Tag Archives: Camry

Toyota Ending Production at Saint Petersburg Plant

“We must now act in a way that allows us to protect the values and principles that our predecessors built up and be confident that we can pass them on to the next generation,” TMC said in a statement. It’s the latest example of global automakers realizing how perilous it is to do business with a mercurial, tyrannical regime. Is China next? Continue reading

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Toyota Recalls 800,000 Cars for Defective Air Bags

Toyota Motor Sales is recalling 803,000 Model Year 2012-2013 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, and Venza vehicles because the air bags may not deploy. Continue reading

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Revised 2014 Chevrolet Malibu Coming after 2013 Flop

The badly outclassed Malibu raises once again the critical question whether General Motors is reformed after a $49.5 billion taxpayer funded bailout or has simply resumed its old losing ways that saw market share erode from almost 60% in 1960 to 18% today. Continue reading

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Mazda Atenza on Sale in Japan, Comes to U.S. Next Year as Mazda6

The Mazda6 is due in the U.S. next year where the family car market is much larger and much more competitive. Year-to-date Mazda sold 31,000 of the older 6 sedan in a segment dominated by the newly revised Toyota Camry, Honda Accord models, both of which are now selling almost 30,000 units a month and the Nissan Altima at 26,000 a month. Two Japanese variations of the new Mazda6 present additional sales opportunities for the U.S. subsidiary. Continue reading

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Ford Fusion Hybrid Sedan Said to Top EPA Fuel Economy Ratings

Many brands now have a claim of some sort to use in fuel economy marketing, which likely means all of them will advertise fuel efficiency this fall, making the issue so confusing that it might no longer be effective for selling cars. Buyers will assume that fuel economy is a given in the entire class of vehicles and forgo the nuances. A similar situation has occurred in the marketing of auto safety during the past decade, with it increasingly difficult for companies to draw a competitive advantage in a continually improving field of what is now demonstrably the safest fleet of new vehicles ever sold in the U.S. Continue reading

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Reality Versus Concept as Production Accord Photos Released

The ninth generation Accord, a perennial top seller in the family car category faces unprecedented competition from the Toyota Camry – the best selling car in the U.S. and all new last year – a revised Nissan Altima, and the Hyundai Sonata, as well as the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu, among others. The category is important for its size – almost 20% of the cars sold in the U.S., and as a result, its bragging rights. Continue reading

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Family Car Wars Revived as Nissan Ships New 2013 Altima

Nissan has started shipping the new 2013 Altima, its best selling mid-size car and longstanding contender in the family car wars. The all-new 2013 Altima, which has been produced at Nissan’s Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tennessee since the first generation rolled off the line in 1992 is now also produced at Canton, Mississippi because of the high volumes involved. Altima will take on the reigning champion – Toyota Camry revised this year, and the upcoming new Honda Accord in a battle royal. Continue reading

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Ford Debuts Mondeo Based, Mexican-Built Fusion at NAIAS

Ford’s relative lack of success in car segments will make this launch one to watch. The Number 2 automaker in U.S. sales should have picked up more than a 3.7% increase in passenger car sales during 2011 while the industry gained 9% in the view of critics. Continue reading

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Toyota Camry Hybrid Prices Cut $850 to $1,150 for 2012

The revised hybrid-electric powertrain, like other 2012 Camry models has a newly-developed 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. Toyota says that improved electric motor-voltage control, optimized regenerative braking, and reduce parasitic losses in the transaxle are key to the ratings. Reduced vehicle weight and improved aerodynamics are also factors in the class-leading fuel economy ratings. Continue reading

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Toyota Recall Active on 420,000 Lexus and Toyota V6 Models

Toyota Motor Sales today announced that it will conduct a safety recall involving approximately 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles to replace the crankshaft pulley on the V6 engine. No other Toyota or Lexus vehicles or these Toyota models with 4 cylinder engines are involved. Continue reading

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Toyota Increases Fuel Economy and Equipment While Cutting Prices on 2012 Camry – a Gambit to Reestablish Leadership

A beleaguered Toyota Motor Corporation is counting on a revised 2012 Camry sedan to brush aside safety and quality concerns that have haunted it for the past two years. These, along with the Japan earthquake will relegate it to the third largest automaker in the world for 2011 after it assumed the number one spot in 2008 and held it for three years. Continue reading

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U.S. Built Volkswagen Passat Priced from $20,765 to $33,720

Passat normally would face fierce competition from the entrenched Japanese Big Three – Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Honda Accord – but its not clear if production disruptions at those makers will continue into the late summer when it will appear in dealer showrooms. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Opens New Passat Plant in Tennessee

VW’s ambitious plans promise that one million new generation U.S. built Passat models will be sold during next seven years after cars arrive in dealerships late this summer. The plant also appears to be a logical choice for building a new Audi model. Since 1987, more than 700,000 Passat sedans have been sold in the U.S. The Japanese Big Three sell that many of their similarly sized family cars – Camry, Altima, and Accord – each year. Continue reading

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VW Passat Debuts at NAIAS. Will be Built in Tennessee

Volkswagen has taken the wraps off its NMS – new mid-size sedan – and surprise it’s a Passat. True, it’s the largest Passat since its 1987 debut in a segment long dominated by the Japanese Big Three – Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, and Nissan Altima.

VW has been promising that this Passat is finally right for the American market, and it will mark the return of VW to more than a small player since the day when it dominated U.S. imports with the Beetle. Continue reading

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Toyota Camry, Avalon TSB is not a Pedal Recall?

Technically the technical service bulletin or TSB sent to dealers is not a formal Toyota safety recall. But this Toyota technical service bulletin, since it involves possible damage to the gas pedal by technicians while conducting the safety recall for stuck gas pedals on Camry, Camry Hybrid and Avalon models, is a potential safety issue. Continue reading

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