Toyota’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car To Enter Market By Year’s End

Toyota To Start Producing Fuel Cell Vehicles In December

 

 

 

 

 

 

” Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will go into production ahead of schedule, with production planned for mid-December 2014.

  Sales will also begin “by the end of the year” reports Japan Times (via Autoblog), ahead of Toyota’s original on-sale date some time in 2015.

  No reason has been given for bringing the car forward, but it’s safe to assume Toyota’s development and testing is going smoothly so far – unusual in the alternative fuel vehicle market.

  Toyota first revealed its fuel-cell vehicle as the FCV-R concept in 2012. The concept was subsequently updated in 2013, and the car was revealed in testing camouflage earlier on this year.”

 

Christian Science Monitor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Toyota To California: Hasta La Vista , Baby … See Me In Dallas

Video: Toyota Bailing On California

 

 

 

 

 

 

” The world’s leading automotive maker will follow the lead of its competitors and other large businesses, and leave California for better business climates elsewhere. Toyota had its US headquarters in Torrance for more than three decades, but now nearly 5,000 jobs will shift to Texas:

  Toyota Motor Corp. plans to move large numbers of jobs from its sales and marketing headquarters in Torrance to suburban Dallas, according to a person familiar with the automaker’s plans. …

The automaker won’t be the first big company Texas has poached from California.

  Occidental Petroleum Corp. said in February that it was relocating from Los Angeles to Houston, making it one of around 60 companies that have moved to Texas since July 2012, according to Texas Gov. Rick Perry.”

 

 

Hot Air has more on the ongoing California business exodus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Super Bowl Advertising Preview With Teasers

Everything We Know About This Year’s Super Bowl Lineup

 

 

 

 

” As anyone with a pulse is certainly aware, we are inching ever closer to one of the most sacred days on the American calendar: Super Bowl Sunday.

Though many brands and their agencies will no doubt be frantically piecing together their strategies all the way up to gameday, some have already released the ads that will be seen by about 110 million Americans on Super Bowl XLVIII.

  These brands include everyone from mainstays like Budweiser to smaller brands like SodaStream, whose ad will feature actress Scarlett Johansson.

  We’ve summarized everything we’ve learned here, and we’ll continue to add updates as they become available — right on up until kickoff.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story continues at Business Insider

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MotorCity Madness

Detroit Motor Show 2013

 

 

 

” After the four horsemen of the apocalypse rode into Detroit with the actual or near bankruptcy of all three, you might wonder why we still make this crazy pilgrimage to Motown. What can these failed deadbeats possibly tell us Europeans about building desirable cars? Actually, quite a lot. For although a lot of American cars still look like skips and contain lacklustre technology and poor build quality, they are really quite profitable. And that’s even on quite modest market sizes – American car-making break-even levels have tumbled.

So 2012 was the third straight year of market growth, with sales up 13 per cent to 14.5 million light vehicles. GM and Ford lagged behind with GM’s sales of 2.59 million units up 3.7 per cent and Ford sales of 2.24 million up 4.7 per cent. The big winner, albeit from an incredibly low base, but with a fine range of profitable sport utilities and pickups, was Fiat-owned Chrysler with sales of 1.65 million units up 20.6 per cent on 2011. Other strong sellers in the year include a revitalised Toyota, Honda and Volkswagen, as well as Kia and Hyundai.

Yet the US economy isn’t that strong, so what’s going on here? “Americans are genetically incapable of saving,” said an old friend who lives in LA. “The second they have money in their pockets, or even the hope of some, they’re out there spending it.” “

Related articles

• Toyota retakes global auto sales crown from GM (seattletimes.com)
• Toyota Leads 2012 U.S. Vehicle Market to Five-Year High (bloomberg.com)
• Best Vehicle Sales Streak Since 1973 Boosts U.S. Dealers (bloomberg.com)
• GM Seen Holding US Share After Slipping to 88-Year Low – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
• Detroit auto show: Top 10 stories to drive the 2013 North American International Auto Show (mlive.com)
• Economy, year-end sales help auto industry in 2012 (miamiherald.com)
• Mobile Madness Motor City: Ford’s Connelly Will Talk Trends (xconomy.com)