2011 Toyota Hybrids

Friday 12 August 2011

The Toyota Camry has been a continuous leader for years in the family midsize sedan class by being a reliable and comfortable vehicle for millions. Whether traveling alone or with family, the Camry offers ideal features and space for both.

The 2011 Camry is available in four trim options: Base, LE, SE, and XLE. The Base, LE, and SE also offer automatic transmission as an option. A 2.5-liter four-cylinder comes standard on the Base, LE, and XLE and generates 169 horsepower and has 167 lb-ft of torque. The SE comes standard with a similar engine, but produces 179 horsepower and has 171 lb-ft of torque. All Camry’s come standard with front-wheel drive and have a six speed manual transmission, except the XLE which only comes with a six-speed automatic. Manual transmissions receive 22 mpg city and 33 mpg highway. Automatic’s fuel economy drops slightly to 32 mpg highway.

The exciting option available for LE, SE, and XLE models is the 3.5-liter V6 engine which outputs an outstanding 268 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque. The impressive powerful engine option is ranked the best in the midsize family sedan segment. Fuel economy on this engine is still remarkable at 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway.

Scoring a perfect five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for all frontal and side impact tests, all Camrys have an impressive safety package that comes standard. The package includes the Star Safety System, containing Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Anti-lock Brake System, Electronic Brake-Force Distribution, and Brake Assist. Driver and front seat mounted side, front and rear side curtain, and driver’s knee airbags are all included.

Toyota Recalls

Hollywood produced a movie a few years ago, “Fools Don’t Rush In,” in which a guy fell in love with Selma Hayek but played it cool and coy, and ultimately won her heart.

The movie’s title is my theme for advising people about their rights under California’s lemon law with respect to the many Toyota vehicles that have been recalled. Those of you who have been following have, as of today’s date (March of 2010) observed that Toyota has decided to fight these cases. The most dramatic recent case involves the driver in San Diego who accelerated to pass another car and his Prius thereafter speeded up to 94 mph and would not slow down. One would imagine that Toyota would “roll over” and settle the case quickly, but instead it sent its engineers to a local dealership and tried to replicate the defect. The engineers could not reproduce the defect, whereupon Toyota kicked its public relations machine into high gear to flood the internet with stories challenging the driver’s credibility and competence as a driver.

Toyota Hybrid Cars

Everyone knows that it is unlikely that the future of the automotive industry relies on cars running on petrol or diesel. In fact, it is fair to assume that the coming few years or decade will probably spell the beginning of the end for all cars that depend purely on these environmentally unfriendly fuels. What we aren’t so good at predicting, however, is what will replace this technology. We know it will be something greener and more energy efficient (as our sources of fuel are fast running out on this poor planet), but as for more than that we simply can’t decide.

As such, car manufacturers all over the world are putting their eggs in very different baskets. Some cite solar power as a future possibility, whilst others predict that Fuel cells running on hydrogen will be the next big thing. Toyota, trying to predict what will be the next range of used Toyotas on the futuristic market, have decided that electric cars and hybrids are the way to go.

Hybrid technology is a reasonably safe bet at this moment in time, as the technology and future fuel networks (and nation filled with plugs for your cars!) already exist or can exist with minimal effort and less research. Whether this will last for year and years or be replaced as fast as it arrives simply waits to be seen, but Toyota are definitely on board the wagon and heading down the road fast.