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Watch Congress sample Toyota's i-Road 3-wheeler concept

Toyota brought its new i-Road, a three-wheeled, all-electric low-speed vehicle that debuted in 2013 at the Geneva Motor Show, to the Capitol for some of our elected officials to test out. As easy as it is to forget that politicians are people, too, it was refreshing to see a human side to many of them as they zipped about one of the Capitol's many meeting rooms.
We'd say their reactions were surprisingly positive. Of course, some were just down there because Toyota is a big presence in their respective districts, but the bulk of the senators and representatives seemed like they just wanted to zip about the makeshift indoor course on the leaning trike.
Take a look below at the video from Bloomberg.

Mazda CX-5 named Japan's Car of The Year, Subaru BR-Z wins "Special Award"

The Mazda CX-5 stamped its Kodo design and SkyActiv technology authority all over the Japan Car of the Year awards, taking the top prize ahead of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86. It is Mazda's second victory in the last ten years, the 2005 MX-5 claiming the same trophy, and the fourth time the Hiroshima company has won.
The award is decided by 60 local "automotive experts and journalists," and open to any passenger car released in Japan from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012 that has sold more than 500 units. Each judge gets 25 votes, his or her top vote getting 10 points, the rest of the points being spread among the judge's choice for the next best four cars.
The second-place getters were the Toyobaru twins with 318 votes, the surprise being they didn't beat or get any closer to the crossover. The Subaru BRZ did claw some mojo back, earning the Special Award given to cars that have made "an exceptional impact." The BMW 3 Series was third overall and won the Import Car of the Year award with plenty of room between it and the second place Range Rover Evoque.

Honda, Hyundai top car residual value / depreciation awards list

J.D. Power announced its 2022 U.S. ALG Residual Value awards Thursday, with Honda and Hyundai topping the charts at three models apiece in the industry-standard study. The term "residual" is an industry projection of how well a car will hold its resale value three years from the original purchase date – a key metric in calculating lease costs and projecting new-car depreciation.  Award winners included several enthusiast-friendly options, including the BMW 2 Series, Dodge Charger, Subaru WRX, Mercedes-AMG GT and Toyota Tacoma. Even the Ford Bronco was recognized, beating out the Jeep Wrangler in the Off-Road Utility segment. That may seem odd given the car's issue-plagued launch, but scarcity apparently trumps quality control issues over the longer term. Here's a scrolling complete list of winners broken down by segment: “Accurately forecasting residual values in the auto industry is a key factor in assessing an estimated $225 billion lease portfolio of vehicles in the United States,” said ALG VP Eric Lyman in the company's announcement. "The brands and vehicle models that rise to the top demonstrate that they score well across the award programÂ’s criteria, including manufacturersÂ’ superior design and quality." ALG looks at several factors to determine future value, which is especially tricky with new models. For 2022, 16 different brands were recognized across 29 segments. Behind Honda and Hyundai, Audi, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Subaru all managed to chart with two different models. Here's the rundown of those who won in more than one category: Honda Civic Honda Passport Honda Odyssey Hyundai Accent Hyundai Kona Hyundai Kona EV Audi A6 Allroad Audi Q3 Kia K5 Kia Telluride Land Rover Range Rover Velar Land Rover Discovery Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Mercedes-Benz Metris:  Subaru  WRX and  Subaru Forester Toyota Tacoma  Toyota Tundra "The award process consists of evaluating 284 models through analysis of used-vehicle performance, brand outlook and product competitiveness," the announcement said. "Eligibility for a brand award requires a manufacturer to have model entries in at least four different segments. To account for differences across trim levels, model averages are weighted based on percentage share relative to the entire model line."   Audi Honda Hyundai Kia Land Rover Mercedes-Benz Subaru Toyota