2005 Toyota Sienna Le Wheelchair / Rampvan 43k Miles - Excellent on 2040-cars

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Toyota i-Road is no less strange in the flesh

We've seen plenty of three-wheeled creations in our day, but none quite like the Toyota i-Road Concept. The "personal mobility vehicle" offers seating for two with driver and passenger positioned in a tandem position. While that may sound more like a motorcycle than a car, the closed cockpit means riders don't need a helmet. The design also takes a page from the 2008 Peugeot HyMotion3 Concept with an articulating front suspension that allows the driver to lean through corners thanks to "Active Lean" self-balancing technology. Unlike the funky Pug, however, the i-Road is a fully electric plug-in vehicle.
While there are just five-horsepower on hand from an electric motor, the i-Road should serve up a range of around 30 miles thanks to its lithium-ion battery, and Toyota claims the cells can be topped off in three hours with a "conventional domestic power supply." Sounds majestic. Take in the full press release below.

Expedition drives from Russia to Canada over North Pole...

No, a Ford Expedition did not drive from Russia to Canada via the North Pole, but that's exactly what a team of intrepid explorers accomplished recently. Using specially-modified buses with massive tires, the group slowly drove 2,485 miles in 70 days over drifting ice, occasionally using a pickaxe to clear a path and staying on guard for chasms that could open up and plunge the team into the frigid arctic waters. Average speeds were about 6 mph, "at the speed of a (farm) tractor." While the big tires technically allowed the buses to float if the need arose, the team preferred to stay out of the water to keep the suspension from getting coated in thick, hard ice. Falling in on foot would mean almost certain death.
According to Phys.org, the buses were powered by Toyota diesel engines, but were built with prototype parts from a previous driving expedition to the North Pole. Right now, the machines are parked in a garage in Canada's Resolute Bay while the the team rests up with family back home. They plan to continue their trek to back across the Bering Straight to Russia. If successful, the team may eventually offer a version of their buses for commercial sale.

Are you the facelifted Toyota Yaris?

As basic transportation goes, there's not a lot to complain about with the Toyota Yaris. The five-door hatch (not to mention its JDM cousin, the Vitz) are due for upgrades, though, having toddled along in its current form since the 2011 model year. Now, we have what looks to be leaked images of the new Yaris, straight from a Japanese brochure.
The next-gen Yaris was previewed in Frankfurt by the Yaris Hybrid-R Concept. Surprisingly, both the standard version and the RS (shown above) share a strong resemblance with the Frankfurt concept. That gaping lower intake remains, while a pointy, sharp front end shares a resemblance with the new Aygo city car (though the Yaris won't have a giant X on its face like its smaller cousin). The lower intake is flanked by a pair of what we're guessing are non-functional grilles, which house the fog lights. There are only a few small images of the rear of the car, which looks more like an evolution of the current five-door hatch.
The interior looks rather racy, with a small, thick-rimmed, leather-wrapped steering wheel and black cloth seats with red contrast stitching. There's a bright red button to the right of the steering wheel on this right-hand-drive JDM model, which could indicate the arrival of pushbutton start. Under hood of this Mazda-built Toyota should be a Mazda Skyactiv engine. That gives us hope that this latest Toyota compact will be imbued with some sense of driving fun.