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Toyota releases teaser for Kaley Cuoco Super Bowl ad

Toyota has released a 35-second teaser video for its upcoming Super Bowl spot staring Kaley Cuoco, the actress best known for her role as object-of-nerd-affection Penny on The Big Bang Theory. The real star of the ad, however, is its soundtrack, the 1995 hit "I Wish" by rapper Skee-Lo that will have your mind cashing nostalgia checks the moment it hits your ears.
We still don't know much about the content, plot or story of this Super Bowl commercial, though we can say that its object of promotion is likely the new RAV4 we see Ms. Cuoco driving in this teaser. The rest of the time she's walking the street in a purple getup granting wishes like Robin Williams on a Disney sound stage. And then the Easter Bunny and a chihuahua enter the picture and we get lost. Clint Eastwood under a bridge this is not.
But hey, Super Bowl ads cost millions and millions of dollars to produce and air, so we trust that Toyota spent its money wisely and will have us ROFLing on game day. Until then, scroll down and witness for yourself the debut of Kaley Cuoco as a Toyota spokeswoman.

Suzuki will road-test EVs in India, start production with Toyota in 2020

NEW DELHI — Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp will start testing prototypes of electric vehicles in India by October, its chairman said on Friday. "We will start road-running tests using a fleet of 50 EV prototype vehicles in India from next month in order to develop safe and easy-to-use EVs for Indian customers," Osamu Suzuki said at the Global Mobility Summit at New Delhi. The company would then launch EVs in India around 2020 in cooperation with Toyota, he added. However, Suzuki said that for EVs to become popular in India, there had to be well-developed charging infrastructure. "In this regard, we look forward to proactive leadership from the Indian government," he said. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a plan to electrify all new vehicles by 2030, a target many experts call ambitious. EVs are expensive due to the high cost of batteries which are still not manufactured in India, and carmakers say a lack of charging stations could make the proposition unviable. Suzuki, parent of India's top-selling automaker, Maruti Suzuki, would start production of lithium-ion batteries for automobiles at its plant in western India from 2020, Suzuki said. India is one of the world's fastest-growing car markets, but EV sales are negligible compared with millions of petrol and diesel cars sold every year. Suzuki said to meet India's environmental challenges, the government would have to look at hybrid and CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles also.Related Video:

Toyota Europe boss says 'reasonable number' of fuel cell vehicles on the way

We know that Toyota is gung-ho about delivering its first hydrogen fuel cell sedan to early-adopter markets like southern California and part of Japan next year. The Japanese automaker's European H2 plans have long been part of the mix, but a new press release shows just how committed Toyota is to hydrogen all around the world. "The volume will be limited, but they will be visible on the streets" – Didier Leroy Toyota says hydrogen fuel cells are a "major, but logical next step" after the company's pioneering work on gas-electric hybrids for 15 years. Didier Leroy, president of Toyota Motor Europe (pictured), said in a statement that he knows there will be H2 hurdles, and so Toyota will start with "a reasonable number of cars" in Europe. "The volume will be limited," he said, "but they will be visible on the streets." Karl Schlicht, Toyota Motor Europe executive vice president, compares Toyota's current hydrogen progress with where the company was with hybrid's in the not-too-distant past. When it comes to infrastructure and cost, he said, "There is of course a long way to go, as with any game-changing technology, but remember the same was said about hybrid only 10 years ago." You can read the full PR below. We don't remember a lot of people saying the infrastructure for hybrids simply wasn't there in 2004, but maybe we missed that memo. TOYOTA EXECUTIVES SET THE SCENE FOR DELIVERING FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY 16/04/14 from Toyota The next era in Toyota's technology development is about to become production reality, with the market introduction next year of the company's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered car. It's a major, but logical next step for the company, as it builds on the success it has achieved with hybrid over the past 15 years. Karl Schlicht, Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Europe, is explicit about Toyota's commitment to hydrogen power and the potential of fuel cell vehicles to deliver on the company's ambitions to develop the ultimate eco-car. He says: "Our unique hybrid history and experience have proven invaluable for the next big leap. Back in 2010, we promised our first fuel cell car for 2015 and we are fully on track to honour our commitment. "Fuel cell is a technology that can secure our concept of personal mobility. That's because fuel cells combine the strengths of EVs (electric vehicles) and hybrids, with those of conventional cars.