TAG RESULTS FOR: Toyota

This one is blowing my mind, so see if you can follow along. Toyota today announced a “partner robot” that is supposed to help carry you around. Also known as a PTA (Personal Transportation Assistant), you could think of it as a Segway with AI. It’s called the Winglet and it will come in three different models: The “L”, “M” and “S”. Why the weird naming system? I’m glad you asked: Toyota’s created three models, the “L”, “M” and “S”,... Continue reading

The ultimate eco-rumor has been making its round this morning. Nikkei biz daily in Japan is reporting that the next-gen Toyota Prius, due out in 2010, will have solar panels to power accessories and amenities like air conditioning and the radio. Getting excited ’cause you were thinking about getting a Prius? Not so fast. Apparently, only high-end versions of the 2010 Prius are receiving the solar panel treatment. To boot, Toyota is exploring the option of charging a costly premium... Continue reading

Our favorite itch to scratch, John Brownlee, brings to our attention a photo found on Flickr. It features a red Toyota Prius being pulled over by a police officer on a motorcycle. This isn’t any regular Prius though, this is the Google Street View car that takes all those lovely pictures for Google Maps! Considering how huge that camera mount is, it doesn’t surprise me too much. I can’t help but wonder if the cop actually ticketed Google. I mean,... Continue reading

You might have your car’s interior and sound system down as far as geeky prowess goes, but what lurks under the hood? A standard engine just won’t do for my fellow car modding comrades, oh no! We need more! Better! Geekier! The owner of this car is such a huge fan of the NES console, that he modded a NES controller design right into the very innards of his VVT-i 16 Valve engine. Blasting away at all cylinders, this modded... Continue reading

A new addition to the Toyota Partner Robots project, a campaign to integrate robots into everyday life. How a 56 kg violin-playing robot could be useful to us in everyday life is beyond us. In fact, we might even shoot the damn thing since we can hardly stand professional violin playing. Equipped with 17 joints it its legs and arms, the violin bot uses “precise control and coordination to achieve human-like dexterity.” The problem with this is that much music... Continue reading

Toyota has announced that they have created a world-class driving simulator which will “effectively analyze the driving characteristics of average drivers”.  Located at TMC’s Higashifuji Technical Center in Susono City (wherever that is), the simulator apparently offers the most realistic driving experience without being in a car. We must ask, wouldn’t it have been a lot cheaper just to use a real car instead of spending all of that money on 360-degree concave displays and a 7.1-meter-diameter dome to house... Continue reading

Somewhere along the line Toyota realized that construction workers and middle-aged suburbanites aren’t the only people out there with an interest in trucks. What about nerds? We enjoy driving, and we may have to haul computer rigs and giant millennium falcon replicas around from time-to-time. Plus programming jobs pay decently, so we have some money to burn. And if you are going to pander to a nerdy audience, what better way is there than capitalizing on the success of World... Continue reading

The Toyota i-Unit is a new concept design that is made to increase personal mobility. The i-Unit hopes to meet the user’s wishes by producing a better balance between the human body and the society and nature around it. The design is inspired after a leaf, with the thought in mind of how leaves create sunlight into energy. The i-Unit “seeks to express the power of the unknown, the logic of living things and the simple beauty of waste-free functionality.”... Continue reading

When Toyota halted the production of the supra, Celica, and MR2 Spyder, the future of Toyota sports cars enthusiasts seemed bleak. However, their ears perked back up again when Toyota revealed the new FT-HS Hybrid Concept. This new 2-door sports coupe is rumored to be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show on January 7th. The FT-HS is said to have a 292HP 3.5 liter V6 and a 197HP electric motor. There is a very nice design on this... Continue reading