Attention owners of 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corolla and Corolla Matrix models and 2008 and 2009 Scion xD models with a 1.8 liter engine: your vehicle may be part of a voluntary recall by Toyota.

Toyota Motor Sales USA has voluntarily recalled more than 95,000 of these vehicles in 19 states. Owners of these vehicles in the falling states will receive a recall notice in the coming weeks: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

“Toyota has determined that if the vehicle is operated in extremely low ambient temperatures, there is a possibility that condensed moisture from the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) port may seep into the brake system vacuum port and freeze. Should this condition continue, ice may slowly accumulate at the brake system vacuum port and in the extreme case, ultimately plug the vacuum port. As a result of the accumulation of ice, power assist to the brakes would gradually decrease and lead to lengthened vehicle stopping distances.” Source: PR Newswire

For questions, Toyota owners should call (800) 331-4331 and Scion customers should call (866) 707-2466.

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A safe, fuel-efficient, and eco-friendlier vehicle, what more can you ask for in a car? The 2010 Honda Insight and 2010 Toyota Prius both recently received the TOP SAFETY PICK award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

The 2010 Honda Insight was reported as having “good performance in front, side, and rear tests and optional electronic stability control.” The Insight also scored well in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ratings with five stars in the frontal driver and side driver ratings. The vehicle scored four stars in frontal passenger, side rear passenger, and rollover ratings.

The 2010 Toyota Prius also received good performance ratings from the IIHS. This is an improvement from the 2004-2006 models, which scored poorly in the side impact tests (without optional side airbags). The addition of the optional side airbags improved the IIHS Prius ratings to the “good” level for the 2004-2006 model years.

The NHTSA has yet to test the 2010 Toyota Prius and so their safety ratings, as determined by the agency, are unavailable.

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If you watch television, even a little bit of it, you’ve probably seen the ingenious commercials that Toyota has for the 2010 Toyota Prius. The commercials include hundreds of people dressed up as flowers that bloom as the Prius drives by. Toyota Motor Sales has taken this concept and turned it into a live floral display along a freeway in the Los Angeles Area.

The “Harmony Floralscape” is located on the Pasadena Freeway in downtown Los Angeles and is made up of more than 20,000 live flowers. This is just the first of nine floralscapes that will grace California freeways.

“Seven of the Floralscapes will be in the Los Angeles area and two in the San Francisco area. Developed by Greenroad Media, Inc., using the company’s patent-pending “Living Pixel” technology, design images are replicated using flowers of differing varieties and colors.” Source: PR Newswire

The picture is beautiful and I love the Toyota commercials but the first thing I thought of when I saw this news release was whether the flowers were organically grown. Thankfully, the press release answers my question:

“The Floralscapes are created from organic and reusable materials and are maintained using ecologically friendly techniques, including the utilization of non-potable water, solar electricity and ecologically responsible insect and fungi control.”

Although this is an advertising venture, I like that the project was thought out in its entirety and that these floralscapes will continue to thrive and won’t just simply die off after the campaign is over.

Photo courtesy of PRNewsFoto/Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

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In a recent test of a Toyota Highlander Fuel Cell Hybrid, the vehicle drove an average of 431 miles on one tank of compressed hydrogen gas. This is equal to 68.3 miles/kg. Engineers from Toyota, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Savannah River National Laboratory took two vehicles on a daylong trip on June 30 to test the FCHV-adv technology.

“The drive began at TMS headquarters in Torrance, traveled north to Santa Monica, turned south to San Diego and finally retraced the route back to Torrance. The route encompassed a variety of drive cycles, including high speed highway driving, moderate highway driving and stop and go traffic on surface streets, in an effort to capture a typical commute. Each vehicle was outfitted with a data collection system that captured vehicle speed, distance traveled, hydrogen consumed, hydrogen tank pressure, temperature and internal tank volume.” Source: PR Newswire

The 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid has a 26 mpg combined fuel efficiency rating with a full tank range of 450 miles. With hydrogen gas expected to cost between $2 and $3 per kilogram, an FCHV-adv version of the Highlander hybrid will travel longer distances for the same price (or less). However, as is often the case with hybrid models, the initial upfront costs may be thousands more.

The benefit of the FCHV-adv is that it produces zero tailpipe emissions. Although you’d be paying more for the vehicle upfront, you’d drastically reduce your personal carbon footprint.

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Have you ever visited one of those gas stations that have TV shows playing in the pump?  Many of them are based off of the Gas Station TV program and now Toyota USA is teaming up with Gas Station TV to offer consumer-generated TV events for the Prius Neighborhood show.

“It is easy for people to submit their local event details for potential airing on Gas Station TV. The Prius Neighborhood daily segments direct people to http://event.gstv.com/. Once the local event information is submitted to the Web site, it is reviewed and built into the local events listing rotation at the pump and becomes searchable by zip code on the web site.”  Source: PR Newswire

Obviously, we live in the age of social media and events will not only be broadcast on Gas Station TV but also posted to the @GSTVevents Twitter page.  Additionally, you will be able to become a fan of Prius Neighborhood on Facebook.

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Pricing for the 50 mpg (combined) 2010 Toyota Prius has just been announced. The base model (Prius I) starts at $21,000. However, the Prius I won’t be available during the initial launch. The Prius II is $22,000, Prius III is $23,000, Prius IV is $25,800, and the top of the line Prius V is $27,270.

In addition, there are several different optional packages available including the Navigation Package ($1,800), Solar Roof Package ($3,600), and an Advanced Technology Package ($4,500).

“All Prius models offer Toyota’s Star Safety System(TM) as standard equipment, which includes enhanced Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) and Traction Control (TRAC) Systems, Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA). Other standard features include electric power steering and four-wheel disc brakes.” (Source: PR Newswire)

The 2010 Toyota Prius, which made the list of KBB’s Top 10 Green Cars, will be available late next month.

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With the release of the all-new 2010 Honda Insight Hybrid today, Toyota has announced an update on its plans to build a new, lower-priced hybrid. Previously, I’ve discussed a rumor about Toyota dropping the price of its Prius hybrid in Japan to match that of the Honda Insight.

Other rumors about how Toyota is planning to address this new competitor is a smaller, and cheaper, new hybrid. A few weeks ago, I posted about the new gasoline-electric hybrid that may hit the streets of Japan as early as 2011. Today, Automotive News has more information on this new hybrid.

“We are developing a low-priced hybrid vehicle like Honda’s Insight,” Otsuka said. “We are going to compete by expanding our hybrid-vehicle lineup to smaller hybrids, in the class of the Vitz [sold in Japan] and Yaris.” He did not say when the small hybrid would debut, but it could arrive as early as 2011, according to Japan’s Nikkei business newspaper.” Source: Automotive News

Like the Prius price-drop, this new hybrid will likely launch in Japan with no definitive date of North American availability.

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The all-new Honda Insight LX model is priced at $19,800 (excluding shipping). This pricing point was one of Honda’s goals, the company wanted to not only price the Insight under that of the Toyota Prius but also come in under the $20,000 mark. There are already reports out that Toyota is going to make a new, smaller hybrid that will be priced less than the Insight. Today, Bloomberg News is reporting that Toyota may also reduce the price of the Toyota Prius to compete.

If you are in the United States and were thinking about buying a new Prius, don’t get your hopes up – this rumored cut will only be in Japan (if it does, in fact, come to fruition.)

“Toyota spokesman Yuta Kaga declined to confirm or deny a Nikkei newspaper report today that said the starting price of the Prius will be cut to 1.89 million yen ($19,250) from 2.33 million yen. The Insight hybrid, which went on sale in Japan last month, starts at 1.89 million yen.” (Source: Bloomberg)

However, due to the popularity of the Prius in the states, this price drop may eventually make its way from Japan to domestically sold models as well.

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Green motoring enthusiasts saw this coming – Toyota going after the new, lower-priced Honda Insight Hybrid. The Insight launched in Japan last month and the sales are triple what Honda expected. The vehicle will be available in the United States on March 24 and the MSRP is $19,800 (excl. shipping) for the entry-level model.

The Toyota Prius has a massive share of the U.S. hybrid market and Honda is hoping to cut into this with the Insight. Toyota is now announcing that it will begin selling an even lower-priced hybrid sub-compact in Japan.

“The new gasoline-electric car will sell at below 2 million yen ($20,510) as early as 2011 in Japan, the Nikkei said, escalating price competition in hybrid cars.

Toyota plans to price its new model at about 20-30 percent cheaper than its current Prius hybrid, which starts at 2.33 million yen, by modifying Prius parts, the Nikkei said.” Source: Automotive New Europe

In the interim, Toyota lovers can revel in the all-new 50 mpg third generation Prius that will be available this spring.

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Last month, I posted a congratulatory message to Honda for topping the 300,000 hybrid sales mark and earlier today, I posted that Ford topped the 100,000-hybrid mark. Now it is time to write about the nation’s top selling hybrid maker. Toyota has announced that Toyota and Lexus hybrid sales, combined, have topped the one million mark. That’s right; one million Toyota and Lexus hybrids have been sold in the United States.

“One million hybrids in less than nine years indicates how quickly American consumers have accepted this important technology,” said Jim Lentz, TMS president. “Toyota’s hybrid leadership will continue to expand in the U.S. and around the globe. With 10 new hybrid models between now and 2012 in various global markets, we plan to sell one million gas-electric hybrids per year, worldwide, sometime early in the next decade.” (Source: PR Newswire)

This figure represents a 75% share of the United States hybrid vehicle market. Honda is hoping to dig into this market dominance with the release of the 2010 Honda Insight on March 24. Ford is also hoping to take a bit of this 75% share with its new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid midsize sedan with a 41 mpg rating.

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