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Lexus/Toyota/Scion Issues 2011 North American Environmental Report. Stays on top of environmental technology developments.

Remains the Industry’s Leader in Fuel Economy and Advanced Fuel Vehicles, with Further Growth Expected from Expansion of Prius Family

Makes Substantial Progress in Meeting or Exceeding Its Aggressive Five-Year Environmental Action Plan

NEW YORK – November 9, 2011 – Toyota, the most fuel-efficient full line auto manufacturer in the United States today reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability throughout its operations and beyond as it released its 2011 North America Environmental Report.  The report details the substantial success that Toyota has had in meeting or exceeding the goals of its aggressive, five-year Environmental Action Plan (EAP). These include groundbreaking enhancements to its industry-leading fleet of sustainable, advanced technology vehicles as well as strengthened environmental practices and partnerships across its manufacturing, sales and service operations.

Among the key achievements outlined in the 2011 report are:

• Major developments in advanced technology vehicles, including the launch of an expanded family of four Prius vehicles, a new partnership with California’s Tesla Motors to produce an electric, zero emission version of the RAV4 crossover SUV, and the opening of the first pipeline-fed hydrogen filling station in the U.S.;
• Significant improvements in fuel economy across Toyota’s fleet over the past five years, including a 12% improvement in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (or CAFE standards) for U.S. cars and a 10% improvement in U.S. truck CAFE standards;
• Near zero-landfill status at each of Toyota’s North American manufacturing plants as well as a 35% decrease in the amount of nonsaleable waste per vehicle produced; and
• Expanded local partnerships to improve the environment, including helping towns and counties reduce energy use, donating used plastics that are recycled to fund a local program for the disabled, and working with dealerships and suppliers to build “greener” facilities.

“Toyota is more committed than ever to being an environmental leader, but we know we must continue to earn it with our actions, our products and our dedication to communities” said Dian Ogilvie, senior vice president & secretary, Toyota Motor North America, Inc. “We are proud of the success we have had throughout Toyota in improving the fuel economy of our vehicles and minimizing the environmental impact of our operations, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with our dealers, suppliers and partners throughout North America to make even greater strides in the years ahead.”

New Environmental Report Shows Substantial Progress on Toyota’s Five-Year Environmental Action Plan

In April 2006, Toyota began working to meet the guidelines of its second consolidated Environmental Action Plan, an aggressive five-year roadmap for improving and enhancing sustainability efforts across the company’s North America operations. This EAP covered five fiscal years through March 2011, a period that coincided with a strong economic downturn, product recalls and a major natural disaster in Japan. The company met or exceeded more than 80 percent of its EAP benchmarks. 

“Despite the challenges, production slow-downs and hard decisions we faced, Toyota found ways to reduce environmental impacts in all areas of our business,” Ogilvie noted. “We used downtime to train employees and challenged them to find opportunities for improving our performance and sharing their knowledge with others. As a result, we met or exceeded many of the targets in our plan and, where targets were missed, still made progress reducing our impact.”

The results of this EAP, as well as environmental activities in Fiscal Year 2011, form the foundation of the new North America Environmental Report. Other highlights include:

Advanced Vehicle Technology and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

• Toyota continues to be the most fuel-efficient full line auto manufacturer in the United States and remains committed to bringing a portfolio of advanced technologies to market, including hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. In addition to exceeding U.S. CAFE standards, the company continues to top Canadian Car Company Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) targets for cars and light-duty trucks, performing better than the industry average.
• Prius topped both the U.S. EPA’s and Natural Resources Canada’s lists of the most fuel-efficient vehicles for 2011, and was named the best overall value of the year for the last nine years in a row by IntelliChoice.
• Prius continues to be the world’s best selling fuel-efficient vehicle, with more than 3 million vehicles sold worldwide. Since its introduction in the U.S. in 2000, Prius – when compared to the average car – has saved American consumers more than an estimated $2.19 billion in fuel costs, 881 million gallons of gas and 12.4 million tons of CO₂ emissions.
• Prius v, the second of an expanded family of four Prius vehicles, launched in 2011, bringing Toyota to a total of 9 hybrid vehicles. Next year Toyota will add the Prius C and the Prius Plug-in as well as its new electric RAV4 crossover SUV to the company’s portfolio of advanced technology vehicles.

Energy Consumption, Recycling and Resource Management

• Over the course of the five-year EAP, Toyota achieved a 6% decrease in CO2 emissions at U.S. Plants per vehicle produced and a 10% decrease in Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emissions.
• At our manufacturing plants, we’ve achieved our goal of near-zero waste to landfill for each of the last three years. Toyota’s vehicle distribution division recycled a total of 94 percent of waste generated.
• A photovoltaic system at our southern California sales headquarters has generated over 4.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough energy to power an average size household for approximately 383 years.
• In 2011, Toyota’s North American manufacturing affiliate (Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.) received an ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award for the seventh consecutive year. An employee competition at our plant in Georgetown, KY has reduced CO₂ emissions by more than 11,000 metric tons. This program has now been rolled out at all of Toyota’s plants in North America.

Sustainable Buildings and Dealerships

• Four more Toyota buildings achieved LEED® certification last year, for a total of 10 LEED certified buildings. 
• Toyota has also helped 15 Toyota and Lexus dealerships in the U.S. and Canada in obtaining LEED® certification for their facilities.
• The company introduced a battery recovery program to educate dealers on the proper handling of large format nickel-metal hydride batteries from our hybrid vehicles. Spent batteries are collected from the dealers and transported by Toyota for proper recycling and disposal.

Environmental Stewardship and Community Engagement

• TogetherGreen™, our signature environmental philanthropic program with the National Audubon Society, continues to support conservation projects across the country.  To date, TogetherGreen volunteers – including more than 700 Toyota employees in New York, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and California – across the country have donated over 700,000 hours of their time.
• For the 12th year, Toyota sponsored National Public Lands Day in partnership with the National Environmental and Education Foundation. More than 170,000 volunteers maintained existing trails and built new trails and bridges, cleaned stream beds, removed trash and invasive plants, and planted 1.6 million trees.

Toyota 100 Cars for Good Program Helps Fill Need for Mobility Vehicles

16 Winners of 100 Cars for Good Will Receive Specially Built Toyota Sienna Minivans to Serve Mobility-Impaired Community

• A total of 100 nonprofit organizations were selected by the public to receive a new Toyota vehicle

 

TORRANCE, CALIF. (November 9, 2011) – Providence TrinityKids Care, the only children’s hospice program serving Los Angeles and Orange counties, will today receive a Toyota Sienna minivan, courtesy of Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program, which awarded 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 deserving non-profit organizations. The Sienna minivan for Providence is one of 16 donated vehicles that have been specially built by Toyota to better assist those who are mobility-impaired, whether due to illness, age or disability. The delivery took place at Toyota’s Torrance campus.

Providence TrinityKids Care is a pediatric hospice service for critically ill children and their families, whose team of medical experts provide their expertise to help keep children comfortable at home. The organization is the only dedicated in-home children’s hospice and palliative care program in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The organization plans to use its Toyota Sienna to develop its Transportation Program, which will help families get to and from medical appointments. 

Toyota introduced the U.S. auto industry’s first factory-installed, power rotating lift-up seat in the Sienna, which is the minivan selected by Providence TrinityKids Care. Toyota calls this feature Auto Access Seat, a lift-up seat designed to assist passengers to get in and out of the vehicle with ease and safety. Ten other winning organizations will also receive a Toyota Sienna with this equipment. Five of the winners will receive a Toyota Sienna Rampvan®, a lowered-floor minivan with a power ramp for wheelchair access. These five Sienna minivans were converted by BraunAbility, a Toyota business partner, and the largest manufacturer of wheelchair-accessible vans and wheelchair lifts worldwide.

Program Overview

Winners of the Toyota 100 Cars for Good program were determined based on voting from the public. Each day, five organizations were profiled on Toyota’s Facebook page where the public was invited to show their support by voting to determine the winning non-profit organization. Each daily winner was awarded a new Toyota vehicle to help the organizations continue to do “good” in their local communities. The remaining finalists each received a $1000 grant from Toyota.

Public voting for the 100 Cars for Good program opened May 9, 2011 and continued through August 16. Voters were allowed to place one vote per day, each day, over the course of the program. Each day, the previous day’s winner was announced and five new nonprofit organizations were featured for voting.  Winning organizations could choose from the following vehicles: Prius, Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna or Sienna Mobility. Toyota Financial Services will provide a six-year, 100,000-mile Toyota Vehicle Service Agreement to provide extended protection beyond the vehicle warranty.

The 500 finalists, from which the 100 winners were ultimately selected, were chosen by an independent panel of judges who are experts in the fields of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. To learn more about all the finalists, including winning organizations, visit www.facebook.com/toyota and click on the 100 Cars for Good tab.

Quotes

“Toyota is proud to add these modifications for the 16 winners of the Toyota 100 Cars for Good program that serve those who live with mobility impairment. We know that these changes will help each of the winning organizations further the ‘good’ they do each day. Being a part of this program has been a joy and an honor as we got to know each of the winning organizations and the work they do. They all represent truly the best of human compassion, ingenuity and dedication, and we thank them for their ongoing service.” – Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

“We are so grateful to Toyota for the generosity they have shown to organizations like us through the 100 Cars for Good program. The Sienna will help us provide safe, reliable transportation to families in need, and since mobility is a challenge for many, the Auto Access Seat makes it that much more valuable. We know that all of the winners of 100 Cars for Good feel the same appreciation we do!” – Terri Warren, Chief Executive, Providence TrinityCare Hospice.

“The Braun Corporation was delighted to play a role in the 100 Cars for Good program. We see the need for mobility vehicles every day, and the enormous impact just one of these cars can make. We applaud Toyota for making this investment for 16 of the program’s winners, and congratulate each of the organizations.” – Nick Gutwein, President, The Braun Corporation.

The other winning organizations that will receive a specially built Sienna minivan are:

ORGANIZATION	LOCATION
ACDS – Association for Children with Down Syndrome	Plainview, New York
Alaska Christian College	Soldotna, Alaska
Aleethia Foundation	Washington, DC
Any Baby Can, Inc.	Austin, Texas
Arbor Day Farm / Lied Lodge & Conference Center	Nebraska City, Nebraska
Carolina Canines for Service	Wilmington, North Carolina
Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center	Chicago, Illinois
Children’s Specialized Hospital	Mountainside, New Jersey
Dream Power Animal Rescue Foundation	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Hills & Dales Child Development Center	Dubuque, Iowa
Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Foundation	Louisville, Kentucky
My Angel with Paws	Deland, Florida
Redwood	Fort Mitchell, Kentucky
SafePlace	Austin, Texas
Sandhills Children’s Center	Rockingham, North Carolina
The Hope Institute for Children and Families	Springfield, Illinois

 

 

 

From: PressRoom.Toyota

Hold on to your hats! The Festivals of Speed will be roaring through Orlando this weekend, don't miss it!

The event will be held on the lush grounds of the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes on the 13th of November. Festivities begin at 10:00 AM on Sunday! 

For more details click here!

UCF to get Big East invitation! Let's hear a cheer for the home team!

ORLANDO -- 

The University of Central Florida will receive an invitation to join the Big East Conference.

The conference held its annual meeting Tuesday, during which officials decided to extend formal invitations to UCF and other schools.

University officials said in a statement they have not yet received the invitation, but "understand that things are moving in that direction."

The Big East is trying to replace four schools that are leaving to join other conferences.

Join the Quiet Revolotion of the Lexus CT 200h Hybrid. Check out this rockin commercial originally aired in the UK!

Lexus Teases 2013 GS350 F-Sport and GS Hybrid; Models Will Debut at SEMA and Frankfurt

Lexus unveiled its new 2013 GS350 sedan last week at the festivities surrounding the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, and it snuck in peeks at two key GS variants that will follow the 350 to market. The first is the enthusiast-minded GS350 F-Sport—we’ve already driven a prototype—which Lexus teased with a zoomed-in shot of the car’s front-left corner. The second is the hybrid variant of the GS, although the image shows only an unchaged grille and a newly blue-tinged badge. Lexus will debut the GS hybrid at the Frankfurt auto show in September, by which point we should know whether it will keep the same GS450h moniker as the last-gen GS hybrid.

Although not as exciting as the 416-hp V-8–powered IS F, we did find the F-Sport GS to be noticeably more engaging to drive than the standard car. The F-Sport we drove was covered in camouflage, however, and from what we can see in the teaser, the model will feature an appropriately aggressive front fascia. The intakes under the headlights are much larger than those on the pedestrian GS350, and their edges are more sharply defined. The F-Sport trades the standard car’s horizontal grille slats for sportier mesh, and also inherits IS F–style dark-gray wheels.

It should be noted that a GS350 F-Sport is a different animal from an IS F. While Lexus F can be thought of along the lines of BMW’s M or Mercedes-Benz’s AMG—an in-house tuning arm that cranks out high-powered street burners—F-Sport is Lexus’s brand for its line of performance accessories. The F-ized GS will follow the IS350C F-Sport convertible and IS250 and 350 F-Sport sedans in offering the parts from the factory; a CT200h is due to come for 2012, too. The GS350 F-Sport will be unveiled at this year’s SEMA show in November.

 

From: CarAndDriver