Toyota Aqua Hybrid by Kana Auto Works (special cars)

Toyota Aqua Hybrid

While in the business of producing and developing cars for Toyota for more than half a century, Kana Auto Works has generally stayed under the radar.

However, at the Tokyo Motor Show, the Japanese company came out of its shell introducing several bespoke models.
Aside from the Toyota Century-based FS Hybrid, Kana Auto Works also displayed two prototypes of the newly presented Toyota Aqua hybrid, which will be marketed under the Prius C brand name outside of Japan.
The first Aqua Fun concept is finished in an orange hue and sports a subtle aero package and new alloy wheels.

The other Aqua Fun study is more extreme boasting a bright yellow finish and several cosmetic changes including new front and rear bumpers, different headlamps and tail lights, larger spoilers and bigger wheels while also riding on a lowered sports suspension.

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2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid /Review

MSRP: $25,900 to $27,400
Invoice Price: $23,829 to $25,208
EPA Fuel Economy (MPG): 41 - 43 City/38 - 39 Highway

Redesigned for 2012, the Camry Hybrid is the greener version of America’s best-selling mid-size sedan. If you’re looking for a vehicle with a comfortable interior, adequate power, and extraordinary gas mileage, the Camry Hybrid should be on your short list.

One of the major improvements for the Camry Hybrid has been an upgrade to its Hybrid Synergy Drive system. Electric motor output has grown substantially from 30kW up to 105kW, while the gasoline engine gets a bump from 2.4- to 2.5-liters and now outputs 156-horsepower from its four cylinders. Total system output is rated at 200-horsepower combined. The power is routed through a continuously variable transmission to the front wheels. The battery pack has increased in voltage (now rated at 245 volt battery pack) while decreasing in size which allows trunk space to increase to 13.1 cubic feet.

Fuel economy has gone up significantly from last year’s model (which was rated at 31 mpg/city and 35 mpg/highway). EPA ratings now place the Camry Hybrid at 43 mpg in the city and 39 mpg on the highway with a combined 41 mpg rating, which brings the Camry Hybrid to the front of the pack for fuel economy, besting cars like the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. This was accomplished by changes to the hybrid system, a weight reduction of about 250 pounds, adding lower rolling resistance tires, and creating a more aerodynamic shape. Toyota also offers Eco and EV driving modes on its hybrid. Eco mode maximizes fuel economy across all driving conditions and the EV mode keeps the vehicle in electric drive as long as possible (up to 25 mph). And with a fuel range of greater than 650 miles per tank, you’ll be able to spend more time on the road and less filling up.

The interior has also been redesigned for 2012, and the Camry Hybrid adds its own unique three-gauge instrument cluster. Information presented includes a power-flow display which shows energy flow, cruising range, and real-time fuel economy. Included in the redesign are gains in the rear seat leg and hip room.
The Camry Hybrid comes in two trim levels: the nicely configured LE and the higher level XLE. The LE comes with a long list of standard features, including dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry and ignition, and USB/iPod and auxiliary audio input jacks. The XLE adds a leather wrapped steering wheel, eight-way power driver’s seat, and six-speaker Display Audio System with audio controls on the steering wheel. Further options include a sunroof, rearview camera, heated front seats, power passenger’s seat, navigation system, and an Entune System that integrates smartphone and web functions.

The Camry Hybrid comes with all the standard safety items we’ve come to expect from a Toyota.  Toyota’s Star Safety System integrates stability control, anti-lock disc brakes and the traction control system. There are 10 airbags in the cabin, including driver and passenger front knee airbags, head-protecting curtain side airbags, and torso-protecting rear seat mounted outboard-side airbags. A blind-spot monitoring system is available as an option on the XLE.
The 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid comes back with better fuel economy and a more comfortable cabin, which makes going green better than ever.

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Japan's Toyota unveils nursing robots

Patient Transfer Assist

 Fujita Health University senior assistant professor Yukari Suzuki (L) demonstrates a prototype robot 'Patient Transfer Assist' reducing the heavy physical burden of moving patients, developed by Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation, during a press preview at a showroom in Tokyo, on November 1. (AFP Photo/Kazuhiro Nogi)

AFP /Car giant Toyota on Tuesday unveiled nursing and healthcare robots aimed at helping the frail and the elderly, as the company seeks to capitalise on Japan's ageing society.
The four robots are designed to help people who have difficulty walking and to give nurses a helping hand with lifting immobile patients.

Toyota, one of the world's biggest automakers, said it had applied technology developed in cars, such as precise control of motors at high speeds, in the design of the robots.

Balance Training Assist

 A man stands on a two-wheeled "Balance Training Assist" robot, developed to support training for people with impaired balance, during a news conference to showcase Toyota Motor Corp's new robots aimed at supporting nursing and healthcare efforts in Tokyo November 1, 2011. The robot, incorporating the latest in advanced technologies developed by Toyota, is part of the Toyota Partner Robot series and aims for commercialization from 2013, according to the company. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

"Everyone is thinking it's hard to predict the future, but definitely the future is an ageing society," said Eiichi Saito, professor at Fujita Health University, which jointly developed the robots.
"These kind of robots will help people who might have trouble being mobile on their own to be independent."
The Independent Walk Assist robot is strapped to the user's leg and uses sensors to predict movements and augment their power and strength.

Independent Walk Assist

Fujita Health University Professor Eiichi Saito, wearing an "Independent Walk Assist" robot, walks during a news conference to showcase Toyota Motor Corp's new robots aimed at supporting nursing and healthcare efforts in Tokyo November 1, 2011. The robot, mounted onto a paralysed leg, helps the knee to bend to facilitate natural walking. The robot, incorporating the latest in advanced technologies developed by Toyota, is part of the Toyota Partner Robot series and aims for commercialisation from 2013, according to the company. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

The Walk Training Assist robot is designed to help those who have suffered a stroke or injury to regain the use of their legs in a natural way.
The Patient Transfer Assist, which combines weight-supporting arms and a mobile platform, is intended to help caregivers lift patients into and out of bed, with arms that act in a similar way to human limbs, Toyota said.

Balance Training Assist

 A Toyota Motor Corp. staff plays a TV soccer game as she demonstrates a "balance training assist" robot during a Toyota event displaying experimental hi-tech health care robots at a Toyota showroom in Tokyo Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. The mobility aid works like a skateboard to help people relearn balance. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
The two-wheeled Balance Training Assist robot is aimed at rehabilitation, allowing patients to play sports such as tennis or football as part of their therapy.
Toyota is looking to launch the products commercially in 2013 and is initially looking only at the Japanese market.

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World's first luxury city car by Aston Martin featuring Toyota

Aston Martin partners with Japanese automaker for the Cygnet, a city car that boasts the Toyota iQ's economy with a luxury trim.

Luxury carmaker Aston Martin has forged an innovative alliance with Toyota to develop what could be the world's first luxury city car. Aston Martin on Monday released a photo of the Cygnet, which is a Toyota iQ with restyled front sheetmetal.

Although officially billed a concept, reports in Britain say that Aston Martin will put the Cygnet on sale next year. At first, it will be offered to current Aston owners or those who have a car on order. But it will be offered to the public later.

The price? The equivalent of $33,000, or £20,000. That's a bit of a step up from the iQ's base price, which checks in at the equivalent of $17,800. Aston says a key part of the Cygnet is a new grille design for the automaker. There also are slight changes to the shape of the headlamps, and the addition ofAston's signature vents on the hood and front quarter panels.

Aston won't make mechanical changes to the iQ. Toyota will build the cars and ship them to Aston's assembly plant in Gaydon. There, Aston will trim out the car's interior with leather.

Reports say that Aston will build up to 2,000 copies of the Cygnet a year.

One important note: The addition of the Cygnet to Aston's vehicle fleet will improve the automaker's emissions ratings.

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