How things are changing

It’s no secret to anyone the drives that gas prices are just too high.  Cars with better fuel economy are good because they leave the driver filling up less, provided they drive the auto the way it is intended.  Not to mention, alternative fuel options reduce our dependency on foreign oil, which another hot topic today.

By 2025, the officials in Washington, D.C. plan to have fuel standards raised to 54.5 mpg, as well as reducing emissions to just 163 grams per mile.  Toyota knows these standards are setting the bar high, but are committed to doing all they can to help make sure this happens.

These standards are set in place to hopefully help everyone involved.  It will reduce fuel use from overseas sources by about 2.2 million barrels/day.  It is also being said that the 2025 standards will cut pollution from carbon in half.  Toyota is committed to doing their part in making this possible.

As a consumer, there are many different opinions and feelings on this matter.  Changing of standards will likely mean new technologies, changes in pricing, and more to help the government meet their numbers.  Those of us here at your Champaign used car dealership are here to help answer any questions you might have, as well as help you find the auto that you feel comfortable driving each day.

Current gas friendly models

Here at O’Brien Toyota of Urbana we carry a large inventory of models with great gas mileage readings.  Let’s check out some of them.  Take for instance a Preowned Prius.  Champaign fans of this model can test drive one today.  We also carry the Corolla, Yaris, Camry, and Camry Hybrid that have very favorable mpg readings.

Stay tuned for more information on this topic!

An organization that focuses on brand power and more rated some of the top companies that are noted for providing products that support a healthy environment and wise use of its materials.  It’s no secret that it takes a lot of resources to research, manufacture, and design a product that consumers will rely on each day.  The more these processes go easy on Mother Nature, the better for all of us.

The company that recently rated the top global green brands is called Interbrand.  They focus on helping others get the most they can out of their brand name through research, data analysis and more.  They have been around the mid-1970′s and have a global presence.  Their recent naming of the Top 50 Global Green brands is just a part of the work that they do.

Those of us who are a part of your favorite Champaign used car dealership, O’Brien Toyota of Urbana, are proud to announce that Toyota was named the 2011 Best Global Green Brand.  What a great accomplishment!  The number 1 ranking is a big boost from the 11th spot they took on the 2010 list.

The #1 rank is not just the result of the automaker producing environmentally friendly autos, but in other things that they do.  Toyota has adopted a number of environmentally friendly practices at the plants where they make their autos.  They also have created and maintained some processes that efficiently use energy, which lessens the impact on the world around us.

In terms of environmentally friendly autos produced by Toyota, there are many of them.  For starters a Preowned Prius, Champaign drivers can check out today, is definitely one that is noted in this area. There are others available now at our store such as the following:

• Toyota Camry
• Camry Hybrid
• Prius part of our new inventory
• Toyota Yaris
• Toyota Corolla

Stop by today and find out why these models are noted as being ones that are green!

In Home Capabilities

Toyota is working on all-new in-home charging stations that consumers will be able to purchase.  The price tag is slated to be around $2,000 and will include installation and two stations- one mounted to an exterior wall and another meant to be housed in your garage.  It’s also being reported that these charging stations will be able to be used with other vehicles, similar to the plug-in Prius’ specifications.

The cost might justify itself, if you think of the benefits of having charging capability in the comfort of your own home.  You won’t have to waste valuable time finding a local charging station.  Or, let’s say you forget to charge and suddenly remember in the middle of night, you simply walk to your garage and do what you need to do to make sure you are on time the next morning.  What about making friends with some neighbors by allowing them to use your stations, should they also purchase a plug-in Prius when it arrives at O’Brien Toyota of Urbana, your home for Champaign used cars and more!

Current testing across the U.S

Right now, zipcars.com is allowing members to purchase “wheel time” in the driver’s seat of the 2012 Prius PHEV.  This is available for the site’s members in the San Francisco area, as well as Portland, Boston, and Cambridge, MA.  This is a pretty cool idea, as it allows people to get a little taste of what they’ll be able to buy, as well as providing feedback to Toyota on the test cars’ ability in real world, city settings.

For more information on the Plug-in Prius, or when it will arrive at our store, please contact the staff at the dealership.  If you are interested in driving a new or preowned Prius, Champaign county car shoppers and other area consumers can find it now at O’Brien Toyota of Urbana.

Current Technology in Models

Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive is the system that fine tuned the original Toyota Hybrid System found in the new and preowned Prius Champaign customers could purchase at our store between 1997 and 2003.  Since those early models, the more updated system allows for smaller battery packs and more powerful motors.

The Hybrid Synergy drive system is not only found in the Prius, but in other Toyota models such as the Highlander Hybrid and Camry Hybrid.  In a time when people are not only looking for alternatives for high fuel costs, but also the most up to date technologies, safety features, and more, all of these autos are perfect choices found now at O’Brien Toyota of Urbana.

What’s up next for Toyota?

Lithium ion batteries are the wave of the future and are currently being engineered as part of some all-new electric vehicles coming into the spotlight.  Toyota is stepping into this arena very carefully since these are newer versus the nickel hydride ones currently used.  However, they are trying some new vehicles to see how fans of models such as the Danville Toyota Camry may take to them.  Some of the options on the docket include the following:

• Plug-in version of the Prius
• All-electric RAV-4
• Subcompact EV

Sources say these are being released sometime in 2012.  We’ll be anxiously awaiting these to see how local Toyota fans react to them.  It is very exciting to see Toyota employing some new models and working to see how the lithium ion battery technology will work with their vehicles.  They want to make sure they have the best possible situation in place before rolling it out on a larger scale down the road.

Please stayed tuned for more information on this topic.

 The 2011 Prius gets 48 mpg in the city and 51 on the highway.  This is great news, especially if you are searching for a green auto, but don’t want the wait or price tag associated with some all electric models.  The Prius gets its gas mileage from a pair of electric motors/generators that work in conjunction with a 1.8 liter four cylinder engine.  The electric motors are powered through a specialized transmission system.  When the Prius is operating at a lower speed, it’s powered by the electric motors and when idling the gasoline engines completely turn off, so gas is not wasted.  The system used in this environmentally friendly car is Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive.  For more specific information on how the Prius works, contact the staff at your local Champaign preowned Prius dealership. 

The Prius not only excels in fuel efficiency, but there are other reasons why you should consider buying one.  It is a very versatile car, as there’s enough room for four or five adults, and it’s also good for cargo space, especially since it has a hatchback design.  The interior is roomier and more comfortable than you might guess just by looking at its exterior size.  The battery packs are hidden away and do not affect passenger or cargo space. 

The 2011 Prius is available at our store in several trims: Prius II, Prius III, and Prius IV, ranging in price from $24K to $30K.  Take a look at the Prius II, for example, and you’ll see the large list of features that come standard for the price.  Many convenience and safety amenities are fitted in the base model, acting on the voices of loyal Toyota customers, such as the all new Star Safety System. 

Check out the Prius now…We also have this model in our Urbana used car inventory line up.

After inventing our common everyday items, like the incandescent light bulb and the electric internal combustion engine, Tesla’s imagination set its sights much higher. A Tesla coil was to be a military applicant for defense of a fixed position. A highly concentrated electric discharge focused in a direction to repel oncoming advance and attack. A phenomenal idea, unfortunately is reserved only for an upgrade in computer games. Think of what was, and what was never allowed to be. The world followed Edison’s path because he was better at selling it. If you ever watch a History channel special you soon learn that it was a mistake and has cost us precious time.

Thankfully for us, the American beautiful people, there are still those out there pursuing Tesla’s vision of a world run in every manner on electricity. The Tesla Motors group of California has been working for six years on producing a truly electric car. If anyone out there remembers a company called Ballard Power, you’ll remember that they were working on the same thing. Where are they now? They are buried under the miles of red tape GM put on them after buying them to delay their product from hitting the market. Now Toyota has bought a stake in Tesla Motors for possibly the same reason.

The Toyota Prius is the top selling hybrid car in the world right now. When you’re the best you don’t want to hear about that rookie that’s going to take your seat when the music stops. If you’ve been trying to find your own 2010 Prius,Champaign is a great place to start. Everywhere on the roads and lines of newbie’s on the lots. Maybe you want to really help the environment and recycle. If you’re looking for a preowned Prius, Champaign is still your best start to that treasure hunt. It shocks me how many people trade up from last year’s enclosed golf cart to next year’s. Either way, not sure I know a soul who would scoff at 75 miles to the gallon.

The 2010 Prius Plug-in Hybrid (PHV) has already been scoped out by the automotive insiders and they have reported back that the new Prius expands Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive technology because of the introduction of the lithium-ion drive battery. The benefit of this new battery is that it allows for an all electric operation at higher speeds and longer distances in comparison to the conventional Prius. With a full charge under its hood the Prius Plug-in Hybrid has a maximum range of roughly 13 miles and it has the capacity to reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour in its electric mode. If you attempt to drive longer distances the car will go back into its hybrid mode which is standard in all Prius’, sold at your local Champaign Toyota dealer.

Recently, 150 units of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid have been shipped out to universities, corporations, city, state and federal governments and other car experts to test the PHV’s out at their own discretion.

The lithium-ion drive battery is composed of three battery backs, one core battery accompanied by two supporting or additional battery packs. When the Plug-in Hybrid begins to run it will automatically be in the all-electric mode utilizing the core battery as its main source of power. Once the main battery runs out of juice it will remove itself from the circuit and it will allocate electrical energy from pack number two. When the second pack becomes depleted then the PHV will go back into its conventional hybrid mode that is most common in a regular Prius. The core battery pack will then revert back to being used as the electrical power source, leaving battery number two empty until the Prius is plugged back in. At 100 watts the Prius will take 180 minutes to charge and at a 200 watt charge the Prius will take only 100 minutes to charge.

The Plug-in Hybrid Prius can offer its drivers over 100 miles per gallon when using the all-electric mode, this is reason enough to look more into this car, to find at more talk to representatives at your local preowned Prius Campaign dealer.

At the 2010 North American International Auto Show premier of the FT-CH concept car, Toyota Motor Sales, USA President Jim Lentz stated, “the FT-CH captures the spirit and functionality… of a car that thrives in the inner-city environment… ‘Sized-right’… to be nimble, responsive and maneuverable.”  Lentz went on to evaluate the agile compact hybrid as a smaller, cheaper version of the mid-size class Prius.  Measuring only 153 inches long, 68.5 inches wide and 55 inches high the FT-CH is designed to be deftly maneuverable and will be ideal for city driving.  Champaign Toyota dealers warn potential clients not to be thrown off by the compact size of the new concept car which has been designed for maximum passenger comfort and interior space.

Many preowned Prius Champaign dealers note that some first-time Prius drivers initially have reservations about the motor-power and durability attainable with a hybrid vehicle.  However, new owners find their fears quickly assuaged when they realized that their new hybrid not only sports Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive but is also more fuel-efficient than the competition.

Hybrid Synergy Drive technology functions by combining a small gasoline engine with a small electric motor to increase fuel economy and lower emissions. The motor runs on batteries whose power is generated as the car coasts and decelerates.

The FT-CH represents the expansion of hybrid options for Champaign Toyota customers in addition to expanding Toyota’s marketing demographic.  The hybrid concept car is being modeled at a lower price-point than the Prius, appealing to a younger, less affluent demographic.  Toyota’s European Design and Development (ED²) center, which styled the vehicle, has cited the vivid, retro, high-energy 8-bit generation as their inspiration for the FT-CH.

Lentz also announced at NAIAS that Toyota Motor Sales is in the process of developing a Prius family of hybrid vehicles for which the FT-CH is a definite contender, so expect to hear more about this prototype in the near future. Drivers who are hesitant to join in the hybrid movement should test the waters with a tried and true pre-owned Prius, available at preowned Prius Champaign dealers.

Turns out, I was an idiot, and he was right. Go figure.

For any Champaign Toyota dealer, Twitter has been invaluable in helping them get over the hump with all the negative PR from the extensive recalls experienced earlier this year. And in fact, Toyota has just recently launched a new Twitter page, called Twitter Conversations, that’s intended to inform consumers about the latest on what’s happening with the company without having to delve too deeply into some of the overly negative stuff being run by many American news outlets.

Don’t get me wrong—this new Twitter channel doesn’t filter out all of Toyota’s bad press; in fact, it purposefully keeps some of it in there to make sure the information customers are getting is fair and balanced. It’s just the needlessly hurtful things that are being omitted in exchange for news updates, videos, and all kinds of other features linked from the new page.

The information being provided is both relevant and useful because, let’s face it, Toyota drivers need to know that they can buy a brand new car right now with zero percent APR for the first five years. In looking for a preowned Prius, Champaign has more than it’s fair share, but should you buy a new one right now you’d get two years’ worth of maintenance and oil changes absolutely free as Toyota works to repair its image. If you subscribed to this new Twitter channel, you’d know that.

So yeah, Twitter absolutely has become the next big thing. My brother was right. People are using it as the new wave of breaking news and communicating with fans and customers. Toyota had already embraced the movement, but they’ve taken it a step further with Toyota Communications. They clearly were a lot more receptive to this whole thing than I was.

And in case you were wondering, I did end up getting a Twitter account. My brother is a pretty persuasive guy.

Toyota has asked president of ABC News David Westin to retract and issue an apology for an unfairly reported story by ABC news reporter Brian Ross.

Ross’ report centered on a test conducted by an Illinois professor David Gilbert, which claimed to figure out a way to induce an unintentional acceleration in Toyotas without the triggering of an error code, which would permit the mechanics of the Toyota to diagnose the problem. Gilberts test was intended to show that it is theoretically possible for Toyotas to accelerate without command while failing to show signs of doing so afterwards. Videos like this are the reason why sales at a used Camry Champaign dealership might have spiraled downwards following the recalls.

During the report there is a scene where Ross is driving a Toyota and there is a cut scene that shows an unintended acceleration via a tachometer as it acts uncharacteristically. The video clip of the tachometer was actually filmed while the car was stationary and parked, but the editing team threw it into the scene seamlessly creating the effect as if the tachometer was in fact surging.

After the video was aired, there was concern about its validity and the online news version was eventually reedited to be truthful.

This was not the only aspect of the news story that turned out to be false. When Gilbert conducted the test on the Toyota he had previously reconfigured and rewired the vehicle to respond the way he wanted it to. Gilbert rewired the Toyota to accelerate without command and without generating the error code, which can be done on several other cars including Honda, Subaru, Chevrolet and Ford. The rewiring of the car to gain unfavorable responses was not something unique to Toyota.

None of this was revealed in the aired version of the report. Test drive a Camry for yourself at your local preowned Prius Champaign dealership.