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Toyota Aygo, Citro?n C1 to join Peugeot 108 in Geneva

Just the other day, Peugeot took the wraps off the new 108. But its new city car, like the 107 it replaces, doesn't stand on its own. The 107 was a sister vehicle to not only the Citroën C1 but also the Toyota Aygo. So it should come as little surprise that, while Peugeot was the first to release photos and details on its version, Citroën and Toyota will also be on hand with their own versions when the veils lift on all three at the Geneva Motor Show.
We're expecting the new trio of budget-oriented hatchbacks to bear the fruits of individual efforts to distinguish themselves one from another more than their predecessors, which essentially looked the same save for different badges. But from the teaser image above, we'd venture that the Toyota version will be a further departure from the 108 than the C1 will be.
One way or another we'll have to wait and see, but for now you can view Toyota's teaser clip below, along with the press releases confirming the debut of both in Geneva next month.

Shuttle-hauling Tundra finds permanent home in science exhibit

The idea of lifting a full-size pickup truck completely off the ground by hand might seem as likely as, say, said pickup truck towing a 150,000-pound space shuttle, but... hurray, physics! The same Toyota Tundra that towed the Space Shuttle Endeavour to its final resting place at the California Science Center is now on permanent display there as an exhibit that shows how a lever works.
Like all levers, this exhibit uses a fulcrum allowing people other than Superman to lift the 5,625-pound pickup (plus an extra 1,000 pounds for the rig). That's almost as impressive as the Tundra pulling 17 times its rated towing capacity back in October. Regardless, Toyota is once again cashing in on the publicity stunt and visitors to the science center get a live demonstration of a simple machine - we call that a win-win.

Toyota, Daihatsu and Suzuki team up to unbox some fun-size electric kei vans

The G7 Summit is happening in Hiroshima, Japan, right now and some automakers have taken the opportunity to announce new projects. Toyota, their wholly owned subsidiary Daihatsu, and Suzuki (of which Toyota owns about 5%) made news with a trio of electric micro-vans built to kei car specifications. The battery-electric vans are part of an industry-wide push toward carbon neutrality. Kei-class vehicles, in addition to limited displacement gasoline engines, have strict dimensional restrictions that allow them to navigate the often narrow streets in dense urban areas. They're also privilege to certain tax breaks and parking benefits.  [gallery ids="2474953,2474954"] The engine size rules obviously don't apply to the electric vans, but they will still conform to the size boundaries. Kei vans are often used to solve the "last mile" problem in logistics since they're able to whiz around crowded streets inaccessible by larger commercial vehicles.  Daihatsu, which specializes in kei cars, will build the vans and name their variant the HiJet Cargo. The HiJet name has been a consistent one in the company's lineup since 1960, but these new versions will be front-wheel-drive in contrast to the rear-wheel-drive gasoline variants. Toyota's version will be called the Pixis Van, while Suzuki will be named the Every, a nameplate that's been around since 1982. Aside from the badges the vans appear identical. Range is said to be approximately 200km (124 miles) on a single charge.  The exhibition was held in conjunction with the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, which former Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda heads. Toyoda stepped down from the top position at the company his grandfather founded in April, but still takes a overseer role as Chairman. Toyoda was criticized for being slow to adopt EVs, and new CEO Koji Sato has emphasized the role of battery-electrics moving forward while still taking a multi-front approach to carbon neutrality with hydrogen and hybrids. These vans were likely in development before Toyoda's retirement, though.