Cast Your Vote on Facebook for 100 Cars for Good TODAY

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Toyota started their second year of 100 Cars for Good on Monday, May 14th. Each day the public is asked to vote on Facebook for a charity to win one of 100 cars that Toyota will be giving away. 500 charities will be competing and will be listed five a day on Facebook for the 100 days. The charity with the most votes out of five each day will win their choice of a Camry Hybrid sedan, Highlander SUV, Prius v hybrid hatchback, Sienna minivan, Sienna Mobility minivan, or Tundra pickup truck.

For the 400 charities that do not win a car will still receive $1000 in cash. Toyota’s goal is to help these charities spread the word on the Internet. All the finalist have already received digital cameras, training materials and online advertising credits to do so.

Since 1957, Toyota has donated over half a billion dollars to nonprofit organizations all Toyota 100 Cars for Good Programacross the county. Other Toyota philanthropic contributions include Together Green, Toyota Driving Expectations, and the Toyota USA Foundation.

Visit https://apps.facebook.com/carsforgood/ each day to cast your vote and make a difference! The competition will end August 21st.

Nevada Issues First Self-Driving License Plates to Google’s Toyota Prius

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Google's Self-Driving Toyota PriusOver the past year, Nevada has been working with different automobile manufacturers to come up with a standard set of laws and rules of the road for self-driving cars. In recent months Nevada officiallly passed the first set of laws, which required specific license plates for self-driving cars, to help other drivers easily identify cars that were not 100% driven by human interaction.

This week Nevada issued the first set of these new red license plates for Google’s self-driving Toyota Prius, with the plate number AU (Autonomous Unit) 001. In a press conference this week the director of the Nevada DMV, Bruce Breslow said:

“I felt using the infinity symbol was the best way to represent the ‘car of the future.’ The unique red plate will be easily recognized by the public and law enforcement and will be used only for licensed autonomous test vehicles. When there comes a time that vehicle manufactures market autonomous vehicles to the public, that infinity symbol will appear on a green license plate.”

Toyota Yaris Cracks List of Top-10 Cars for Teens

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2012 Scion tC“Yaris: It’s A Car!” This was the tagline of Toyota’s 2011 campaign for the Yaris, though the 2012 model has proven to be much more than just a car, grabbing a spot on USAA’s list of best cars for teenagers.

In a recent survey, USAA polled parents to see which attributes were most desirable in a car for teens to drive.  Not surprisingly, the top three categories important to parents came out with reliability on top, safety just behind, a insurance affordability a close third.

With these principles in mind, USAA has compiled a list of the best rated cars for teens to drive, citing the Toyota Yaris (specifically the 2012 model) as a top pick.  Retailing at just over $14,000, the Yaris provides parents with a budget-conscious, yet extremely safe and reliable vehicle in which teens can hone the art of driving.

Toyota made a strong showing the list, with the Scion (owned by Toyota) tC, xD, and xB models taking first, fourth, and fifth places respectively.

Three Toyota Models in the Top 10 Highest Fuel Efficiency

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2012 Toyota PriusEarth Day was yesterday, and what better way to celebrate by looking at the Top 10 highest MPG vehicles for 2012. At the top are a few of the new all-electric models, which depending on your driving habits, may or may not be practical. What is more impressive is that after you see the all-electric vehicles, which account for top 5 vehicles, Toyota has claimed three of the next 5. Take a look at the top 10:

 

  1. Mitsubishi I – 112 MPGe
  2. Ford Focus EV – 105 MPGe
  3. Nissan Leaf – 99 MPGe
  4. Coda EV Sedan – 73 MPGe
  5. Ford Transit Connect Electric – 62 MPGe
  6. Chevrolet Volt – 60 MPGe
  7. Toyota Prius C – 50 MPG
  8. Toyota Prius – 50 MPG
  9. Honda Civic Hybrid – 44 MPG
  10. Toyota Prius V – 42 MPG

 

The Prius has seen great success, as one of the first mainstream hybrid vehicles on the market. After years of having the one sedan model, Toyota has started branching off the Prius into different body styles including the smaller Prius C and the larger Prius V, for people who need more or less space, than the standard sedan model.

 

The Prius C is smaller and more affordable brand new than the regular Prius (starting at around $20,000) but has seen great sales in the first few weeks of selling. Customers both here in the US and in Japan have been very enthusiastic to a smaller version of the Prius.

 

The larger Prius V takes the Prius and inflates it just a bit, but only sacrifices a few miles per gallon over the Prius. The Prius V offers 97.2 cubic feet of passenger space and 34.3 cubic feet of cargo space, compared to the standard Prius which offers 93.7 cubic feet and 21.6 cubic feet of passenger and cargo space, respectively.

 

Learn more about the Toyota Prius and all of its current and upcoming variations at Cumberland Toyota.

Toyota Unveils Updated 2013 Avalon at New York Auto Show

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Last week at the New York International Auto Show, Toyota debuted the updated 2013 Avalon. The car seems to play heavily off the updates that the 2012 Camry receieved but also gives the Avalon a bit more sophistication and class. The new 2013 Toyota Avalon is nearly as nice looking and with the right options could easily rival its luxury Lexus counterparts.

Take a look as Toyota shows the Avalon for the first time, and let us know what you think.

Toyota Set to Unveil Beautiful New Sedan, Possibly Upgraded Avalon?

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Toyota 2012 New York Auto Show Teaser PhotoNext week, Toyota is set to unveil the newest design model in their lineup. The US-designed sedan will premiere to the world in the Galleria room within the Jacob Javits Center at 10:30 am EDT on April 5, 2012 as part of the ongoing New York Auto Show.

Teaser shots of design sketches of the new sedan are being leaked out and Toyota seems very excited about the direction this vehicle will take them. Rumors are already circling within the industry that this model could win quite a few design awards, even though it won’t go on sale until later this year.

Media and the public will have the opportunity to participate in a live-streaming video chat with the designers of the new sedan by submitting questions via Twitter and Facebook with the #ToyotaDesign hashtag. The Toyota Design Live Chat is scheduled for 2 pm EDT on April 5th, 2012 and hosted on Toyota’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/toyota.

Cumberland Toyota Opens Final Voting for Charity Challenge

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Cumberland Toyota has been taking charity nominations for the past weeks or so and has compiled the final list of organizations. The final voting round begins today, March 19th, and will go through the end of the month.

During this time, fans can go on Cumberland Toyota’s Facebook page and vote for one of the top 10 finalists. The top 10 finalists are:

Neighbor to Neighbor Mobile Clothing Outreach
Putnam County Habitat for Humanity
Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center
Teen Challenge of Upper Cumberland
Kids Putnam
Carmen Burnette CPR Education Fund
Mustard Seed Ranch
Structured Athletics for Challenged Children
Happy Haven Children’s Home
Upper Cumberland Susan G. Komen for the Cure

As we mentioned before, voting will last until the end of March. Once voting is complete, the top 4 vote getters for the month will receive a $5,000 donation from Cumberland Toyota. This is a major donation and Cumberland Toyota is proud to support all 10 of these great organizations.

Get out and vote for your favorite charity, and if your personal favorite didn’t win, help out another one of the great charities that are up for the grand prize. To vote, you must “Like” Cumberland Toyota’s Facebook page and then cast your vote. The voting will be live for the entire time, and fans will be able to see how their favorite charity is doing.

 

Cumberland Toyota Begins $5,000 Charity Challenge in Cookeville

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Cumberland Toyota has always been a big supporter of the Cookeville community and now the local Toyota dealership is beginning their next charity challenge. This time, rather than the dealership selecting one specific charity to receive their donation they are heading to Facebook to get their fans involved.

Cumberland Toyota is taking a unique approach to this year’s charity donation. Now through March 18th, fans and invited to nominate their favorite charity to receive a large cash donation. Once all the nominations are in, the Cookeville dealership will be taking the top nominated organizations and begin a voting poll. This is where the real “challenge” starts. Fans will be asked to vote for one charity they think deserves one of the large donations.

Cumberland Toyota has decided that since there are so many wonderful organizations that support the community of Cookeville, the best idea was to spread the wealth. Rather than giving away one large prize, the top 4 vote getters will each receive a $5,000 donation!

To nominate a charity, fans must first “Like” Cumberland Toyota’s Facebook page, which can be found at facebook.com/CumberlandToyota, the simply write the nomination on their Wall. Nominees must be local organizations or have a local branch based in Cookeville and/or the surrounding areas. From there the organizations who receive the greatest number of nominations will be entered into the final voting round.

Nominations are being accepted now through March 18th. Starting March 19th, Cumberland Toyota will have a live poll on their Facebook page for fans to vote for the final winners.

Toyota Takes Home 5 Consumer Reports Top Pick Awards for 2012

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2012 Toyota CamryToyota has always been one of the most reliable brands in the automotive industry, and thanks to some new technological advances, they are quickly running away from the competition. Each year Consumer Reports puts out their list of top picks for the year. Models from many different brands, compete against one another in their respective categories, and Consumer Reports picks one winner in each segment. This year Toyota was able to secure 5 of the top 10 spots overall.

On the heels of the Camry redesign, the significantly improved Toyota Camry Hybrid took home top honors as the best Family Sedan. Consumer Reports praised the 38 mpg overall fuel economy, the best in class and even better than some smaller hybrids. The magazine also noted the Camry Hybrid’s comfortable ride, roomy, quiet cabin, and crisper handling.

For those that need something with a little more height, look no further that Small SUV category winner – the Toyota RAV4. Consumer Reports mentioned the RAV4’s unique blend of performance, fuel economy, and versatility as main reasons for choosing the RAV4. They also made note that the upgraded V6 engine provides a much sportier ride, and buyers only have to sacrifice 1 mpg with the larger engine.

For families and/or soccer moms and dads, the Toyota Sienna V6 took home the award for best Family Hauler. Among the high points of the Sienna were its lively performance, decent fuel economy, and comfortable ride. What might be considered the tipping point is the Toyota Sienna is the only minivan to offer all-wheel drive.

To satisfy the environmentalist in all of us, Consumer Reports recently started giving an award to the best Green Car on the market. No surprise here, the Toyota Prius won this category hands down. The 44 mpg fuel economy of the Prius hatchback was the highest of any five passenger, non-plug-in vehicle that was tested and the 41 mpg of the Prius V wagon easily tops its class. Consumer Reports also made note of the excellent crash-test results making the Pruis, not only affordable and fun to drive, but safe as well.