2008 Toyota Tundra Sr5 Extended Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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Toyota Tacoma helps stand up to your girlfriend, mimes, magicians and the Grim Reaper

It takes a lot to get a product noticed in today's fast-paced world, but one avenue that's always seemed to grab the eyeballs of consumers has been humor. Toyota knows this rule well, and has put together a quartet of spots called "Tacoma Wins," in which the midsize pickup's features and specifications best a number of seemingly worthy competitors.
Whether it be sobbing girlfriends, a circus magician, a grim reaper or the scariest thing of all, a mime, the Tacoma looks well equipped to deal with it. Take a look below for all four of Toyota's newest spots.

Toyota casts off in Ponam-31 motor yacht [w/video]

Some Japanese automakers focus purely on cars, while others dabble in all sorts of motorized transportation. Honda, for example, makes everything from motorbikes to jet aircraft. But while Toyota may be known principally for automobiles, it also makes a line of boats. And this is the latest.
The new Toyota Ponam-31 motor yacht is built around an aluminum hull with a flybridge and cockpit rear deck layout, similar to the Carver 32 on which this writer spent his childhood summers. It measures 31 feet overall and is powered by a pair of 3.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engines derived from the Land Cruiser Prado (known in these parts as the Lexus GX 460) but marinized for nautical application. Toyota has even equipped its new Sports Utility Cruiser with such features as Drive Assist and a Virtual Anchor System.
Toyota expects to sell around 15 units of the Ponam-31 through its network of 49 dealers across Japan, with prices starting at 29,700,000 yen (about $27,500 at today's conversion rates). Scroll down below for a video, along with a press release, meant to show potential customers what's waiting for them.

NHTSA opens safety investigations into Toyota, GM and Honda crossovers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is evidently keeping itself very busy these days, as the federal agency has just announced it is launching or renewing investigations into Toyota, Honda and General Motors crossovers.
2006-2008 model year Toyota RAV4 crossovers are under review for allegations of rear tie-rod rust which can result in failure. NHTSA also said it is probing some 35 complaints about 2005 Honda Pilot models with inappropriate activation of the vehicles' stability control system. The alleged malfunction can cause the vehicles to slow down or stop in bad unsafe situations. At the moment, NHTSA is reviewing a petition regarding the Pilot issue, a move that will determine whether it needs to open a full-blown investigation.
In addition, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia three-row crossovers built in 2007-2009 are getting looked at for "loss of low beam headlamp" function. One complainant said the wiring in his Outlook overheated and melted. NHTSA says it has received 415 complaints about the problem and a GM spokesman confirmed that the automaker already started a "Customer Satisfaction Program" in December to address the issue.