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B.C. TRUCK ENTHUSIAST WINS 2010 TOYOTA 4RUNNER!
B.C. truck enthusiast wins 2010 Toyota 4Runner in Toyota Canada's "Win a 4Runner Video Contest"
John Banovich of Surrey selected from approximately 200 approved video entries
(TORONTO, Ontario) - July 29, 2010 - As part of his video entry in Toyota Canada Inc.'s (TCI) "Win a 4Runner Video Contest", John Banovich went to the woods and climbed a hill while making truck noises - all part of a humourous training program simulation - as he imagined his first off-road drive an all-new 2010 Toyota 4Runner Trail Edition.
Toyota Canada is pleased to make that dream a reality by awarding him the grand prize for the "Win A 4Runner Video Contest". Representatives from TCI and Peace Arch Toyota in Surrey, B.C., handed John the keys to his new 2010 4Runner Trail Edition which will join the 2001 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 Access Cab already in his driveway in his hometown of Surrey, British Columbia.
"I've been a Toyota trucks fan for years, and it was easy for me to express that in a fun way through my video entry. I'm grateful to Toyota Canada for the new 4Runner; my family and I plan to celebrate by taking it on a Western Canada road trip," expressed John Banovich. "I love my Toyota Tacoma; it's been reliable, tough and inexpensive to own and operate. Now that my family is growing we needed another safe, reliable vehicle, and the 2010 4Runner is the perfect solution."
"John's video captured the enthusiasm of Toyota truck owners in a truly humourous way, and we congratulate him on the creativity of his prize-winning entry," said Stephen Beatty, Managing Director at Toyota Canada Inc. "The quality of the almost 200 approved video entries from across Canada was outstanding, making this a very tough contest to judge. John's video stood out for its originality and the way it captured the true passion of Toyota truck enthusiasts."
Nathalie Geddry of Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia was named the second prize winner in the contest, picking up a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card for her video. Nathalie showcased the "never quit" dependability of her cherished 1965 Toyota FJ45 Land Cruiser.
TCI's "Win a 4Runner Video Contest", open to all Toyota and non-owners equally, was created so Canadian truck enthusiasts could share their passion, excitement and stories. Promoted through television, online, in-store and direct mail marketing, entrants were asked to submit a short video (under 1 minute) describing why they love trucks or why they deserve to win a new 2010 Toyota 4Runner. Selected submissions were posted on 4Runner.ca and viewers were invited to vote for their favourite entries. Finalists and the winners were then chosen by TCI. John and Nathalie's winning videos, along with other entries, may be viewed on the 4Runner micro site at www.4runner.ca
The Toyota 4Runner is all-new for the 2010 model year. Building on Toyota's 70-year truck heritage, the fifth-generation of this legendary mid-size SUV is available in three models, the 4Runner SR5, Trail Edition and Limited. All models feature authentic body-on-frame construction, advanced traction and suspension systems, generous safety systems, and a winning combination of off-road capability and on-road driving comfort.
About Toyota Canada Inc.
Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota and Lexus cars, SUVs and trucks, and Toyota Industrial Equipment. TCI's head office is in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax and parts distribution centres in Toronto and Vancouver.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRIUS!!
Toyota Celebrates 10 Years of Prius in Canada
Toyota Canada thanks Canadians for making Prius the most popular hybrid vehicle in the country with more than 20,000 sold since launch
(Toronto, ON) - July 27, 2010 - Ten years ago Toyota launched a new kind of car in North America. It was the Prius, an affordable car with a hybrid gas/electric powertrain. In the decade that followed, the Prius made an indelible mark on the automotive industry. The car with the signature wedge shape proved to be an agent of change, and a catalyst for innovative ideas. Over 1.8 million units have been sold in the world to date, over 20,000 of which have been sold in Canada. Toyota believes that the best environmental solutions are those that are readily adopted by consumers, and the Prius has been a success in that regard.
"A decade ago, we introduced the first generation Prius to Canadians, and a hybrid vehicle sustainable mobility movement began across the country," said Yoichi Tomihara, President of Toyota Canada Inc. "Since then, we have been joined in support by more than 50,000 Canadian Toyota and Lexus hybrid drivers, and we hope this marks the beginning of the same movement for plug-in hybrid technology."
The first Prius came to North America in July of 2000. In the 10 years since its launch, there has been a significant shift in favour of increased manufacturing and adoption of more sustainable vehicle technology. Today in Canada there are nearly 23 hybrid models on the road from 11 brands, with more on the drawing boards. Many of the patents filed during the development of the original Prius are now licensed to manufacturers who also take advantage of Toyota's initial R&D investment. Nevertheless, almost one out of every three hybrids on Canadian roads is a Prius, which remains the benchmark to which all hybrid cars are compared.
The over 20,000 Canadians who chose to drive a Toyota Prius versus the average car of the same class have prevented an estimated 190,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, conserved approximately 80 million litres of gas, and saved an estimated 80 million of their hard-earned dollars*.
Widely characterized as environmentalists, early Prius adopters were actually more likely to be tech-savvy professionals. Those first owners, well aware of public events and global developments, were conscious of the impact of their own choices. They became articulate advocates for the technology.
Driving a Prius delivered a new kind of satisfaction, based on a new set of values. It was a car enriched with advanced features, in tune with global issues that assumed greater importance every year. It provided an affordable transportation solution that earlier all-electric cars did not, as it was able to use existing infrastructure without concerns for recharging or range limitations.
Today, the Prius has become a mainstream vehicle. It is an icon for the company that speaks to our leadership in the area of sustainable mobility.
Refining The System
Each generation of the Prius has moved the bar higher. When the first-generation compact Prius was launched in 2000, buyers got 97 combined horsepower and were told to expect combined city/highway fuel consumption of about 4.5L/100km. Ten years later, the midsize Prius has 134 horsepower and delivers fuel consumption of just 3.8L/100 combined.
Improvements have been continuous. Compared to the original car in 2000, the 2010 Prius is bigger, faster and even cleaner. With over 1,000 patents covering innovations in the current 2010 model like the solar powered ventilation system, the Prius' continues to be seen as a harbinger of future trends and technologies.
As time went on, the media gained a better understanding of Prius. The editors of Motor Trend magazine, in naming the Prius "2004 Car of the Year," were "thoroughly impressed with the Prius as not only a technological marvel, but as a truly liveable sedan." The Car Connection described it as "Nothing less than the world's most sophisticated powertrain ever delivered to ordinary customers." Highly visible celebrities became owners, helping make Prius an aspirational eco-car.
In The Beginning?
The development of the original Prius, like sending a man to the moon, was a daring project with many breakthroughs and discouraging setbacks. What started as a conceptual exercise between a few planners and engineers ultimately became an intently focused, determined corporate priority. Creating the vehicle that became the Prius was accomplished in a relatively short amount of time through use of computer models to design and prove ideas. By minimizing the use of prototypes, Toyota engineers changed the way cars are designed and built.
Many of the components had to be invented from scratch. Those that had already been invented, such as regenerative brakes and electronic power steering, needed to be improved and adapted for mass production. Global standards for electronic components had to be set, and new software written.
A total of nine on-board processors were needed to manage the power delivery between engine, battery, brakes and motor/generator. Many motors and batteries were developed, tested, and discarded before they could be proven. Engines had to be converted to run on the more efficient Atkinson Cycle to power a new, unique transaxle.
A completely new type of instrumentation had to be developed. With the Prius, there was a need to monitor the interplay between the engine and the battery, leading to a display that kept the driver informed of his status on both counts. The new instrumentation empowered the drivers to improve mileage by altering their technique, turning driving into an interactive game. Today, mileage feedback displays are in use on almost every new vehicle on the market.
Unprecedented quality-control standards had to be instituted as motors and batteries that had been reliable enough for stationary use proved vulnerable to heat, cold and vibration. Multi-million-dollar joint ventures were established in order to assure the G21 Project, as it was called, could one day lead to a mass-produced vehicle.
These investments were made in an automotive environment that was dominated by sales of trucks and SUVs. Through it all, Toyota management remained convinced that their goal of combining fuel efficiency with environmental performance would one day be appreciated.
The Prius of the Future
There may be many futures for the Prius and Hybrid Synergy Drive but one significant advancement, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid (PHV), is already here. The car is designed with small Lithium-Ion battery packs that will help the PHV produce even less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional hybrid vehicles. A fleet of Prius PHV's are now in test trials in Canada, as part of a larger global Toyota demonstration program.
As the first Canadian test trial of advanced technology vehicles that is truly national in scope, five Prius PHV's will hit the roads with 15 trial partners in 4 provinces. Representing academia, power authorities, governments and municipality stakeholders, these partners will work together with Toyota Canada to better understand how consumers adopt this new technology. Each test vehicle will be fitted with a telematics device to capture performance data. This feedback will deliver critical technical and consumer acceptance feedback of the Prius PHV, unique to the needs and wants of Canadian drivers. A commercial PHV is expected to go on sale in 2012.
Longer term, Hybrid Synergy Drive components and software provide a direct bridge to clean, efficient drivetrains of the future. And while breakthrough technologies are on the horizon, continuing gains in battery technology and internal combustion engines keep the Prius competitive. Even in a world of alternative fuels, electric cars and hydrogen fuel cells, it's a good bet that Prius cars based on Hybrid Synergy Drive will be around for a long time to come.
Prius Timeline: Significant Dates and Milestones
1990: Meetings begin concept work on Project G21, "a car for the 21st Century", in Toyota City and Higashifugi Technical Center. Fuel economy target was 20 kilometres per litre, about 50% better than other passenger cars of the time.
1994 (January): Project team addresses drivetrain, chassis and packaging decisions. The team was granted the right to develop new parts from scratch "if necessary."
1994 (July): G21 Project, Phase III begins, accelerating development for production of the Prius parallel to development of Toyota's experimental hybrid system.
1995 (June): Toyota Hybrid System approved and code-named 890T.
1995 (October): Hybrid concept Prius displayed at Tokyo Motor Show with propulsion system described as Toyota-EMS ("Energy Management System").
1996 (December): Anticipating the future EV and hybrid vehicle market, Panasonic EV Energy was established as a joint venture between Matsushita and Toyota.
1997 (December): Gen 1 Prius launched in Japan after a final design period of 17 months. Wins Japan Car of the Year award and Global Climate Protection Award from the U.S. EPA, among other accolades.
1998: Announced in July that Toyota would export 20,000 units annually to North America and Europe.
2000: Post-Prius era of automotive history begins. From this time on, the concept of environmental performance begins to take root.
2004: Second generation Prius launched, called "Car of the Year" by Motor Trend Magazine.
2008: National average gas prices hit $1.40 per litre; cumulative Prius sales worldwide surpass 1 million, 10,000 in Canada alone.
2009: Third generation Prius launched as 2010 model with larger 1.8-litre engine, 0.25 coefficient of drag and fuel consumption of just 3.8L/100km combined.
2010: Prius Plug-in Hybrid global test trials begin; the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain featured in the 2010 Prius wins "Green Engine of the Year" from the 2010 International Engine of the Year Awards; Prius wins ecoENERGY for Vehicle Awards for 10th year in a row.
Toyota acceleration woes may be driver error
Toyota acceleration woes may be driver error
Wall Street Journal cites black box info from Department of Transportation
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 | 7:20 AM PT
The Associated Press
The Department of Transportation's analysis of dozens of black boxes in Toyota vehicles involved in accidents blamed on unintended acceleration has found the throttles were open and the brakes were not engaged, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Technicians
check the braking system of a Toyota Prius as photographers look on. A
new report suggests black box info from some Toyota's show acceleration
problems were caused by driver error. (Koji
Sasahara/Associated Press)
That suggests drivers of the speeding cars were stepping on the accelerators rather than hitting the brakes. The vehicles investigated came from a sample in which the drivers said they were braking but failed to stop the car before crashing, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the findings.
Transportation Department officials declined to confirm the report and did not comment.
Toyota spokesman Mike Michels said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not shared its findings with the Japanese automaker, but said their own findings from investigations of unintended acceleration are consistent with the report.
The black boxes, called event data recorders, are devices that track a number of details about a vehicle around the time of an accident, including which pedals were applied and how fast the car was traveling.
Toyota has recalled more than 8.5 million vehicles worldwide since last fall due to faulty accelerators, floor mats that may trap gas pedals, and brake problems in Priuses, among other problems. The largest problems were due to unintended acceleration, which the automaker has sought to address by fixing the gas pedals and floor mats.
The government has said unintended acceleration in Toyotas may have been involved in the deaths of 93 people over the past decade.
The agency has received about 3,000 complaints of sudden acceleration in Toyotas.
Daniel Smith, NHTSA's associate administrator for enforcement, told a panel with the National Academy of Sciences reviewing unintended acceleration last month that the agency had not yet found any defects beyond the two problems cited by Toyota: pedals that can become entrapped by floor mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
Alpine Toyota donates 2010 Norco Road bike for COPS FOR KIDS
Cops for Kids is a charity that provides financial support to children in medical, physical or traumatic crisis within the Southern Interior Region of British Columbia.
AlpineToyota was pleased to be able to donate a brand new 2010 road bike - Norco CRR3 - to Cranbrook's local rider, Felicia Alston. Felicia will be riding and training with the bike throughout the summer and will then be completing the signature event, 1000km bike ride in September. The goal is to raise as much funds as possible for the charity and to keep funding ongoing for children throughout the year.
Here is your opportunity to win this bike! When you make a donation to the charity your name will be entered into the draw for a chance to win this bike.
You can enter by making a donation at Alpine Toyota, or by calling Felicia Alston at 250-489-3471. Any donation $25.00 and above receives a tax receipt.
Toyota Canada Inc. Pinnacle Award
Alpine Toyota is proud to announce they are the winners of Toyota Cananda's Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction! In 2009 Alpine Toyota became the Most Improved in Sales Satisfaction out of all the Toyota Dealerships in Canada.
Alpine Toyota donates Lev Sled to the Mount Baker Football Team
Article written by GERRY WARNER - Daily Townsman
The Mount Baker Wild football team is in love! Well, not quite. But what Baker's gridiron guys (and one female player) have now is the next best thing to being in love - a "Lev Sled."
The team has the $10,000 cast iron and padded steel-tackling instrument thanks to the generosity of local car dealer Bruce Smith of Alpine Toyota, who donated the money for the unique piece of equipment that could go a long way to help the fledgling team have a winning season this year.
Smith's son Brady, a Grade 12 student at Baker, and assistant coach of the team, says his dad just wanted to do what he could to help.
"He sees the value of a really good piece of equipment and the value of the football program and what this will mean to the kids. He also knows Don pretty well."
"Don" is Don Erichsen, the coach of the Wild, and he is very happy with the team's new piece of equipment that was on display at the Baker field during a practice Friday.
"It's a heavy piece of equipment that will help teach the players proper technique and movement. It really helps to engage their drive muscles in order to be more effective."
Erichsen says Smith senior is a great supporter of the team and the new piece of equipment, also known as a "hitting sled," is a "real step forward for the team."
Smith junior, who played on the team himself when he was in Grade 11, agrees. "I think the sled will improve the program and will help the team to practice better and play better."
According to Roger's Football, the Oklahoma manufacturer of the Five-Man Lev Sled now owned by Baker, the instrument "helps train the offense to explode through defenders, roll the hips and extend the arms. The extra heavy weight of the Lev Sled increases the realism of blocking drills. "
And they're not kidding about the weight because the mammoth piece of equipment weighs 1,276 pounds (720 kilograms). That's over a half ton piece of equipment in a sport that still measures its plays in yards.
If the Wild works wildly enough on the Lev Sled this season they should be unbeatable.
Toyota being proactive in recall, says local dealer
By GERRY WARNER
gerry@dailytownsman.com
Feb 1st, 2010
Being proactive is what its all about when it comes to dealing with the Toyota recall now underway around the world, says Bruce Smith Dealer Principal at Alpine Toyota on Cranbrook Street.
Smith, who has worked for Ford and Chrysler as well as Toyota during his 27 years in the car business, says the highly-publicized recall by Toyota is voluntary and demonstrates how proactive the company is being in resolving the sticky gas pedal problem.
"It's a serious issue because it could affect the safety of a vehicle, but Toyota is being proactive and they want to fix it before it becomes a problem. They have a remedy for it all ready, which is a replacement of the unit. The problem is getting enough of them as soon as possible."
The "unit" is a gas pedal assembly made by a Canadian company, CTS Corp. and another company abroad and a "fix" for the worn part causing the problem is coming as quickly as possible, Smith says.
"The problem is not as bad as it has appeared in the media and it's very few. They've had five instances in Canada. We checked 40 yesterday and all of them were perfect."
Only five of the affected models have been found in Canada and that's out of 270,000 sold, Smith says. Despite this, Toyota is recalling some 2.6 million vehicles in North America for inspection and possible replacement just to be on the safe side, he says.
"In the unlikely event that we encounter a vehicle where the accelerator pedal mechanism stick, we will replace the assembly. If one is not available, we will provide a rental vehicle at no charge to the customer until the update has been completed."
The models affected are the 2009 - 2010 Rav 4, the 2009 - 2010 Corolla, the 2009 - 2010 Matrix, the 2005 - 2010 Avalon, the 2007 - 2010 Camry, the 2010 Highlander, the 2007 - 2010 Tundra and the 2008 to 2010 Sequoia.
If you own one of these vehicles and have any reason to believe the accelerator pedal is sticking in any way, bring it in, says Smith. The vehicle will be inspected at no charge and a rental vehicle supplied if an immediate fix is not available. Even if you don't bring your vehicle in, the dealership will contact you by letter or e-mail if they have reason to believe your vehicle should be checked.
The floor mat problem is not directly related to the sticky gas pedal problem and occurs most often when owners put another floor mat on top of the one that comes with the vehicle and it slides up causing the gas pedal to stick. In this case, Toyota is redesigning the accelerator pedal so it doesn't catch on the mat and replacing the tether hooks to ensure that the mat that comes with the vehicle stays put.
"We're asking people not to have two mats in the care, just one and we tether it at no charge to them," says Smith. "If the clips are broken on the floor in older cars, we'll put them in, no charge and that's not something Toyota is doing. That's what we're doing."
Smith said Toyota has been completely transparent about the accelerator pedal and floor mat problems with his dealership and the public and he in turn is doing the same with his customers.
"I'm telling them (his customers) what they (Toyota) told us. The more this thing is publicized the sooner it will go away."
Despite Toyota's and his own attempts to be completely transparent and up-front about the recall, there will be some negative fallout from the incident and some damage to Toyota's reputation for quality, Smith says.
"At first glance, it may give Toyota a little bit of a stumble in the marketplace but once they get the fix and the public sees them putting their best-foot forward?I think in the long run it will be a good thing for Toyota. And remember, this is a voluntary recall. Transport Canada didn't order them to it. They've been proactive right from the start."
Smith said his customers seem to be taking the incident in stride. "We've had many, many calls and we've had a number of staff meetings to make sure our staff understand that it's not as grave as the media has made it out to be, but we still need to understand how to go about checking the vehicles and making sure they're fine."
