other portions of the route for weight distribution purposes. Toyota did extensive testing and worked with the Sarens Group, a heavy lifting and engineering transport company, to develop a dolly to move the Endeavour over the bridge.

“We’ve partnered with the California Science Center since the early '90s as part of our ongoing commitment to inspiring youth in the fields of engineering, innovation and future technology, and we are honored to lend our support for this historic event,” said Michael Rouse, vice president of community affairs and philanthropy for Toyota.

The model selected was a stock 2012 Tundra CrewMax 4x4 with Toyota’s 5.7-liter iForce V8, producing 381 horsepower. All Tundra trucks are produced exclusively at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas in San Antonio. The truck used to tow the Endeavour was purchased from a Southern California Toyota dealer, with no modifications or special equipment added for the tow.

The Tundra was piloted by longtime Toyota professional driver Matt McBride. Riding along was Garrett Reisman, one of the astronauts aboard the orbiter when it traveled to the International Space Station in 2008. From start to finish, it took about five minutes to cross the bridge.

“I’m honored to be part of the space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission to the California Science Center,” said Garrett Reisman, an engineer and former NASA astronaut. “I appreciate Toyota’s support in helping bring this space icon home to the Southern California community.”

The Science Center has a popular working exhibit utilizing a Tundra that demonstrates the physics of leverage. The Tundra used to tow the shuttle will replace the existing truck when the Endeavour exhibit opens on Oct. 30, 2012.

Courtesy of Toyota

Your Monday Maintenance Tip: 9 Ways to Increase Gas Mileage

Improving fuel economy not only saves drivers money, it also benefits the environment by releasing fewer emissions into the air and reduces a nation's dependence on oil and oil imports. Reducing the amount of driving we do - by carpooling, using public transportation and combining trips - has the greatest effect on how much gas each person uses. That said, there are many ways to improve fuel economy when we do drive. These primarily involve driving more efficiently and making sure our cars are properly maintained.

Drive More Efficiently

Our driving habits have a significant impact on fuel efficiency:

1. Go Easy on the Pedals
Speeding, braking and rapid acceleration waste gas. Depending on the type of vehicle, poor driving habits can negatively affect fuel economy between 5% and 33%. Based on the current national average of $3.12 per gallon (for regular gasoline), driving sensibly, and not like a race car driver, can lead to an equivalent gas savings of between 16 cents and $1.03 per gallon.

2. Slow Down
Gas mileage decreases above 60 miles per hour. According to fueleconomy.gov, for every five miles per hour that exceeds 60 mph, drivers pay an equivalent of about 24 cents more for each gallon of gas. While each vehicle has its own optimal speed for fuel efficiency, speeding can result in 7% to 23% reduced fuel economy. Driving at slower speeds can save 21 to 71 cents per gallon.

3. Leave Extras at Home
An additional 100 pounds in your car can reduce gas mileage by up to 2%. The reduction is relative to the vehicle's weight: Smaller vehicles are more affected by increased weight than larger ones. For every 100 pounds in extra weight, plan on spending up to 6 cents more per gallon.

4. Use Cruise Control (When Appropriate)
According to Edmunds.com, using cruise control under appropriate conditions (avoiding use during especially hilly terrain) can improve fuel economy by up to 14%. That's a savings of about 43 cents per gallon.

5. Turn off the Car
Idling gets zero miles per gallon and collectively consumes several billion gallons of fuel per year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The California Energy Commission (CEC) advises that vehicles should be turned off if the expected wait will be longer than 10 seconds, since an idling vehicle can burn as much as one gallon of gas each hour. Turning the car off can save about 5 cents per minute.

6. Check Tire Pressure
A little bit of vehicle maintenance can go a long way in improving gas mileage. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 1.25 billion gallons of gasoline - approximately 1% of total consumption - are wasted each year on underinflated tires. Tires can lose about 2 pounds per square inch (psi) per month. Each tire that is underinflated by 10 psi reduces fuel economy by about 3.3%. Four tires that are underinflated by 10 psi, then, would reduce a vehicle's fuel economy by a substantial 10% at an added cost of 31 cents per gallon.

Follow the guidelines in your vehicle's owner's manual (these recommendations also appear on a sticker inside the driver's side door jamb) - and not what is stamped onto the tire itself.

7. Replace Spark Plugs
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence indicates that bad spark plugs can decrease fuel economy by up to 30%, and can cost drivers up to about 94 cents per gallon at today's prices. If a car's gas mileage suddenly drops, there's a good chance it's because of misfiring spark plugs.

8. Check Alignment
Misaligned tires drag instead of roll freely. Improper alignment can reduce fuel efficiency by as much as 10% - about 31 cents per gallon. In addition, the tires can wear out more quickly. Tires that are out of balance (symptom: vibration in the steering wheel) can cause uneven tire wear, which can result in lower gas mileage. Tires should be balanced and rotated according to the vehicle's owner's manual to improve tire performance and fuel economy.

9. Fill Your Tank Early in the Morning - or Late at Night
Fuel is dispensed by volume. If you fill your tank when it is coolest outside - early in the morning or late at night, and avoid the heat of the day - the fuel will be more dense. As a result, you will get more gas for the same amount of money.

Good for You, Good for the Environment
Reducing the amount of driving we do, whether it's by carpooling or foregoing an unnecessary trip, is perhaps the most effective way to decrease the amount of gas that each person uses and make fill-ups at the gas station last longer. Proactive steps can be taken to improve fuel efficiency by paying attention to and changing gas-guzzling driving habits, and following a vehicle's maintenance schedule. Improved gas mileage is good for you, good for your car and good for the environment.

Toyota Presents: The Tundra Endeavour - Born in America

Designed and assembled in America, the Toyota Tundra is more than ready to pull the Space Shuttle Endeavour on it's final journey. Follow the journey: http://www.toyota.com/TundraEndeavour

Toyota sets new record for fastest EV

Toyota Motorsport has done it again. The automaker recently beat its own record for the fastest lap set by an electric vehicle at Germany’s Nürburgring.

The EV P002, driven by Jochen Krumbach, made it around the track in 7 minutes, 22.329 seconds — 25 seconds faster than the same 469-horsepower model’s previous record, set in August 2011.

Audi’s 375-horsepower R8 E-Tron set a record in June for the fastest lap around the Nürburgring track by a series production electric vehicle, at 8 minutes, 9.099 seconds.

The EV P002 still runs on a 42-kWh battery and gets about 161 miles per hour, but was simply driven faster than it was last year. Watch the video below for a view from the driver’s seat:

 

Courtesy of Smart Planet

Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Winter Tips To Keep You Content

Perhaps the first frosts have already coated your windshield, forcing you to dig out the scraper. As you adjust to the coming chill, give a thought to your ride, and check out these nine tips that will keep your car rolling smoothly through winter’s challenges.

---

We’re assuming you've covered the basics (such as the scraper!) and are up-to-date on your car’s regular scheduled service. Don't postpone that -- an annoyance in summer can be a hazard that strands you in the winter.

 

Don't make compost in your car

As you tackle fall's bounty on your lawn, leave some energy for removing the leaves that find their way into your vehicle.

Leaves, twigs and other organic matter can cause havoc with gutters on your house -- and the equivalent on your car. When debris builds up in areas of your car where water is supposed to flow out, you can get leaks or corrosion.

The air plenum near the windshield is a classic spot where this can happen.

If you have a sunroof, open it up and poke around in there, too. Sunroofs have drains that flow water that sneaks past the seals down to the ground. Leaf gunk in there can make for wet headliners or worse.

Less common, but more problematic: Animals may make nests in the engine compartment or airbox. You may need a mechanic and an animal trapper to fully solve this problem

 

Consider winter tires

So-called "all-season" tires have been on the market for decades. Coupled with front-wheel-drive and anti-skid systems, they have allowed many folks to avoid mounting a true snow tire for the winter months. But there are two trends in tires you should be aware of:

1) Styling priorities have led to manufacturers fitting wider, low-profile tires on a variety of cars. Wide and low profile, on balance, makes a tire worse in the snow. Pressures to improve tire fuel economy have also worked against the snow utility of all-seasons.

2) Winter tires have improved their behavior from the era of knobby snow tires. New tread patterns and rubber compounds make them quieter on dry roads, yet even more effective on frozen stuff.

If you choose to go with winter tires, note that vendors such as The Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct offer packages with the tires already mounted on a new set of wheels. Switching the entire wheel for the winter is more cost-effective than having two sets of tires mounted on your existing wheels twice a year.

 

Wipers for winter

Fog, snow and rain will cut down your visibility in winter.

Check your wiper blades, which have a lifespan of about a year. If your car doesn’t have the newer "beam blade" style wipers, consider a pair, especially for the winter months. The beam style blades don't have an external spring to freeze up.

When snow or other freezing precipitation threaten, pop your wipers up when you park so they're not touching the windshield. This little trick will make it easier to scrape your windshield and reduce the chance that you burn out the wiper motor by having them turn on while the blades are frozen in place.

 

Is your battery juiced?

Winter puts more stress on your battery, particularly if you park your car outdoors.

Avoid the sinking feeling of hearing nothing when you hit the ignition with a proactive check of your battery and charging system now. Repair shops don't usually charge very much to load-test your battery, and some car-parts stores will do it for free.

If you find out your battery's going south, you can replace it at your convenience, instead of being at the mercy of whomever your dead car’s been towed to. Note that some big-box stores such as Costco offer a good price on batteries for those of you willing to change one yourself (not usually all that hard, though batteries are heavy.) This is many people’s first thought when it comes to winter car care. "Flush and fill" promotional signs abound at service stations as the weather cools.

But chances are good your engine coolant (a better name for it) is just fine for the winter ahead. If you’ve followed your car’s service schedule regularly, give this pitch a pass. Most newer cars have been fitted with coolants that can last as long as five years or 150,000 miles. Read your owner's manual.

If you’ve missed a service interval or have another reason to doubt your coolant, go ahead and have it "flushed and filled." Just make sure your mechanic uses a compatible coolant to refill your car. Some coolants, such as Prestone's Extended Life, work for any car.

If your car has moved to a much colder climate and you’re concerned that your coolant might not be up to the deep freeze, you can check its effectiveness with a simple, under-$10 tester from the car-parts store.

Check your tire pressure

Here are two good reasons to get down there with the gauge and unscrew the valve caps as the weather cools:

1) Tires lose a pound of pressure for every drop of 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) An underinflated tire won't "bite" through snow down to the pavement as well as one at pressure. It's similar to hydroplaning on water -- and just as dangerous.

Don’t forget to put the valve caps back on when you're done. Letting in moisture, which then freezes, could let the valve core leak out air.

 

Survival kit (of some sort)

Everyone should have a space blanket in the car, tucked in the glove compartment or some other storage space in reach of the driver.

The most complete survival kit in the world won’t do a bit of good if you're upside down in a car you can’t get out of and the kit’s in the trunk.

The shiny space blanket's ability to keep you warm could be a lifesaver -- and it takes up virtually no space and costs less than $10.

Next things we’d add:

•Whistle
•Plastic bag for gathering snow for water
•Plumber's candle & lighter
•Single-edged razor blade (cut up your upholstery for insulation)
•Empty metal soup can (for melting snow with the candle)

You can -- and perhaps should -- keep going (some people suggest packing a wordy novel). The more rural and remote your roads, the more you’ll want.

Wax your lights

Okay, we admit it's a little detail, but in winter’s gloom and short days, every last lumen you can squeeze out of your headlamps is going to improve your safety.

Here's an easy two-minute drill: Make sure the headlamps are clean of dirt, rub car wax (any type will do) on the lamps, let it dry and buff it off. And then apply a second coat. For bonus points, do the taillights.

The slippery surface you leave behind will be less likely to build up an "icicle" coat when road slush refreezes on your car -- and will make it easier to remove it if it does.

Courtesy of Kiplinger

Toyota supports Hiring Our Heroes

Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer has joined Toyota and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in supporting Hiring Our Heroes, a program aimed at giving veterans and military spouses the personal branding tools needed to transition into jobs in civilian life

Toyota's ultimate smartphone accessory: a mini-car

Toyota is demonstrating a new single-seater concept car at this year's Ceatec electronics show that works as a giant extension of the driver's smartphone.

The company's "Smart INSECT" vehicle has a pad in its dashboard for mobile handsets, from which it syncs online services while also providing wireless charging. It is billing the electric car as a networked device that will support users on the road much the way their phones do when they are on foot.

The INSECT, whose name stands for "Information Network Social Electricity City Transporter," is packed with features now commonly found on phones and tablets. As a potential driver approaches its front, the car uses facial recognition to identify them, and the individual can then use voice and gesture controls to make queries or open the door and trunk.

Toyota's concept can communicate with its driver's home while on the road, checking whether the front door is locked or the settings of the air conditioning. The car has a large LCD display above the steering wheel that also shows information from the smartphone it is synced to.

"This car is based on the concept of connecting people, cars, and homes. It was developed by an IT engineer and has technologies such as telematics built in," said Yuji Amano, a group manager at Toyota.

The car links into to the "Toyota Smart Center," a platform that connects electric and hybrid cars with buildings and power companies, with the goal of making everything more efficient.

By accessing users' smartphones, Toyota will also gain access to information about its customers beyond their driving habits.

"The car uses data gathered from customers' actions to predict what they will do and suggest information to them," said Amano.

"One example might be in navigation, where the system uses what the user has done so far to suggest a destination."

Another example is advertising. In a demonstration, the INSECT takes a young woman to her favorite convenience store, then suggests a new snack that has recently gone on sale.

The car is based on Toyota's Coms personal electric vehicle, which sells in Japan for about $9,000. The Coms can reach speeds of 60 kilometers per hour, and can drive for about 50 kilometers on a six-hour charge.

The Ceatec show, Japan's largest consumer electronics exhibition, runs in Makuhari, just outside of Tokyo from Tuesday through Thursday.

 

Courtesy of Comptuer World

Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Windshield Wipers

Ah, windshield wipers. Like so many indispensable things in life, we tend not to appreciate them until they’re gone. But what if all drivers had a basic understanding of the wonderful world of wipers, enabling them to identify problems early and choose replacements wisely? We like that idea. Accordingly, we’ve put together a crash course that should bring your knowledge up to speed. Your automotive windows to the world require dependable wipers, so let’s learn more about these unsung heroes.
 

Wiper Maintenance
The most important thing you can do for your current wipers is check their performance on a regular basis. Are they skipping or squeaking and leaving streaks on the windshield? Do you consistently notice rivulets that evade their sweep? Do they leave a film of moisture on the glass instead of wiping it clean and clear? If so, try cleaning the blades with a shop towel or sponge, and see if that helps. Remember, all it takes is one rainstorm or blizzard to turn worn-down wipers into serious safety hazards. You need to be able to depend on your wipers in the worst conditions, and that starts with being mindful of how they’re working every time you switch them on. By the way, don’t forget about your rear wiper, if you have one; it’s there for a reason, and it can be just as important as the ones in front.

 

Now, suppose you live in a temperate climate with little precipitation—or perhaps there are lingering signs of the dry season. You should still perform periodic inspections of your wiper blades, regardless of the weather. Is the rubber deteriorating? Can you see spidery cracks forming on the surface? If so, test your wipers immediately by spraying windshield-washer fluid and wiping it off, following the guidelines above for evaluating their performance. Even if your blades look great, it’s not a bad idea to do the spray-and-wipe test every week or two. You don’t want to wait for your wipers to go to pot before replacing them, so stay ahead of the curve and monitor their status year-round.

 

Buying New Wipers
Fortunately, wipers generally aren’t very expensive, so the “Better safe than sorry” approach won’t hurt your wallet here. As such, we recommend replacing your wipers if you have any reason to believe that they’re not up to snuff. Here are some general guidelines for the wiper-shopping process.

 

The first rule is to buy the entire assemblies, not just the blades themselves. Yes, it’s typically possible to keep your old assemblies, yank out the old blades, and shoehorn in new ones—and you don’t want to do that. Like we said, wipers are pretty affordable, so do your car a favor and start with a fresh set. We should add that there’s a new one-piece wiper design called “beam blade” that seamlessly integrates assembly and blade, so if you’ve got that kind, blade-only replacement isn’t even an option.

 

Second, make sure you’re getting the correct wiper specification for your car. Like most auto parts, wipers come in different shapes and sizes. It may sound trivial, but we’ve heard stories of mismatched wipers flying off their mounts at the worst possible time. Although your mechanic or auto-parts advisor should know what your car needs, it’s always a good idea to consult your owner’s manual as well, just to be safe.

 

Finally, don’t skimp on quality. Generic-brand wipers are cheaper, of course, but they can wear out in as little as a month or two of consistent use. If your manufacturer recommends a particular brand—German automakers often prefer Bosch wipers, for example—we say go for it. Otherwise, ask your trusted mechanic who knows your make and model inside and out. Don’t pay later to replace cheap wipers; pay now for a high-quality set, and you’ll reap the benefits down the road.

 

Courtesy of DriverSide.com