Filed under: Crossover , Toyota Before, there was just one Toyota Venza . Oh sure, you could boost the equipment and outfitting by ordering option packages, but since its launch, the Venza has not carried a suffix. For 2012, Toyota is changing its strategy and now there are Venza LE, XLE and Limited trim levels for buyers to choose between. The LE starts it off, and it gets cushier and better-equipped from there with the XLE and Limited, though even in the base model, you won’t find a Venza without a six-disc changer, Bluetooth, and USB and auxiliary input. The top-dog Limited is a leather-lined, V6-powered box of rock thanks to a JBL Synthesis surround-sound audio system. Navigation, panorama roof, automatic high-beams are some other highlights. In between, the XLE covers the middle ground with a whole bunch of optional choices. The changes add a new bit of shorthand to the Venza that makes it easy to pick out the sybarites from the skinflints. Toyota thinks the move brings the Venza in line with its other products and makes choosing more convenient for buyers. The full press release is after the jump .
Filed under Audi, Blue, Car Buying News & Tips, Crossovers, ES, Fit, GS, IS, ISC, LS, O'Brien, Red, SC, TL, Toyota, Venza · Tagged with 2012 toyota venza, equipment, fit, limited, makes-it-easy, red, thinks-the-move, Toyota, toyota venza, toyota venza le, toyota venza xle
Filed under: Budget , Hatchback , Toyota , UK , Diesel Toyota Yaris hatchback UK – Click above for high-res image gallery Toyota UK has dropped the curtain on its new Yaris . The subcompact hatch – likely identical to the 2012 Yaris arriving in the States this fall – benefits from a more dynamic design and additional standard equipment on all but its entry-level model. All UK-bound Yaris models, ‘cept for the T2 base version, feature a new Toyota “affordable multimedia connectivity” system called Touch and Go. Over in the UK, the Yaris is offered in four trims: T2, TR, SR and T Spirit. Toyota says the “heart of the range” is the mid-level TR, which is expected to command two thirds of sales. The TR can be ordered up with any of the three available engines (1.0-liter VVT-i, 1.3-liter Dual VVT-i and 1.4-liter D-4D) and a choice of three transmissions (five-speed manual, six-speed manual and Toyota’s Multidrive S CVT) in both three and five-door bodystyles. Key features of the TR include 15-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, stability control, Bluetooth and a rear-mounted parking camera. The three available engines start with the base 1.0-liter VVT-i gasser with 68 horsepower. Moving up, there’s the 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i gasoline engine with 98 hp. Finally, the 1.4-liter D-4D diesel engine cranks out 89 hp and 151 pound-feet of torque.
Filed under Blue, Car Buying News & Tips, ES, Fit, GS, Green, IS, LS, O'Brien, Red, TL, Toyota, Yaris · Tagged with america, base, gasoline-engine, imperial-gallon, spirit-toyota, states, Toyota, toyota-yaris, yaris
Filed under: Japan , Honda , Nissan , Toyota , Earnings/Financials Nissan , Japan’s second-largest automaker, apparently believes it has a more talented executive staff than Toyota or Honda . According to company CEO Carlos Ghosn, Nissan delivers its shareholders “the best performance possible with the best talent.” Talent like that deserves to be rewarded, and Nissan is happy to put its money where its mouth is. According to Bloomberg , Nissan, the second-largest automaker in Japan, pays its executive staff at least double that of Japanese rivals Toyota and Honda. Here are the numbers: Toyota paid an average of 41 million yen ($513,279) per executive, plus bonuses of 13 million each. Honda paid an average of 31 million yen ($388,089) per executive, plus bonuses of 15 million yen each. Nissan paid an average of 186.4 million yen ($2.3 million) per executive, which doesn’t include a total of 194 million yen of share appreciation rights divided up amongst the top seven execs. Ghosn earned more money than any other Japanese CEO (at least among companies that report such figures) with a total of 891 million yen, which translates at current exchange rates to a $11.1 million. A heap of cash to be sure, but still shy of the $27 million Alan Mulally , America’s top-paid auto executive, made last year, not including uncashed stock option bonuses . While it could be argued that Nissan’s execs deserve such compensation – the company posted a net income of 31 billion yen for the first three months of the year while Toyota posted a loss – the pay scale actually appears to follow a similar format as previous years . Nissan bigwigs paid twice as much as Honda, Toyota counterparts originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:58:00 EST.
Filed under Blue, Car Buying News & Tips, ES, GS, Honda, IS, ISC, LS, Nissan, O'Brien, RL, Red, SC, TL, Toyota · Tagged with amongst-the-top, carlos-ghosn, executive pay, executive-staff, ghosn, Honda, japanese, million-yen, nissan, nissan salary, staff-at-least, Toyota
September 8, 2010 by yago ·
Ah, liberty. It’s what makes this country great. Go anywhere you want, do anything you want and no one will bother you as long as you don’t bother them. That’s liberty, friends, and its appeal is such that a statue devoted to it greets visitors to New York. So it is a shame that its [...]
Filed under Blue, Family Sedans, Featured Vehicles, Jeep, Luxury, O'Brien, Premium / Performance, Sport Utility, Vehicle Color, Vehicle Make, Vehicle Model, Vehicle Type, Wagon · Tagged with 2010 Jeep Liberty Sport 4X4, acura of seattle, dodge, kirkland, redmond, Scion, seattle, Toyota
September 1, 2010 by yago ·
The 2008 Scion xB is a tech-laden bargain wagon with a nice standard iPod interface among its many cabin electronics, plenty of space inside, and an easy-to-drive nature. The new xB offers a broad array of cabin electronics as options, in direct contrast to the entry-level-only original version, which offered an auxiliary audio input as [...]
Filed under $15k-$20k, Blue, Compacts, Featured Vehicles, O'Brien, Scion, Scion xB, Sport Utility, Vehicle Color, Vehicle Make, Vehicle Model, Vehicle Price, Vehicle Type · Tagged with 2008 Scion xB, obrien scion dealer
