TOYOTA PRIUS.

Toyota ready to design more heart-racing Prius.

Long praised for its fuel economy and reliability, the Toyota Prius has been no stranger to less-than-flattering remarks about its styling and sense of excitement. In fact, the model is a regular movie punchline. For evidence, see Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys or, more recently, Ice Cube in Ride Along.

Apparently, Toyota President Akido Toyoda is getting the message and is pushing for what's been translated as a more "heart-racing" design for both the Prius and the Camry, the Canadian website Driving says. The Camry and Prius accounted for about a third of Toyota's US sales last year.

With the Camry as the best-selling US model for each of the last dozen years, Toyota US head designer Kevin Hunter noted at the Detroit Auto Show last week that the Japanese automaker is looking for a "more emotional" design for the boxy sedan. The Prius redesign may have more constraints, as aerodynamics have to be factored in to ensure top-line fuel economy for the world's best-selling hybrid. Toyota used the Detroit show to show off the FT-1, a concept that many consider a preview of the new Supra. How this "Future Toyota 1" will affect the Prius and Camry redesigns, whenever they appear, remains in question but we like where things are headed.

Toyota Etios and Liva

Toyota refresh’s its Etios and Etios Liva

The 2014 Etios and Etios Liva have been officially launched by Toyota Kirloskar Motor today.

They are being referred to as “refreshed” versions of the cars and sport primarily cosmetic and equipment related changes. The power-plant and core of the Etios and Liva remain largely unchanged.

The new cars carry on using most of the components that were used before, but also offer a few interior and safety options on particular variants.

The 2014 iteration of the diesel-powered Etios Liva has been relaunched with two new grades- the VD and VD (Safety Package), which will be positioned above the GD variant.

The additional features that the VD and VD (SP) grades get include fog lamps in front, chrome-built grille, wipers and washer in the rear, and twelve-spoke alloy wheels. The new variants also have a garnish made of chrome on the hatch-lid in the rear and wing mirrors that sport turn indicators.

The interiors have also undergone considerable changes. The 2014 Toyota Etios, Etios Liva VD and VD (SP) editions get leather-covered steering units, tachometers, two-toned colour theme, and a rear defogger.

Toyota has also thrown in a gear knob made in chrome and wood-finished door handles to top of the interiors package. Both cars have Bluetooth-compatible audio systems.

The Safety Package inclusive VD variant has the added benefits of dual airbags and steering wheel mounted audio system controls.

The mid-range specification Etios Liva G and the diesel mill GD both now boast two-tone interior themes. These were earlier only available on the G and GD Safety Package petrol and diesel power-plant versions.

The new 2014 Toyota Etios comes at a price starting at 5.53 lakh INR going all the way up to 7.23 lakh for the premium petrol model while the diesel Etios sedan has a base price of 6.82 lakh INR reaching up to 8.30 lakh for the high-end version.

The Etios Liva is priced in the range of 4.53 to 6.82 lakhs for petrol driven model and 5.92 to 7.12 lakh INR for the diesel.

Toyota Successful.

Toyota sees increase in Tundra, Tacoma sales in 2013.

Toyota enjoyed a modest bump (1.7 percent) in sales in December compared to the same month in the previous year.

The automaker enjoyed more significant year-over-year gains.

Toyota sold more than 2.2 million vehicles in the U.S. last year. That represents a 7.4 percent increase over 2012 sales.

“The auto industry was a consistent bright spot in the economic recovery throughout 2013,” says Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager. “We expect the economy will continue to gain strength in 2014, with car sales rising to pre-recession levels.”

Toyota should be especially pleased with American consumers’ interest in the Tundra and Tacoma pickup trucks, which are manufactured in San Antonio.

Tundra sales were up nearly 11 percent in 2013. Tundra sales increased 12.8 percent year over year, despite dropping 9 percent in December 2013.