Video: The Making of Toyota's Prius Family People Person TV Spot

Where some see Toyota's "Prius Family People Person" commercial as the creepy stuff children's nightmares are made of, others see a piece of creative marketing.

After the wide release of the TV spot, Toyota published a behind-the-scenes video to show us how the advertising agency managed to create a 17-foot tall person and the surrounding areas seen in the commercial.

Regardless of what you think about the ad, it's definitely worth a look. Check it out for yourself in the video after the break.

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Posted on 17.47 / 0 comments / Read More

Video: Toyota Supra Drifter Outwitted by Cop on Roundabout

A jazzy driver in a fourth-generation Toyota Supra was filmed trying to have some drifting fun on a roundabout at the expense of the police. After the patrol car tried to follow the Supra on the roundabout the cop outsmarted the driver by turning off his emergency lights and placing the car in the middle of the road.

Given that the police car appears to be a VAZ-2110 (otherwise known as the Lada 110), we presume that the scene took place in Russia or a nearby country. Video follows below.

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Posted on 07.24 / 0 comments / Read More

Toyota Design Boss Says "Pump That Up," But the Company's Ads Say, "It’s a Car"

As we reported earlier this week, raffish-haired Akihiro Dezi Nagaya, Toyota’s global design chief, plans to implement a more aggressive design theme for the brand. “We have eliminated emotion. We need to pump that up” he said in an interview at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

Changing Toyota’s “quiet and non-offensive” image won’t be easy. Nagaya will be faced with challenges both from within Toyota, a company known for consensus-driven conservatism, and with the brand's consumer base. Nagaya recognizes that Camry buyers, for example, “don't want something too aggressive.”

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Ad Watch: Toyota Gets Tough and Cheeky with New Hi Lux Commercials

In of those rare moments when advertisers not only manage to get the message through but also capture our attention with their commercials, Toyota launched a series of ads to promote the recently facelifted HiLux pickup truck.

The common theme line for the humorous TV spots, which were shot for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, is that the new HiLux is "unbreakable" and extremely lovable – or so Toyota claims.

Turn the page to watch all three ads.

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Posted on 14.48 / 0 comments / Read More

Toyota’s New Chief Designer Promises More Aggressively-Styled Models

If there's one thing Toyota can’t lay claim to - minor a few exceptions such as the Celica, it's that its vehicle have an emotion-inspiring design. In fact, one could say that, almost its entire line up leans towards the conservative side.

But now, the company's new global head of design, Akihiro 'Dezi' Nagaya, plans to change all that and adopt CEO Akio Toyoda's call for a “more emotional approach” when it comes to styling.

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Posted on 11.25 / 0 comments / Read More

Ad Watch: Unboxing of a 2012 Toyota Yaris

If you're a gadget freak, then you're probably no stranger to "unboxing" videos made to showcase a variety of products and which are posted throughout the internet.

Toyota takes the same idea to a different level by applying the concept to a new commercial for its recently launched 2012 Yaris supermini, starring Gizmodo's Adam Frucci.

Those interested may watch the spot in the video after the jump.

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Jackasses on Wheels and with Guns Terrorize Middle East Drivers [Video]

There's hooning. And then there's criminal hooning. These particular individuals shown in the video after the break no doubt belong to the second category with their idiotically dangerous antics.

Filmed somewhere in the Middle East (possibly in Saudi Arabia if we are to believe the Youtube commentators), the 10-minute long clip primarily focuses on the "achievements" of the driver and passengers of a silver Honda Accord and to a lesser extent, the crew in a Toyota Camry.

As if waving guns and shooting in the air on a public road isn't dumb enough, the wannabe drifters terrorize all the rest of the drivers throwing the Accord in front of passenger cars, trucks and even near a school bus.

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Toyota Introduces New Prius Family with a Bizarre Commercial [Video]

Coinciding with the announcement on pricing for the new 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid that will launch next spring and the new Prius V minivan that is set to go on sale this October, Toyota has unleashed a new campaign to promote the growing family of Prius models.

The new TV spot is named "People Person" and it was created by advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi.

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Toyota Shatters Peugeot's Nürburgring Lap Time Record for EVs [Video]

When the Nürburgring track came into life, it was considered as one of the most dangerous tracks in the world –so much that it was even banned from the Formula 1 calendar. Then it became a demanding course for privateers to drive their cars and bikes, and for carmakers to test their new cars driving dynamics.

But in the past few years, the Nordschleife, as it's also named, has been transformed into a badge of honor and a true measurement of a car's abilities, with automakers announcing the best lap times achieved at the ‘Ring in a one-upmanship contest. Something, which was inevitably bound to cause disputes as with the Nissan's GT-R lap time.

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2012 Toyota Tacoma Facelift Uncovered [Photos + Video]

After an early, unwanted reveal through a leaked video, Toyota has officially released the updated Tacoma pickup truck, which enters the 2012 model year with a fresh face, a subtly refined interior and equipment improvements.

Toyota's designers started on the outside by adding a new front grille on all grades that led to restyling of the headlamps, while the hood and the front bumper are also new.

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2012 Toyota Camry Video Bonanza

We have covered the 2012 Toyota Camry extensively these past few weeks, from the moment we first laid our eyes on an unofficial video from the dealer presentation in Las Vegas up until today when the Japanese automaker officially revealed the car.

And now, following our detailed report on the ins and outs of the new Camry, we have a plethora of videos including a walkaround with Toyota Senior Product Education and Development Specialist David Lee who talks about the features of the mid-size sedan and a promotional clip with NASCAR driver Kyle Busch spinning the Hybrid model around Daytona.

To check them all out for yourself, just follow the break.

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Posted on 17.32 / 0 comments / Read More

Google Says Self-Driving Prius Crash was Caused by a Human and that it Wasn't the First [with New Video]

Last week, one of Google's Toyota Prius models equipped with the internet search giant's self-driving technology made headlines after it was involved in an accident near the company's Mountain View, California, Headquarters.

While we did report Google's side of the story that said a human was behind the steering wheel at the time of the crash, like many other sites, we also stated that it was the first recorded accident involving a self-driving Google car.

Turns out we were wrong about the crash being the first of its kind as Google spokesperson Jay Narrow contacted autoscardesign and told us that last year, one of the firm's cars "was once rear-ended while stopped at a traffic light".

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[Updated] Google's Self-Driving Car Involved in California Accident

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated in the title that this was the first accident involving a Google self-driving car. The corrected version reflects a change only in the title of this article. We also posted an updated story on the incident that includes a new video and an official statement from a Google spokesperson. You can check it out by clicking this link.

Many companies are developing self-driving cars. The latest example is VW’s TAP (Temporary Auto Pilot) that was recently demonstrated on video.

Another earlier model is Google’s automated/driverless fleet of Toyota Prius hybrids developed with the help of the military’s DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) 2007 Urban Challenge winner, Chris Urmson and Anthony Levandowski, the maker of the world’s first autonomous motorcycle (again, for DARPA) – oh, and an self-driving pizza-delivery vehicle.

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Posted on 07.12 / 0 comments / Read More

Two Guys, a Toyota FJ Cruiser and Twenty-One Minutes of Australian Outback

From Toyota’s Australian arm comes this documentary-style promo for the FJ Cruiser which has recently launched Down Under. It features two Aussie blokes dumped in the outback with nothing but each other – and an FJ Cruiser – for company.

With a GPS, limited supplies and more than a few hundred kilometres between checkpoints, it’s a race against time to get back to civilization.

Just keep in mind, its twenty-one freakin’ minutes long! That’s like half an episode of Top Gear, but without the boys to entertain us along the way... Gluttons for punishment if you can watch the whole video after the jump.

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Toyota Reveals Next-Gen Safety Systems [Video]

Toyota has revealed a host of both active and passive safety systems that it is developing for use in its future models. The Japanese company said that it concentrates on protecting both older drivers as well as pedestrians.

If you're wondering why, this is because of the statistics which show that in Japan, more than half of road traffic fatalities are of people aged 65 and above, while pedestrian now account for more fatalities than vehicle occupants.

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Posted on 07.18 / 0 comments / Read More

Ad Watch: Not All Toyota Prius Drivers Are Goody Two Shoes, So Sayeth Steve Nash

NBA basketball player and point guard for the Phoenix Suns Steve Nash doesn’t take himself very seriously. He has starred in a handful of TV ads - including a few for Vitamin Water - where he generally takes the piss out of himself and the typical over-the-top sporting personalities we see so very often.

Now he’s staring in a couple of TV commercials for the third generation Toyota Prius where he proves that you don’t have to be a planet-conscious all-around-good-guy to drive the Japanese brand’s popular hybrid hatch.

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Posted on 16.02 / 0 comments / Read More

Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 featured on Top Gear Back in the 1990s up for Sale

Even though we’re always on the lookout for rally-bred production cars from the 1980s and 1990s like the Lancia Delta Integrale, we must admit that this 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 grabbed our attention mainly because it is the same car that was featured on an older episode of Top Gear. A young Jeremy Clarkson had then compared it against Ford's Escort RS Cosworth.

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Posted on 11.56 / 0 comments / Read More

Video: Man Hanging on the Window of a Speeding Toyota Paseo Caught on Tape

A very bizarre incident in Stockton, California, involving a red Toyota Passeo coupe and a man…hanging on the passenger side of the vehicle was caught on film by chance on Friday while the news crew from ABC was covering another story.

The man is seen on the video clinging to the open window and trying to jump in the vehicle while the car was on the move at an estimated speed of around 35 miles per hour.

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Posted on 09.43 / 0 comments / Read More

2012 Toyota Fortuner: SUV Version of Facelifted HiLux Makes Asian Debut

After last week’s presentation of the redesigned 2012 HiLux in Europe, Toyota went ahead and introduced the Asian market version of the pickup truck, called HiLux Vigo in Thailand, as well its SUV sibling, the seven-passenger Fortuner.

Both the HiLux Vigo and Fortuner sport the same styling revisions with their European counterpart including the new front end with the chromed out, razor edge grille, new alloy wheel options, and interior refinements such as the redesigned instrument panel plus trim and equipment updates.

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Posted on 19.23 / 0 comments / Read More

Double Standards, or how (Not) to Sell Cars to Women

In the 1950s, products for women were no doubt designed and marketed by men. Take for example the 1955 Dodge Le Femme, a truly absurd car (by today’s standards) that came with a matching purse, raincoat and umbrella as well as a bright pint interior with rose-patterned trim.

It’s the equivalent of offering a car today with a…tampon dispenser in the glovebox.

Across the pond there was the Daimler 104 Ladies’ Model with electric windows, a simplified gear change (no, I did not make that up), an umbrella and a vanity case under the dashboard.

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