Price Increases for Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the U.S.

The Toyota group has announced price increases for most 2011MY cars, SUVs and trucks it sells under the Toyota, Scion and Lexus brands. These increases will be applicable for cars produced from May onwards. The only models that will keep the same prices are the Tacoma pickup truck, Yaris sedan, Scion tC, Scion xB, Lexus CT 200h and Lexus LFA.

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Source Code: Toyota Fights to Limit ECU Code Viewing in Legal Battle

Could Toyota's source code hold the answer to its sudden acceleration problems? Possibly, and it's currently working with attorneys to smooth out how this code will be analyzed in its ongoing unintended acceleration legal woes.

For those of you too fried to remember, Toyota had a bit of a flub a couple years ago regarding unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles; the problems were originally blamed on floor mats, poorly designed pedals, and driver error.

Currently, plaintiffs and their attorneys are still fighting for a proper explanation and compensation even though "the [U.S.] government's comprehensive review of Toyota's source code found no electronic causes of [unintended acceleration] in Toyota vehicles."

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New Scion xD RS 2.0: Final Special Edition Model for 2009 Goes All Green

Toyota's seemingly youthful Scion brand has cranked out more limited/special edition models than we can remember, but it all it comes to an end for this year with the market launch of the new xD Release Series 2.0 that's due to arrive at dealer showrooms later this month. Scion said that it will only build 1,600 units of the xD RS 2.0 that is offered exclusively in what the firm calls 'Electric Wasabi' green exterior paint. More like 'washed out green' if you ask us, but whatev.

The same color accents the xD's interior that also features four-in-one interior lights, and "RS 2.0" door sills illuminated with white back lighting. Silver accented seat fabric and individually numbered badging complete the looks.

The car's standard equipment includes a 5.8-inch touch screen Pioneer Audio Visual Navigation (AVN) head unit with flash memory, voice recognition, and Bluetooth. Pioneer's unit is also satellite radio, rear view camera and HD Radio ready and will play iPod videos just as long as the driver engages the parking brake.

The xD RS 2.0 carries a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $1,270 over the standard car, at $14,650 for the XD with a manual gearbox and $15,450 with an automatic transmission. Add to that a delivery, processing and handling fee of $670 and you're all set.

Scion to Unveil Micro-Subcompact Concept at New York Show - Could it be the iQ?

Toyota's affiliate Scion has officially confirmed that it will perform the global debut of a new a micro-subcompact concept car at the 2009 New York International Auto Show on April 8, 2009. "The concept reflects Scion's youthful image and represents a new segment for the brand aimed toward the growing urbanization trend," the company stated in its Spartan press release. While we do not have any official information, our first guess would be that Scion could be getting ready to present its own version of Toyota's iQ minicar that is already on sale in Japan and Europe.

In addition to the fact that Toyota has officially confirmed its interest to bring the iQ to the States, last November, we were informed by one of our inside sources that the company is planning to introduce the minicar to the North American market under the Scion brand.

Blacked Out Scion tC RS 5.0 Priced from $17,000

Those of you that are planning to visit the 2009 Chicago Auto Show (February 13-22), will get the chance to see the latest limited edition version of Scion's tC compact coupe dubbed Release Series 5.0 before it goes on sale across the U.S. in March, 2009. Unlike most limited edition Scion models that are as unique as a grain of sand, the tC RS. 5.0 actually comes equipped with numerous accessories and performance upgrades from TRD (Toyota Racing Development).

Offered exclusively in a glossy black exterior paint finish with matching 18-inch alloy wheels, the Scion tC RS 5.0 is fitted with TRD lowering springs, rear sway bar and sport muffler while the company also offers a black rear lip spoiler priced at $285 (not including installation).

The exterior theme is continued inside with a black leather steering wheel featuring red stitching, black seats with red accents, floor mats with the TRD logo and a plaque with the car's individual number.

Overall, Scion will produce a total of 2,000 units of the tC Release Series 5.0 priced from $17,000 when combined with a manual transmission and $17,800 with an automatic transmission.

Toyota & Lexus U.S. January Sales Sink 34.9 Percent

The first month of 2009 also brought bad news for Toyota that saw its U.S. sales fall to 117,287 vehicles, a decrease of 34.4 percent from last January. The Toyota division that includes the Scion brand, posted sales of 102,565 units, a decrease of 34.9 percent, while Lexus recorded sales of 14,722 units, down of 30.3 percent from the year-ago month. Toyota's passenger car sales were led by the Camry and Camry Hybrid, which posted combined sales of 20,782 units. The Corolla recorded sales of 19,238 units while the Yaris reported sales of 4,440 units for the month. The Prius hybrid posted January sales of 8,121 units.

Toyota's light trucks division posted January sales of 42,548 units, down 40 percent from January 2008. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact SUV with January sales of 8,034 units.

As for Lexus, it's best selling model for January 2009 was the RX with sales of 6,520 units followed by the ES luxury sedan with sales of 2,971 units.

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