1985 Toyota Gt-s (with Front End Damage) on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Automakers talk connected cars, Toyota's CNG hauler

Tesla, Toyota and General Motors addressed the House Subcommittee on Information Technology about the security and benefits of "The Internet of Cars." Tesla put forth four suggested security principles for the security of connected cars. Those include standard cryptography ("signing") used by automakers, measures to prohibit direct connection over the internet, isolation of a car's networked systems from its mechanical systems and standard encrypted communications protocols. Tesla VP of Business Development Diarmuid O'Connell also urged against "overly restrictive regulation." O'Connell says, "Regulation at a time of rapid innovation runs the risk of limiting the realization of the full extent of safety advances." See the hearing in the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Details over the rollout of new DC fast chargers by NRG eVgo and BMW leave some i3 owners disappointed. The partners will add 500 fast-charging sites to the eVgo network in 25 cities by the end of 2015. The "Fast Combo" chargers will be available to use for free for BMW i3 customers for 24 months. The free charging only applies to new buyers, though, leaving behind some 15,000 current i3 owners. Still, many EV drivers – not just BMW owners – will benefit from the ability to charge quickly in more places. Read more at Green Car Reports. Toyota has announced its first CNG car hauler. The automaker's in-house transport company, Toyota Transport, will operate the truck out of Long Beach, California. The truck, which Toyota says emits 85 percent less particulate matter and 10 percent less CO2, will drive about 7,000 to 8,000 miles per month. "We started exploring the CNG option more than three years ago, and it has been worth the wait," say Toyota Transport Compliance Senior Analyst Kirk Welch. "Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and will help Toyota advance our environmental efforts to reduce fleet emissions." Read more in the press release below. Making Your New Toyota Run Cleaner Before You Even Start It Toyota's Latest Car Hauler Runs on Compressed Natural Gas November 23, 2015 TORRANCE, Calif. (Nov. 23, 2015) – Toyota Transport, the automaker's in-house vehicle transportation trucking company, now has its first car hauler that runs on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The Long Beach, CA based truck/trailer does what any other car hauler can do, except it does it while emitting 85 percent less overall particulate matter and 10 percent less carbon dioxide.

Japanese earthquakes send ripples through auto industry

The earthquakes since April 14 in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu are having aftershocks on the US auto industry, particularly for Toyota. The company shut down most of its factories in the country due to parts shortages, and the plants will be closed at least through April 23. "Decisions regarding recommencement of operation at plants in Japan will be made on the basis of availability of parts," the company said in a statement. According to Automotive News, Toyota's closed factories include a vast range of popular models in the US, including the Toyota Prius, Mirai, RAV4, 4Runner, Land Cruiser, Lexus ES, LS, IS, GS, RC, NX, RX, GX, and LX. The company's only sites in Japan that are still open build Hino trucks, Daihatsu models, and the Toyota Century limo. Toyota isn't yet sure whether these shutdowns could lead to vehicle shortages in the US. "As you can imagine, we are still reviewing the situation and working to learn more," company spokesperson Aaron Fowles told Autoblog. "While we know that production will be suspended in stages at most of our vehicle assembly facilities in Japan between April 18th and the 23rd, we do not know if they will continue production suspensions. Also, any effects to our inventory and/or sales have yet to be determined." He expects the automaker to know more in the coming days. Many of the affected Toyota plants aren't even in Kumamoto Prefecture, but major suppliers have factories in the region. For example, Aisin Seiki and Renesas Electronics both had to shutdown operations at plants in the area, according to Automotive News. Toyota isn't the only automaker affected. Nissan experienced a brief slowdown but was back to work on Monday, and Honda has suspended a motorcycle plant in the region until Friday. Mitsubishi had to close a production line due to the parts shortage, according to The Japan Times, but it didn't affect US models. "A supplier to our Mizushima plant has been impacted but they only supply an engine part for our mini car line. That line has been temporarily shut down due to that situation," spokesperson Alex Fedorak told Autoblog. "That same plant builds the Lancer and i-MiEv and there has been no impact to that line and production continues uninterrupted." Two major quakes hit Kumamoto Prefecture around Kumamoto city in the past week. The first on April 14 measured 6.4 magnitude, and a second on April 16 measured 7.3.

2014 Toyota Tundra to debut at Chicago Auto Show

The fullsize pickup market is dominated by trucks from Ford, General Motors and Ram, but this segment could get some hefty competition in coming years. We've already reported that Nissan is planning a redesign of its Titan truck for 2015, and now Toyota has announced that it will be revealing the 2014 Tundra next month at the Chicago Auto Show.
In the brief press release posted below, Toyota says that the 2014 Tundra will be "redesigned," but it's unclear as to whether this means we'll be seeing an all-new truck or just an extensive refresh. The current Tundra design has been around since 2007 and sales are hardly worrisome to the Big Three, so a new design would be a logical guess.
In any case, we only have to wait a couple more weeks for the new Tundra to debut on February 7, and we'll be on hand to bring you plenty of live coverage from the show.