Being a loyal and repeat Toyota and Lexus owner, it’s no surprise to me that Toyota and Lexus ranks high on KBB.com’s 5-Year Cost to Own Awards. Dependable and reliable are just some of the reasons why I prefer to buy these cars. Another great reason is the fact these cars hold their value well, […]

Toyota has just announced it will cease production of their Australian-built vehicles and engines by the end of 2017. Ford and GM recently announced plans to shut down their manufacturing operations by 2017. This left Toyota with a tough decision to make as they were the last auto manufacturer to operate in Australia. Due to the high […]

Apparently it’s been confirmed, the Toyota FT-1 is going to be the MKV Supra. According to Motoring.com.au, the sexy CALTY-designed concept which was unveiled recently in Detroit is reported to be the successor to the legendary Toyota sports car flagship. A close source  informed the Australian news site that Toyota is busy developing the next […]

Recently unveiled in Detroit, the 2015 Lexus RC F is already the most talked about Lexus since the limited production Lexus LFA. Our friends at VOSSEN Wheels didn’t waste any time as they have styled this hot new RC F in Ultra White. Properly lowered, this RC F sits on a fitted set of 15 […]

Could “Jezza” be changing his overall opinion about Lexus? Earlier today, infamous British journalist and Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, known to bash Toyota & Lexus products has recently posted  “Hate to admit it I quite like it” about the upcoming Lexus RC F  on his official Facebook fan page. Just a year ago, Jeremy declared […]

TMC has just announced their plans for motorsports in 2014 for Toyota Racing, Lexus Racing and Gazoo Racing. There is going to be a big push for motorsports this year as Toyota continues to reinvigorate passion into the brand.  This is a great step in the right direction as motorsports serves as a development test […]

Did Jim Lentz spill the beans on accident or did the graphics artist inadvertently make a mistake? Autoblog has discovered an accidental leak during a recording of the SAA Auto Outlook Conference on Youtube. This conference was held at Cobo Center just a day before the opening of the NAIAS press days. Jim Lentz, CEO […]

In the digital age we are immersed in, it’s inevitable that leaks will occur thanks to the power of the internet. I give Toyota a lot of credit for not allowing any leaks to happen especially with the convenience of smart phones and social media. Toyota UK had posted a teaser photo last month on […]

Seeing a Lexus IS F on the road is not as common as seeing any generation BMW M3 anywhere. I was randomly browsing cars online and found a clean low mileage Starfire Pearl IS F that caught my eye. It had the two tone graphite and polished 19″ BBS wheels which is available as an […]

When Toyota launched the Corolla Hybrid onto the Japanese market a few weeks ago, they discreetly pointed out to me that “unlike what we usually do,” this is simply marketed as an engine package, not as a separate model. Some may think this is because there is no shortage of separate Toyota models on the […]

Never mind the upcoming Lexus NX small crossover, the IS-derived RC 2+2 sports coupe or even the rumored production version of the LF-LC concept expected to carry a 6-figure price tag. Forget any notions of a 3-row crossover SUV or a GS-derived 4-door coupe or even a CT F non-hybrid, AWD manual transmission hot hatch. […]

Another day…another report of a Toyota trademark filing. Or two of them, to be precise: NX 200t and NX 300h, both filed on 15 October 2012 for “use in association with automobiles and structural parts thereof”. In the United States, Trademark Application No. 85754116 was filed for NX 200t, and Trademark Application No. 85754176 for […]

As was the case with the original December 2011 agreement between BMW and Toyota, the rumormill started abuzz several days ahead of the actual signing of a new expansion of the two carmakers’ collaboration. On the weekend before Monday 25 June, Japan’s Nikkei business daily and Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine reported that Toyota planned to […]

Economies of scale. Allocation of finite engineering and research & development resources. Ever-tightening low emissions and high fuel economy regulations by the world’s governments. Figuring out which of the myriad alternatives to the internal combustion engine are more or less worthy of receiving time and attention. The mind-boggling challenges facing carmakers in the second decade […]

Over two years ago, the first thing this author wrote for Kaizen Factor included these passages: Although Toyota President Akio Toyoda famously stated at the 2009 Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan that “Toyota is not the kind of company that is good at alliances”, his namesake company’s actions have sometimes belied these words. […]