#Toyota

In last week’s installment of Abandoned History, we learned about General Motors’ 1966 magnet-based primitive navigation system, DAIR. The inclusive system featured emergency messages, traffic bulletins played inside the car, and route guidance. DAIR never progressed beyond the concept stage and two total test vehicles, largely because it would have meant buried magnets and accompanying signal relay stations at every major intersection in the country. Some 25 years later The General tried it again, but technology progressed considerably by that point.

Today's UCOTD is a special 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser. It's a Trail Teams Special Edition.

Look, we can be elitist enthusiasts about many things, but screaming into the void about how manual transmissions are the only “true” option is pointless and wrong. There are plenty of people who have legitimate reasons why owning and driving a manual-powered car would be impossible, and Toyota seems to recognize that – at least with one of its vaunted GR performance cars.

We're going back to the convertible well today with this 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder.

I’ve had, for whatever reason, a consistently unfavorable view of Toyota’s Corolla for quite some time.

Not an anti-Corolla bias, mind you. I kept an open mind every time I drove one. And every time I did, I felt let down. And that was before I compared the car to its rivals, such as the usually solid Honda Civic or the ever-improving Hyundai Elantra.

The Toyota 4Runner may be a formidable off-roader with legendary capability and longevity, but the fifth-generation model introduced way back in 2009 is far from modern or refined. That won’t change for 2024, as Toyota is not giving the 4Runner a makeover like it did the Sequoia, Tacoma, and Tundra. 

Pricing for the 2024 Toyota GR Corolla has dropped. But that probably won’t matter much due to the fact that the model will undoubtedly be subjected to horrid dealer markups. Though that issue may be improving as Toyota ramps up production and adds a new trim that’s clearly targeting how most people were already configuring the rally inspired hatchback.

Toyota may have revealed the design of the next Camry sedan in an unrelated video. The supposed leak comes via a rather straightforward clip from the automaker explaining the difference between buying and leasing. It uses the Camry as its demonstration vehicle, usually represented by die-cast toys scaled to fit in the palm of the hand.

Today's UCOTD is a highly modified convertible runabout.

The cause of a recent blip in production for one of the world’s largest automakers has been traced to problems with computer memory. Yes, you read that correctly.

Today's UCOTD is a simple, straightforward one. This 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser is unmodified and hasn't been taken off-road.

The Big T is adding new trims and options to its Tundra half-ton pickup truck for the 2024 model year, including an expansion of the TRD Off-Road package to its snazzy Platinum-grade 4x4 and extending the availability of the murdered-out Nightshade trim. Of greater interest to this author? A new TRD 3-inch suspension lift kit can now be installed at the factory.

In a bit of serendipitous timing, we saw earlier this week that a lot of 2023 Toyota Supra buyers are opting for the manual.

Having tested one earlier this year, I can see why.

Bet you never thought you'd see a 2010 Toyota Sequoia that was rolling on 35s.

Toyota’s got a lot going on, from the shockingly good-looking new Prius in 2023 to a fresh Tacoma pickup and Land Cruiser SUV next year. On top of that, Automotive News recently reported that the automaker has several other new models on the way, starting with a Crown Crossover and an electric three-row family hauler.