Toyota’s Fun-Vii Concept In Action [Photos And Video]

Toyota‘s Fun-Vii Concept debuted at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show featuring some very cool, futuristic technology. They dubbed the concept car as a smartphone on wheels, bragging about its exterior body that can be manipulated as a digital display.

But those that weren’t fortunate enough to be over in Tokyo when Toyota debuted the concept is now in for a treat. As much fun as it is trying to describe in words what Toyota aims to do with the Fun-Vii, it’s just a ton easier to show it in action through a video. In less than five minutes, Toyota shows off its smartphone integration, augmented-reality gaming, a holographic digital assistant and its vehicle-to-vehicle networking system in the video clip.
Toyota also touches on their future of electrified powertrains with wireless charging and autonomous driving mode. It might seem to be something out of a Tron movie, but we’re definitely excited to see how Toyota will pursue these concepts in future vehicles.
Check out the video after the break.

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Toyota’s Fun-Vii Concept Car Is A Smartphone On Wheels: 2011 Tokyo Motor Show Preview

Toyota unveiled today their Fun-Vii concept car ahead of its official debut at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. The concept, dubbed as a “smartphone on wheels” by Toyota President Akio Toyoda, allows drivers to customize the skin of the car to display anything from stock quotes to advertising to pictures downloaded from their phones.

Seating three, the Fun-Vii’s ultimate goal is to add a fourth dimension to the driving experience. That is, interconnectivity will join driving, turning and stopping. Toyota of course has no realistic release date for such a concept (if it even goes into production in any form), but has envisioned it to have other features such as auto-pilot and an onboard 3D hologram avatar for a year 20XX release. That’s right, 20XX – Toyota is pretty confident something like this will be manufactured in this century.

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BMW Launches M5 [With Prices]

This week's Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi saw the BMW Group launch the new 2012 M5 high-performance saloon as well as the MINI brand in India. However, with ex-showroom prices ranging from 24.9 lakhs or about US$47,000 / €36,700 for the MINI Cooper to a whopping 95.9 lakhs or US$181,000 / €141,200 for the BMW M5 (and which do not include applicable sales tax or handling charges), even the cheapest MINI will remain hoisted from the reach of the vast majority of Indian buyers.
On the other hand, it's also a game of numbers and with a population of 1.2 billion people, there's bound to be a significant market for premium-priced models in India.
The MINI brand enters the Indian market with a comprehensive range of models that includes the Cooper and Cooper S hatchbacks, the Cooper Convertible and the Cooper S Countryman crossover.
Speaking during the presentation of the cars at the New Delhi Show, Andreas Schaaf, President, BMW Group India, said:
"With the launch of MINI, the BMW Group debuts in the premium small car segment in India. In the start-up phase, BMW Group’s main focus will be to concentrate on successfully establishing the MINI brand in India. At a later stage, the BMW Group will focus on further development of dealer network and higher sales volumes."

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The Best-Selling Premium Brand in the U.S. for 2011

The one thing we knew for sure after the manufacturing disruptions in Japan caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami was that Lexus wasn’t going to top the premium segment in the U.S. market for the first time in a decade. In fact, we also knew something else, the two contenders to the throne: BMW and Mercedes-Benz. What we didn’t know up until Thursday is which of two brands was going to win, since both were caught in a neck-to-neck sales race. Going into December the gap was so small - less than 1,600 cars- that the win could go either way.
In the end, both German carmakers increased their 2011 sales by 13 percent compared to 2010, but the winner was BMW, which sold 247,907 units, leaving Mercedes-Benz in second place since with 245,231 sales. According to Edmunds.com, BMW raised its incentives by more than US$200 per vehicle in December, while Mercedes’ incentives remained flat.
Lexus saw its sales fall by 13.4 percent, to 198,552 vehicles, which relegated Toyota’s luxury brand to third place. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, company officials estimated that Lexus’ sales in the U.S. will rise by more than 20 percent this year, putting it back in the race for the top spot.
The two other Japanese luxury brands, Honda’s Acura and Nissan’s Infiniti, also suffered from supply problems and the strong yen, recording an 8 and 4.8 percent drop which placed them in sixth and eighth place respectively.
General Motors performed quite well, with Buick finishing fourth with a 14.3 percent increase to 177,633 units, and Cadillac right behind with a growth of 3.7 percent and sales of 152,389 units.
While Audi managed to increase its sales by 16 percent, it couldn’t manage anything better than seventh place and 117,561 units, less than half of its leading compatriots.
The U.S. luxury segment top 10 is rounded off by Lincoln with 85,643 units that amount to essentially flat sales, and Volvo which, despite ending last with just 67,240 sales, recorded a 25 percent increase compared to 2010.

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2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee Diesel to go on Sale in the States officially

On Wednesday, Porsche confirmed that it will bring the Cayenne Diesel to the U.S. by 2013, but the German company isn't the only automaker with plans to sell a diesel-powered SUV in the States. The Chrysler Group announced today that it would add a diesel version to its Jeep Grand Cherokee lineup in the United States and Canada. The North American diesel model will be manufactured at the firm's Jefferson North Assembly Plant [JNAP] in Detroit.
In addition, Chrysler revealed that it would add a third crew and 1,100 new jobs at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant next year. Current employment at the plant is approximately 2,890 workers.
"We believe that investing in Detroit is not only the right thing to do, but it is a smart thing to do as we work to write the next chapter in our shared history," said Chrysler Group Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne.
The automaker did not divulge any more details but there's a good chance that the North American market Grand Cherokee Diesel will be offered with the same engine as its European counterpart.
The latter is powered by a 3.0-liter V6 CRD common-rail turbo diesel available in two states of tune delivering 190HP at 4,000rpm and 440Nm (324.5 lb-ft) at 1,600-2,800rpm, and 241HP at 4,000rpm and 550Nm (405.7 lb-ft) at 1,800-2,800rpm. Both versions of the V6 are matted to a five-speed automatic transmission. 
 
The 190HP model accelerates from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in 10.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 191km/h (119mph) while returning a combined fuel consumption of 8.3 lt/100km (28.4mpg) in the European cycle.
The more potent 241HP variant goes from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 8.2 seconds en route to a top speed of 202km/h (126mph) but returns the same fuel economy at 8.3 lt/100km (28.4mpg).

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You should not overtake trams always

Who would ever think that a driver could have so many levels of stupidity? For starters, the person behind the wheel of this white van entered an enclosed section of the road reserved only for trams. Now you'll agree that's a real stupid move in itself, but it gets even worse as the driver then attempts to overtake the tram at the same time that another trolley car is coming on the opposite rails! Do we really need to tell you what happens next?
Video follows after the jump.

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2013 Toyota Land Cruiser 5.7 V8 Announced for the U.S.

As we anticipated, after the December launch of the updated 2012 Land Cruiser 200 in its home market of Japan, Toyota has announced details on the North American version that will go on sale in the States as a 2013 model later this year. While Toyota's U.S. arm released photos of the European specification model, the same styling changes apply for the 2013 Land Cruiser that will be sold here and which we will most likely have the chance to see for the first time at next week's Detroit Auto Show.
Beginning with the exterior, the Land Cruiser gains an updated front grille and headlamps with HID low-beams and LED Daytime Running Lights, enlarged front and rear fenders, chrome side moldings, and redesigned outer side mirrors and tail lamps.
The revised model rides on newly designed 18-inch alloy wheels with a high-gloss finish that are shod in P285/60 R18 mud-and-snow steel-belted radial tires.
Inside, Toyota refined the interior of its eight-seater model with a higher gloss wood grain finish, brighter silver instrument panel ornamentation, chrome-plated air registers and updated meter-cluster lighting.
New features for the 2013 model include: a Multi-terrain Monitor with front, side or rear selectable views; a redesigned Multi-information Display; an Eco Driving Indicator light and zone display; heated steering wheel; Dynamic Radar Cruise Control; an additional power outlet (DC 12V) at the rear of the center console; and an AC 120V rear cargo deck power outlet.
There's good news for those that like their vehicles well equipped as the Japanese company decided to make all previously optional safety and convenience features standard. 
 
These include the rear-seat DVD entertainment system, color-keyed rear spoiler, rain-sensing windshield wipers, center-console cooler box, headlamp cleaners, leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift lever, multi-information display, voice and Bluetooth hands-free controls, and heated second row seats plus Toyota’s Premium Hard Disk Drive (HDD) Navigation with Entune multi-media system and JBL audio.
While the Land Cruiser continues with the 5.7-liter V8 engine that produces 381 horsepower and 401 lb-ft of torque, linked to a six-speed automatic transmission, the Japanese brand has made changes to the 4x4's various electronic systems.
New for the 2013MY is a Multi-terrain Select system that dials in wheel slip control to match the conditions of the terrain. For example, in loose terrain such as mud and sand, the system allows for more wheel slip than normal while on solid rock, wheel slip is minimized with the system acting more like a limited slip differential.
Toyota also introduced a new five-speed CRAWL Control with an Off-Road Turn Assist feature.
The CRAW Control system is activated when the transfer case is shifted into low range regulating engine speed and output along with braking force to help the driver on extremely rough level ground or steep grades. As for the Off-Road Turn Assist feature, it pulses the rear corner brakes to help the 4x4 make sharper turns when steering through tight quarters on rugged terrain.
Finally, there's a new four-wheel multi-terrain anti-lock braking system while Toyota has added a Trailer Sway Control to the standard equipment of the Land Cruiser.

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