Now, when you think of Venezuela, many things come to mind, and one of them is President Hugo Chávez. Known for his strict economic policies, Mr. Chávez has nationalized many industries, such as its oil production, but could Venezuela’s international auto industry be next? This week, Mr. Chávez has made threats towards many automotive companies, including Toyota, which could lead to their nationalization.

One of Hugo Chávez’s main concerns is the sharing of new technology with the residents of Venezuela. Most residents of the South American nation live in rural areas, so their best mode of transportation would be all terrain vehicles. Mr. Chávez believes that many of the best vehicles that Toyota produces are not being produced in their Venezuelan factory, and this is an issue for Chávez. If he finds, after an extensive inspection, that the factory is not producing the newest technology available, Mr. Chávez is threatening to nationalize the factory and then sell it to a Chinese company.

If the Venezuelan Toyota branch is lost, the company in general will be little affected. In Venezuela, Toyota sells approximately 30,000 vehicles a year, and they are still at a lower price than the national average. Compared to the nine million vehicles sold in 2008, Venezuela is not what you would say a “hard hitter” for Toyota.

Toyota is not the only car manufacturer who is having their production inspected. Others who are being threatened by the Venezuelan government are Chrysler Group LLC, and General Motors Co.

While Toyota is attempting to compromise with Mr. Chávez, there really isn’t enough business in Venezuela for them to invest transferring the newest technology. Realistically, even the most inexpensive vehicles are mostly too expensive for the everyday citizen in developing countries. That said, Toyota has mentioned beginning development of a “New Compact Car” aimed at developing countries such as Brazil and India, and is slated for release in 2010. It would be a basic car, without all the extras, that would make the NCC extremely inexpensive.

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Your car’s broken down, so, naturally, took it to the nearest Toyota repair garage. You got a rental because your busy schedule will not allow you to operate without a mode of transportation, and for a replacement, it’s getting the job done.

Unfortunately, your car was chosen for your specific lifestyle and the faster you can get it back, the better. Here’s the problem: garages around the country contact their clients using the telephone, and millions of people are not available to receive a call about the status of their vehicle. Fortunately, a new technology/company (TeleText Solutions) in use by vehicle repair companies allows the repairman to send a quick and convenient text-message to the client regarding the status of their repair.

The new availability of texting has greatly reduced the amount of time spent trying to contact people whose vehicles are in their care. In the past, dealerships have attempted email, but they ran into the same problem. Consumers today just don’t have time to check emails and take phone calls with all their meetings and such. Surprisingly, the amount of people who have agreed on using the service is a lot smaller than first expected, but usage is expected to rise in the future.

Mercedes-Benz and several other dealerships are taking advantage of the technology, while many other large companies are considering the switch. Hopefully, in the future, you can get constant updates on the status of your Toyota parts that are in for repair.

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Toyota has shown the 2012 Lexus LFA at the North America Auto Show, and is making quite a splash. Never before has Toyota been considered a competitor in the Supercar business, so this car is really their first step on that side of the industry. But truly, it’s more than a car. It is the culmination of 9 years of design, engineering, and hard work, and was planned to fight its way into the exotic beast category. Put at a pricy $350,000, this unique Toyota has an impressive 552 – hp V10 engine, which can crank out some serious RPM’s certain to impress even the biggest skeptic.

Several lucky reporters have test driven the super car, and the reviews are what could be expected. Overall it is said to drive fairly hard and stiff, which probably is because this is their first attempt at a Ferrari – style supercar. The big hitters like Ferrari and Lamborghini have been at it so long that they have managed to instill a smooth, natural, and precise steering quality, that is hard to reproduce in a first attempt. Under the hood, the Lexus 2012 LFA is very impressive. Toyota has reported to Motor Trend that the it goes 0-to-60 in 3.7 seconds and a top end of 204 mph, which is only .4 seconds behind its European competitors

The look of the car, however, says a different story. The interior has blazing hot red highlights, and digital displays that change themes depending on what driving mode the car is in. The body style is modern, sharp, and definitely eye catching; it includes a huge tri – vent – exhaust pipe and sleek headlight design. The LFA also includes a dynamic tail-fin, rising and falling at the touch of a button.

With the first installment of a high end and exotic Toyota, consumers and collectors should keep an eye out for the company, as it blasts its way into the supercar industry. With every new vehicle, the handling can be expected to get better, and you never know, maybe the future LFA could be the next Lamborghini?

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Jim Press:  a long history and a bright future is swept away with one wrong choice.  Press started his career in the car business back in the late 1960’s with Ford. He eventually moved to Toyota, where he would stay for the next 37 years, receiving honors that others only dream of receiving.

In his 37 years at Toyota, his responsibilities grew as he was given higher-ranked jobs.  He started out as just a regular old guy, but as the years passed, he eventually served as the President of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., as well as responsible for Toyota Parts sales, engineering, and the 15 manufacturing plants around the country. He was the first non-Japanese to hold that position. He was highly respected by everyone in the car business, not just because of his position, but of what he brought to the company.  Press made Toyota the second-largest car company in the United States.

In September 2006, the Chrysler Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli announced that James Press was taking over the roles of Vice Chairman and President of Chrysler. After 37 years, Toyota’s “hero” soared away to join a new team.  Jim commented on how he ” wanted to be part of the growth of an American Icon. I was passionate about Toyota and will be passionate about Chrysler”

Jim Stayed with Chrysler for the next three years. Chrysler took out a loan from the government, hoping it would keep their company afloat. It didn’t last long, and Chrysler began to spiral downward towards bankruptcy. Press started closing down dealerships, firing thousands of workers, to save his company.  When Chrysler finally hit rock bottom, fingers pointed towards Press. He was viewed as the “bad guy”, because of all the changes he made.

As Fiat takes control of Chrysler, the new owners send Press to Washington to defend the closing of 789 dealerships. He defended himself, saying that the store closings were absolutely necessary to ensure that Chrysler will be successful. Soon after he returned, he was fired and expected to leave the company.

To end it all, Jim Press owes the IRS more than $1.4 Million in delinquent taxes and for defaulting on a loan. It is very rare for a highly paid executive like Press to get into this kind of problem. According to records, Press had a personal line of credit with Toyota, until their credit union combined with another. The new Credit Union asked Press to pay off the loan. Press however, didn’t have the cash however, and failed to pay them off.

Take a few wrong turns, and you end up lost. Imagine what would’ve happened if he would’ve stuck with Toyota all these years. Who knows where he would be? A very successful, rich man. But instead, he had to choose the path that would eventually lead to disaster.

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Used cars sales are now booming with the aftereffects of Cash For Clunkers. For those unlucky souls who missed out on this huge event, they re out buying late model used cars. Many people who’s vehicle’s didn’t meet the standers for Cash for Clunkers stuck around to see what kind of deal they could get.
The downside to all of this though, is used car prices are rising. Cars that would have originally been sold for $16,000 are now being sold at about $19,000, due to the high-demand. This is making people take a step back and think, Do I really need a new car?
Finding a good vehicle for a good price is a challenge right now for many car shoppers. But if the car is getting a better gas mileage than your old car, wouldn’t it be worth it?

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In June of 2009, Toyota looked to the past when naming a new CEO – Akio Toyoda.

If the last name of Akio Toyoda seems oddly close to Toyota, it is by design. The Toyoda family started Toyota Motor Company. In 1937, that department was spun off into its own company – Toyota Motor Company. Akio Toyoda is the grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda.

Akio is the youngest President of Toyota in its 80 plus year history. During a crisis of reputation in the company, he was made Executive Vice President in 2005. He remained in that position until the summer of 2009 when he ascended to the position of President and CEO of the company.

Will a new CEO bring new changes to the company? It has expanded massively in the last 15 years. It is now the largest car company in the world. Quality was always the overriding theme with Toyota. When you purchased a Toyota, you knew the vehicle would always run and perform as advertised. It is not a surprise to hear Akio Toyoda talk about returning the company to “the basics” it was built on.

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Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will recall 3.8 million vehicles in the United States, the company’s largest-ever U.S. recall, to address the problem with the removable floor mat that could cause accelerators to get stuck.

Toyota said it was still working with officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to find a remedy to fix the problem. Owners could be notified about the recall as early as next week. Toyota spokesman Irv Miller said until the company finds a fix, owners should take out the removable floor mat on the driver’s side and not replace it, just to stay on the safe side.

The recall will affect 2007-2010 model year Toyota Camry, 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, 2005-2010 Tacoma, and the 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra.

This will cause a drop in parts and accessories sale. Parts departments will be hurting because of this recall, so they should be preparing now for the tough road ahead.

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The Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program, one of the largest science teacher grant programs in the nation, is now accepting entries for the 2009-2010 competition. Sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., and Inc. and administered by the National Science Teachers Association. The program offers grants of up to $10,000 to K-12 teachers for innovative science projects that enhance science education in their school district over a one-year period.

 

Fifty large grants and a minimum of 20 mini-grants totaling $550,000 will be awarded this year. Individual science teachers or a team of up to five teachers can submit proposals in one of these three categories: physical science application; environmental science education; and integrating literacy and science. A judging panel convened by the NSTA will select the award-winning projects based on several criteria, including their innovative approach in teaching science and ability to create a stimulating and hands-on learning environment.

 

Applicants must either be an elementary teacher, a middle school science teacher, or high school science teacher. For more information about the Toyota TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers program or to learn how to apply, visit http://www.nsta.org/pd/tapestry/. Applications must be submitted no later than January 18, 2010 to be considered.

 

Since the program’s inception in 1990, Toyota TAPESTRY grants totaling more than $8.6 million have been awarded to science teachers across the country. More than 2,000 teachers have used those funds to develop and execute extraordinary programs that helped hundreds of thousands of students nationwide make a passionate connection with science.

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Booming North American demand pushed cumulative sales of hybrid vehicles at Toyota Motor Corp. past the 2 million-unit mark last month as the Japanese automaker marched closer to its goal of selling 1 million gasoline-electric cars per year sometime in the next decade.

 

As of Aug. 9, Toyota sold 2.017 million hybrids worldwide since the vehicles debuted in 1997.

 

Toyota reached the 2 million milestone after planning to sell about one million hybrids a year. The company came a little closer to the goal with this year’s launch of the popular third-generation Prius. Toyota expects that car alone to sell 600,000 units in its first full year on the market.

 

Today, Toyota sells 13 hybrid vehicle models in about 50 countries.

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Inventories of the most popular car models being sold under the Cash for Clunkers government incentive program are running low as the end of the program just passed in the last couple of days

 

Toyota says they’re having trouble keeping such models as the Camry, in stock even as the U.S. Congress authorized $2 billion to extend the program, The Detroit News reported Saturday.

 

Many dealerships sold out weeks ago, and were having a hard time keeping cars on their lot. At Toyota, meanwhile, a spokesman told the News production boosts were being planned and are hoping to start very soon.

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