Toyota builds giant arcade claw game to sell cars in Japan
October 8, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Budget , Etc. , Japan , Videos , Hatchback , Toyota , Humor There is no greater test of skill and dexterity than an arcade claw game. Open heart surgery? For amateurs. Watch making? Child’s play. Plucking an oddly-shaped stuffed animal from the clutches of its brethren with nothing but three flaccid claws and a joy stick is what it’s all about. Toyota recently tapped into humanity’s bizarre fascination with robotics, oversize stuffed animals and, of course, the claw game in a promotion for the company’s tiny Ractis . Using a scaled-up version of the same game we all know and love, contestants battled for the keys to their very own sub-compact hatch. Alright, so it’s all more than a little weird.
Filed under Car Buying News & Tips, ES, Fit, GS, IS, LS, O'Brien, Red, SC, TL, Toyota · Tagged with apartment, claw arcade game, entry, humor, own-sub-compact, ractis, recently-tapped, red, their-apartment, toyota ractis claw game, toyota-ractis, toyota20ractis
Toyota details plans for October sales growth
October 5, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Toyota , Earnings/Financials Toyota saw another unfortunate month of sales in September. The automaker saw its sales figures fall by 18 percent compared to the same time last year, thanks largely to lower-than-average dealer inventory brought on by this year’s earthquake and tsunami disasters. Toyota sold 121,451 vehicles in the U.S. last month across its three brands. The company moved 147,162 vehicles during the month of September last year. Even so, the automaker says that October will show sales improvements, according to Automotive News . Bob Carter , group vice president of Toyota Motor Sales, said that right now, U.S. dealers have a 30-day supply of vehicles, and that inventory will continue to grow in the coming months. Carter also underscored the fact that his company would reverse a five-month trend of sales losses in October and once again post gains. That’s likely to be true given that the 2012 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid are likely to bring in buyers as well as the company’s Prius V .
Filed under Camry, Camry Hybrid, Car Buying News & Tips, ES, GS, Hybrid, IS, LS, O'Brien, Prius, Red, SC, Scion, TL, Toyota, Yaris · Tagged with 2012 camry, automaker, bob carter, entry, hybrid, Scion, Toyota, Toyota Camry, toyota earnings, toyota-motor, unfortunate, yaris
Toyota to move production of Korean-market Camry to America?
October 5, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Sedan , Japan , Plants/Manufacturing , Toyota , South Korea Toyota is considering moving production of the company’s Korean-market Camry to the United States, according to Reuters . The move would take advantage of the free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea and put Toyota in a better position financially as the yen continues to strengthen. The Korean-market Camry would be built alongside the U.S.-spec Camry in the automaker’s Georgetown , Kentucky facility. Even with word that Toyota is mulling sending production outside of Japan, the company has said that it is still committed to keeping some manufacturing at home. The Toyota Camry has enjoyed substantial success in South Korea, where it remains one of the most popular foreign-built vehicles in the country. Last year, Toyota sold around 4,200 Camry models in the South Korea. That represents a small figure compared to the 203,688 units produced at the Georgetown plant last year, but shifting production to the States could still pay large dividends for Toyota. Toyota to move production of Korean-market Camry to America? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:28:00 EST.
Filed under Camry, Car Buying News & Tips, ES, GS, IS, LS, O'Brien, Red, TL, Toyota · Tagged with camry, country, entry, georgetown, kdm camry, korea, korean-market, red, south korea ship, Toyota Camry
eBay Find of the Day: 1989 Toyota MR2 Supercharged is minty fresh
October 4, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Classics , Coupe , Budget , Performance , Auctions , Toyota We have no qualms admitting that we miss the first-generation Toyota MR2 . The spry little mid-engined racer was proof that you didn’t need a summer house on the cape to enjoy a perfectly balanced, lightweight sports car. Of course, with its accessible price tag, it’s no surprise that very few MR2 models survived without encountering substantial neglect or abuse. That’s what makes this supercharged, 1989 gem particularly attractive. With a shave under 22,000 miles on the odometer, all of the factory paperwork and accessories, this machine is bone stock as close to mint as you’re likely to find in the wild. The seller is the original owner and says that he’s sending the MR2 on its way because he’s focusing his efforts on maintaining a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 that he also bought new. Different strokes for different folks, we guess. If you’ve got $20,000 lying around with nothing better to do, you can pick up the the 1989 Toyota MR2 in South Windsor, Connecticut at its Buy It Now price, or you can just bid in hopes you meet the reserve. Head over to eBay Motors for more information. eBay Find of the Day: 1989 Toyota MR2 Supercharged is minty fresh originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:30:00 EST.
Filed under Car Buying News & Tips, ES, GS, IS, LS, O'Brien, RL, Red, TL, Toyota · Tagged with 1989 toyota mr2, chevrolet, different-folks, ebay motors, miss-the-first, odometer, red, stock-as-close, Toyota
The hunt is on for an official 1977 Star Wars Toyota Celica
October 2, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Classics , Etc. , Toyota , Celebrities “You’ve never heard of the 1977 Star Wars Celica? Kids, it’s the car that was the grand prize in the Star Wars Space Fantasy Sweepstakes.” It most likely started life as a 1977 Celica LiftBack GT Pace Car , an extra-flared, spoilered-up version of the coupe that already looked like a three-quarter scale muscle car. Delphi Auto Design of Costa Mesa, California lavished the bodywork with a custom paint job featuring galactic nebula, TIE fighters , X-Wings , and a lovingly airbrused recreation of the Tom Jung poster art on the hood. Pete Vilmur has been looking for this car for a long time, and he’s probably the foremost expert on it, but still, nothing has emerged from the ether. The trail goes colder than Hoth after 1977, when the contest, a joint effort between Toyota and Twentieth Century Fox, picked its award winners. No record of the car’s VIN can be found, nor can the name of a winner. That may be due in part to Delphi Auto Design being caught in a legal imbroglio involving drug running, murder and income tax violation that tied up one of the main financiers of the business. There was a glimmer of hope in the form of an early-1980s classified ad listing the car for sale, but no record of that can be turned up, either. So where is it?
Filed under Car Buying News & Tips, ES, GS, IS, O'Brien, RL, Red, SC, TL, Toyota · Tagged with business, california, celica, celica-lift, design, listing-the-car, red, space-fantasy, star wars celica, Toyota
