Toyota

What if I told you that the Blade Runner-esque vehicle in the photo above was the next Prius? Would you be excited? Well, the bad news is that the concept above is likely not the next Prius, it's a design study by industrial designer Eric Leong. The good news is that Leong completed this study as part of last year's Toyota Design internship at the automaker's Advanced Design Studio in Tokyo, Japan, so at the very least there is a Toyota connection.

Leong's concept features a windswept design that channels airflow around the vehicle to reduce … Read more

LOS ANGELES--A varied collection of new and custom cars rolled into this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo to promote car-friendly games and hype 2011 models appealing to younger drivers with a little money to burn.

Automakers know they have a captive E3 audience in the much-beloved "young adults with disposable income" demographic as the game mega convention invites only professionals connected to the industry. So car companies put their new, tech-enhanced midrange models on display in hopes that attendees will head their way with their game industry paychecks.

This year's E3 featured an interesting cross-marketing scheme enabling players of EA games such as Sims 3 and Monopoly to download cars on display--like the 2011 Prius or the 2011 Ford Fiesta Platinum--directly into the games as playable options.

Last year's E3 served up more extreme super cars on the floor as EA's Need for Speed line rolled out new titles for consoles and mobile devices, opening the door for the appearance of the rare Pagani Zonda F and Mercedes Benz AMG SLK. But this year saw THQ choose a beat-up, aging Honda Civic owned by Enrique Trinidad of Henderson, Nev., for a complete overhaul to promote its Saints Row 3 game.

For a look at the cars of E3 2011, see our gallery below.

… Read more

Toyota today announced a voluntary safety recall of about 52,000 2001 through 2003 Prius models in the U.S. to replace the electric power-steering pinion shaft attachment nuts.

According to Toyota, there is a possibility that the nuts securing the pinion shaft in the steering gear box assembly may become loose "if the steering wheel is repeatedly and strongly turned to the full-lock position."

The driver could, over time, notice that more effort is needed in steering when making a left turn, the company said.

Toyota dealers will make the necessary repairs, free of charge, by installing … Read more

Think you're safer in that Chevy Suburban than in a Honda Civic? Think again. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released its latest round of Top Safety Picks, and in the small car category, six newly tested cars achieved top marks in all the tests.

The six new winners in the small car category are the 2012 Honda Civic and Ford Focus and the 2011 models of the Hyundai Elantra, Lexus CT 200h, Nissan Juke, and Toyota Prius. They join a group of 14 previously tested Top Safety Pick winners in the small car category, including the Nissan Leaf … Read more

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Monday, May 23:

Foxconn: No delays in iPad supply after explosion Production was suspended at Foxconn factory in China, pending investigation into last week's explosion that killed three people. More

B&N gets set to launch new Nook (live blog) Barnes & Noble will be showing off a new Nook Tuesday morning. Get the full skinny in real time as we live blog the unveiling. More

Spying elite toys at the Cannes Film Festival This epicenter for international … Read more

When Toyota first introduced the Prius, not everybody understood how a hybrid works. After years of publicity, and the Prius becoming a common sight on the roads, most people get it.

But now Toyota reintroduces confusion to the Prius brand by creating new models that share the name. The first of these to hit the market will be the 2012 Prius V, a car that uses similar styling and power train to the current Prius, but offers substantially increased cargo area and seating room.

Toyota designed the Prius V, the "V" standing for versatility, to accommodate U.S. … Read more

Salesforce.com said today that it will partner with Toyota to build a private social network, dubbed Toyota Friend. The effort will be built on Salesforce Chatter.

Toyota Friend will be offered in Japan at first and be available on electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid cars in 2012. Toyota is partnering with Microsoft and others in an effort to catch up to Ford for in-car technology.

The two companies are also investing in Toyota Media Service, which will aim to build a global telematics system. Salesforce will invest 223 million yen ($2.85 million) into Toyota Media Service Co. with … Read more

Volvo's electric vehicle technology is about to become cleaner. The car maker will begin testing wireless charging technology on its Volvo C30 Electric that will let drivers recharge the battery without touching a cable or dirtying their hands.

The current C30 Electric that will begin customer testing in Europe later this year uses a cable to plug into the car's grille via a specially designed charge connector. In a new partnership agreement, Belgium's state-owned Flanders' Drive will modify a Volvo C30 Electric so a 20kWh battery can be recharged wirelessly using induction charging.

With inductive charging, a … Read more

TOKYO--Toyota Motor may delay the U.S. launch of the wagon-style Prius V, scheduled for late summer, because of the March 11 earthquake.

The vehicle went on sale here May 13 as the Prius Alpha, several weeks later than planned. Toyota pushed back the launch because production at the Tsutsumi plant in Toyota City was shut down by the quake.

"It may have some impact from the earthquake," chief engineer Hiroshi Kayukawa said of the U.S. launch at a Tokyo test-drive event. Toyota is still considering whether to delay, he said.

In Japan, Toyota had 25,000 … Read more