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Toyota launches Pixis Space; first kei cars are Daihatsus in drag

Toyota has announced that it will unveil its first-ever kei car to be sold under its recently launched Pixis sub-brand. The vehicle, called the Pixis Space, will make its official debut in late September. Based on the Daihatsu Move Conte, the Pixis Space will be sold at Toyota dealerships through what the automakers calls "Pixis stations." Yes, seriously.
After Toyota's version of the Daihatsu Move Conte makes its debut, the Japanese automaker will launch a Pixis-badged Daihatsu Hijet truck and microvan in December. By the end of 2012, Toyota says it will launch a Pixis version of the upcoming Daihatsu e:S - a vehicle that returns 70.6 miles per gallon (U.S.) as measured under Japan's JC08 test cycle.
In case you weren't aware, Daihatsu - Japan's oldest manufacturer of automobiles - operates under the control of Toyota. In other words, these Pixis machines are simply badge engineering at the kei level.

Honda Accord barely edges Toyota Prius as California's best-selling car

The Toyota Prius definitely still matters, at least to car buyers in California. The long-lived hybrid was the state's second-bestselling vehicle in 2014 by moving 71,210 units across all of its variants, including the Prius C. The Toyota was the leader there in 2012 and 2013 but lost the sales crown this time – just barely – to the Honda Accord, which sold 71,578 examples. The results in the Golden State illustrate just how different the auto market there is compared to the rest of the country. Prius sales slumped last year nationwide with a drop of 11.5 percent to 207,372 examples sold. However, according to the LA Times, the model's numbers ticked up two percent in California in 2014. Taken by itself, the standard hatchback model would have been the sixth-bestseller there, with 39,036 units purchased. While the Toyota showed modest growth, it wasn't enough to fend off the Accord's 17 percent year-over-year jump in the state, though. According to the Los Angeles Times, the rest of the California top ten included the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Corolla, Ford F-Series, CR-V, Nissan Altima, Sentra and Chevrolet Silverado, respectively. That list was quite a departure from the nationwide bestsellers in 2014, which was led by the F-Series, Silverado and Ram pickups. The Camry was the country's foremost car on the list in fourth place overall to beat the Accord in fifth. The Prius didn't break into the ten biggest sellers in the US last year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 Honda Accord V6 Touring: Review View 42 Photos News Source: LA TimesImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Green Honda Toyota Car Buying Hatchback Hybrid Sedan sales California hybrid sales toyota prius c

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.