Toyota AQUA = PRIUS C ?

Toyota's rumored Aqua Hybrid: $4000 cheaper than Prius and 94 MPG

Toyota Motor Corporation is rumored to launch a new hybrid compact car Aqua in January of 2012 that will revolutionize the auto industry. The price is going to be much cheaper and the mileage significantly higher, according to a report.


Nothing is known about the design of the 2012 Aqua. However, the car maker says it will be "compact" and the company will be targeting the car to the "younger drivers and women." Thus, Toyota is hoping to expand its customer base by targeting this two growing segments with strong decision making power.
This new hybrid will use the same powertrain as the highly popular Prius, helping to hold down development costs. Featuring a more compact design, the Aqua will not only beat the Prius' 32km fuel economy, but also likely sell for around 1.7 million yen, around 300,000 yen cheaper than the Prius.

PRECIOUS LINE

an exclusive look at the prius c concept

The Prius c Concept has garnered a lot of attention since its world debut at the Detroit Auto Show,  the compact Prius designed for big-city mileage and maximum style.
Meet the new Prius Family from Toyota. There's the original one, the bigger one, the smaller one and the one that plugs in.  They're all a little different, just like us. 

available spring 2012

prius plug-in hybrid

The most advanced Prius yet. The Prius Plug-in combines
an extended, all-electric mode with proven hybrid technology,
so you spend even less time at the pump. see more

available fall 2011

prius v

Has more cargo volume than 80% of small SUVs. [1]
More room for your dog, beach gear or anything else
you might want to tote around town. [2] see more

In the USA, 2010

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year.  Real median household income in the United States in 2010 was $49,445, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2009 median.  The nation's official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 ─ the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate. There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 ─ the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.  The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 49.0 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, while the percentage without coverage −16.3 percent - was not statistically different from the rate in 2009.

Thresholds

• As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2010 was $22,314.

VW & SUZUKI

The spat between automakers Volkswagen and Suzuki is worse than ever, straining the relationship between the two as Suzuki appears to be publicly ignoring its German counterpart. Bloombergreports that Suzuki executives say they are disappointed in VW’s technology lineup and will seek partnerships elsewhere.  According to Bloomberg, Suzuki has effectively shunned its German partner after Volkswagen referred to Suzuki as an “associate” in its March 2011 annual report. The report also claimed VW could “significantly influence financial and operating policy decisions” at Suzuki. That frustrated the Japanese company, as the partnership was intended for the two automakers to cooperate as equals. Since then, the disagreement has escalated.  Suzuki chairman Osamu Suzuki recently told the Japanese press that he hasn’t found any VW powertrains that he’d like for Suzuki. Instead, the company announced it would buy diesel engines from Italian automaker Fiat, and would pursue other partnerships with different automakers.  Volkswagen reportedly now believes that Suzuki has reneged on its part of the partnership deal by seeking partnerships with Fiat and others. While the company still sees hope for cooperative projects between the two companies, VW chief financial officer Hans Dieter Poetsch has described the tie-up as “under review.”  “Volkswagen is not talking to us,” Osamu Suzuki told Bloomberg. “We have no plans to talk to them.”  Volkswagen first bought a 19.9 percent share of Suzuki in December 2009, ostensibly to permit cooperation between the two automakers. Volkswagen would get an in to the small-car market dominated by Suzuki in places like Asia, while Suzuki could access hybrid and electric-vehicle technology from VW. No such vehicles  have so far been announced.  The two companies have publicly feuded all through this year, claiming that cultural differences were preventing them from working together, and that Suzuki wasn’t interested in Volkswagen’s hybrid or electric-car technology. While neither side is ready to call it quits, for now the bickering appears to be preventing Suzuki and Volkswagen from actually sharing any technology or jointly developing any new vehicles.

Labor Day

Labor Day is a United Sates federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 5 in 2011) that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.

End of summer : Labor Day has come to be celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. In high society, Labor Day is (or was) considered the last day of the year when it is fashionable for women to wear white.

Who's next?

Little remains of the bright promises of reform that swept Japan’s Democratic Party to power two years ago. The ruling Democrats’ choice of Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda to become prime minister — the party’s third since that historic election — is uninspired and unlikely to provide the strong and creative leadership Japan needs to recover from the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster or its longer-term economic malaise.        Mr. Noda was the party politicians’ choice, not the public’s. He avoided stumbles as finance minister over the last year, but his positions on broader policy issues are not reassuring.          His unrepentant nationalism — he argues that Japan’s World War II leaders were not war criminals because they were convicted by an international court, rather than a Japanese one — will further fan tensions with China and South Korea. He wants good relations with Washington, but his low-key leadership will make it hard for him to rally support for the deeply unpopular agreement to relocate the American Air Force base on Okinawa.        Worst of all, he offers no bold solutions for Japan’s chronic economic problems — two decades of sputtering growth, compounded by a global crisis, a rising yen and this spring’s disasters. The tax increases he favors to pay for rebuilding should be deferred until the economy strengthens. Right now, they would plunge Japan into deeper recession and set back global recovery.       Mr. Noda is right to insist that Japan reduce its huge debt burden, but his immediate priority must be reconstruction and reviving domestic demand. He will need to re-energize the drive for market and regulatory reform.       Japan’s last effective prime minister was Junichiro Koizumi, a Liberal Democrat, who retired five years ago. Since then, five undistinguished successors have rotated through the job. We hope Mr. Noda can break that trend.       Washington is weary of dealing with Japan’s revolving-door prime ministers. When Mr. Noda attends the United Nations General Assembly this month, President Obama should invite him to the White House. They need to talk about managing relations with China, how to roll back North Korea’s nuclear program and preventing a double-dip global recession. That is more than can be  handled in a courtesy visit on the sidelines of U.N. meetings.