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Toyota reports huge quarterly profit increase, raises forecast for the year

Toyota isn't just the world's largest automaker - so far its the biggest winner for quarterly profits. With an enormous $5.5 billion take during Q2, Toyota took advantage of the weak Japanese yen and strong US demand to record a 94-percent improvement in profit over the same period from last year. So far, Toyota brought in larger profits than Ford and General Motors combined.
Toyota is showing no signs of slowing down either, as it has bumped up its forecast for full-year global production, going from 9.94 million to 10.12 million vehicles, on the back of a 13-percent drop in the buying power of the Japanese yen versus the US dollar. That strong exchange rate is largely responsible for Toyota's big jump in profits, although it also managed to shift 1.3 million vehicles in the US market this year. Strong Camry sales have also helped. But while Toyota is raking in the cash, it actually saw a small drop in market share, down 0.1 percent to 14.3 percent of the US market.
As is the case with most automakers, Toyota seems flummoxed by Europe, where it recorded less than one percent of its revenue. Still, as Automotive News points out, Toyota only maintains a 4.5-percent market share in Europe and is far less dependent on the continent than other manufacturers. Toyota also struggled at home, much like Honda. With 525,777 units sold, JDM sales were down almost 51,000 units, although Toyota still saw its operating profit jump from $3.5 billion to $4.6 billion.

Toyota TRD Pro lineup coming next week

A mysterious Toyota commercial recently popped up on YouTube teasing a new TRD Pro lineup for the Tundra, Tacoma and 4Runner, and now we're getting our first official word straight from the automaker on the matter. Courtesy of its Facebook page, Toyota is promising that the TRD Pro models will be introduced on February 6th, ready to "conquer the great outdoors."
This date just so happens to mark the first day of the always-truck-friendly Chicago Auto Show, so while Toyota isn't saying as much, we're almost certain the trucks will show up next week in the Windy City. It's not clear what sort of upgrades TRD Pro brings, but it definitely includes black wheels and a tweaked front end featuring a thick, single-bar grille and bold lettering in place of the stylized Toyota logo (shown above on the Tundra).
Scroll down to see the video, and head over to Toyota's Facebook page to see a teaser image of the 4Runner TRD Pro.

Watch a Camry driver in full road rage

There are vehicles that, fair or not, will forever be associated with jerky drivers. But as this very recent footage from an in-car camera shows, even the most mundane of sedans can be piloted by an ass.
In this video, the driver of one very beige Toyota Camry is driving like a person choked with rage. Though we don't see which (if any) actions by our camera car might have lead up to the tirade, we do see the Camry driver swerving from lane to lane, in multiple attempts to get in front of and brake check the couple in the recording.
According to the text associated with the YouTube video, the offending incident took place last week, on a section of I-880 near Fremont, CA. The uploader has gone so far as to include the date, time and license plate number of the Camry driver, in hopes, we guess, that some kind of legal action can be taken against him. Take a closer look for yourself in the video below.