Friday, March 22, 2013

Toyota Announces 2013 Corolla LE and S Special Edition Models!

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Toyota Motor Sales has announced two 2013 Corolla Special Editions that will offer consumers appealing equipment at an attainable price point. 

The 2013 Special Edition Corollas will offer unique standard features in two grade levels, LE and S. The LE Special Edition offers equipment targeted at consumers who value comfort and convenient entertainment, including 16-inch alloy wheels, Display Audio with Navigation and Entune (three-year subscription), Power and heated Beige leather-trimmed seats, Special Edition floor mats and exterior badging, and a unique Black Currant Metallic exterior color.

The sporty Corolla S Special Edition will provide youthful styling along with 17-inch alloy wheels, Display Audio with Navigation and Entune™, Sport fabric seats coordinated with a unique Hot Lava exterior color, and Special Edition floor mats and exterior badging.

A total of 7,500 Corolla special edition vehicles (2,250 LE and 5,250 S) will be manufactured during a two-month period beginning in April at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC). The Corolla Special Editions arrive at dealerships in late April.

Courtesy of Toyota Newsroom

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Tuesday Tip: Fix bad weather-stripping immediately!

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If you’re weather-stripping is letting rainwater leak into the interior of your car, take a look at it and decide if you can repair it or if it needs to be replaced. Small leaks can be handled with brush-on seam sealers. Re-secure loose sections, not otherwise damaged, with trim adhesive. Torn sections may be repaired with special caulking available at auto parts stores. You may also be able to extend the life of worn-but-intact sections by inserting foam rods, available at automotive stores, into the hollow section of the weather-stripping. If you decide to replace entire sections of gasket, don’t simply buy generic stuff such as you’d use around the house. Buy a product that matches your car’s original weather-stripping — it’s available in a wide variety of profiles from dealerships.

Courtesy of ReadersDigest.com

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

2013 Toyota Avalon Does Capacitive Touch Controls Right!

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Touch-sensitive capacitive buttons are a purely aesthetic addition to new car interiors designed to mimic the clean appearance of a personal tablet computer. The controls, which replace traditional physical buttons, have found homes in cars ranging from compacts to luxury cars. They're generally awful to use without physical guideposts to reference while driving and can be distracting when poorly designed.

For 2013, Toyota's full-size Avalon received an all-new, upscale interior with capacitive buttons for climate, stereo and navigation controls. Our skepticism peaked when first reporting the Avalon's interior used such controls considering no automaker does the capacitive trend very well. After thoroughly testing the 2013 Avalon, however, Toyota's premium sedan surprised us with the best execution of these controls to date.

"I was 15 minutes into my drive and had adjusted the climate a few times before I looked down and realized they were capacitive touch," says Cars.com Managing Editor David Thomas.

The Avalon's capacitive controls succeed because the buttons respond quickly and accurately to inputs — there's no delay, and each surface is sensitive enough to work at first touch but not so sensitive that they trigger accidentally. All of the Avalon's buttons have large text that's easy to read, plus the surfaces still work when wearing thick winter gloves.

Cars.com News Editor Jennifer Gieger preferred the Avalon's buttons. "The physical touch points felt more concrete and responsive than others I've tested. They almost felt like physical buttons embedded in a panel rather than just a flat panel," she says.

 

Toyota didn't eliminate too many real control surfaces to create a foreign-looking console for shoppers. The retained volume and tune knobs maintain a balance of traditional layout and new capacitive touch technology.

Being the best doesn't mean the Avalon's buttons are flawless. Unfortunately, none work as easily or intuitively as a real button. Cars.com editor Mike Hanley explains, "The larger issue with capacitive controls remains. Specifically, the general inability to reliably discern different controls by finger contact alone when compared with traditional buttons and knobs makes capacitive controls ill-suited to a car's cabin."

There's still no replacement for a well-designed center console with real buttons. Unfortunately, automakers don't always give shoppers the option, like Ford does, to choose traditional control knobs. Automakers that don't should check out the Avalon's controls for how to do it correctly.

Courtesy of Cars.com

Friday, March 1, 2013

Toyota Unveils New Donations to Aid in Hurricane Sandy Recovery Efforts!

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Toyota announced today a significant vehicle donation equivalent to more than $100,000 to help aid the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy.

Today, four months from the day the storm made landfall in the Northeast, the company donated the use of 19 Toyota vehicles to the region’s Red Cross to support relief transportation for one full year. Additionally, Toyota is giving a brand-new 4Runner SUV to Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church in Bay Head, N.J., to aid in transportation and local cleanup. These contributions are in addition to a $1 million donation made by the company to support Sandy relief efforts last year, as well as five vehicles donated at that time.

The donations were presented to both organizations today at Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church in Bay Head, N.J.

Commenting on the donation, Steve Haag, assistant general manager for Toyota’s New York region, said, “We understand the ongoing need for Hurricane Sandy relief aid and we want to make sure the community knows they are still being supported four months after the disaster.” On deciding which Sandy fund to donate to, Haag shared that “our search quickly led us to the region’s Red Cross and Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, specifically Pastor Scott Bostwick. Both organizations are known throughout the region for their dedicated hard work and we want to honor those making an impact rebuilding their community after the devastation of Sandy.”

Scott Bostwick, Pastor of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, offered praise for Toyota’s donations, saying, “Studies show that national crisis donations taper off after five months. A donation like this from Toyota not only provides us with great relief aid, but also reassures our community that our needs aren’t going unnoticed or unmet.”

“American Red Cross disaster recovery efforts are ongoing across multiple states affected by Superstorm Sandy, including our efforts here in counties from the northern edge to the southern tip of New Jersey,” said Nancy Orlando, regional CEO, American Red Cross South Jersey Region. “We’re thrilled to have this fleet of Toyota vehicles, a generous donation that will enable the Red Cross to move manpower and resources more efficiently throughout affected regions.”

The Toyota donation unveiling event included remarks from Pastor Scott Bostwick and from Steven G. Crawford, M.D., Chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross Jersey Coast Chapter. Members of the Red Cross also provided details on how and where others can assist in the relief process. Additional remarks were given by Toyota executives.

Courtesy of Toyota Newsroom