February 26, 2013
Toyota Fast Facts is an update on Toyota and industry news. Please feel free to share this information with family and friends. For more news, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
1. Consumer Reports Ranks Lexus, Toyota and Scion Top Car Brands for 2013
Highly influential Consumer Reports rated Lexus, Toyota and Scion top brands in their 2013 automotive rankings released today, according to the Los Angeles Times. Lexus earned the best overall score of 79 in Consumer Reports’ 2013 Car Brand Report “on a foundation of plush and very reliable vehicles.” In releasing the results, Consumer Reports said it currently “recommends 100 percent of the Lexus vehicles it has tested.”
Japanese nameplates dominated the ratings taking eight of the top 10 scores. The editors ranked Toyota fourth and said the brand made significant strides with the Camry redesign in both handling and fuel economy. Scion came in seventh in the rankings.
Automaker’s individual brands were scored separately this year instead of being calculated into a single score in Consumer Reports’ annual Report Cards. Each brand is evaluated based on an equally weighted composite of the road-test and reliability scores for each tested model.
2. Consumer Reports Names Toyota Prius, Highlander and Scion FR-S Top Picks for 2013
For the 10th consecutive year, Consumer Reports chose the Toyota Prius hybrid its top green car, according to USA Today. The Toyota Highlander was the top midsized sport utility vehicle, and the Scion FR-S tied with Subaru’s BRZ as the top sporty car.
Prius continues to offer the best Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-estimated fuel economy, at 44 mpg overall, of any five-passenger, non-plug-in vehicle, according to the magazine. The editors also gave thumbs up to the EPA-estimated 41 mpg Prius v.
Top Picks must meet Consumer Reports’ stringent criteria in three areas: road test, reliability and safety. The winners are chosen from more than 280 tested models because they’re “impressive all-around vehicles.”
To read more about Consumer Reports’ Top Picks for 2013, please go to: http://bit.ly/WdydxA.
3. Toyota and Lexus Vehicles Dominate IntelliChoice’s Best Overall Value of the Year Awards
After studying cars that have the lowest cost of ownership, automotive rating website IntelliChoice said Toyota and Lexus earned 13 out of 23 Best Overall Value of the Year (BOVY) awards. The two brands each received more category awards than any other brand.
The Toyota vehicle winners included Prius, Prius c, Prius v, Yaris 2-door, Highlander V6, FJ Cruiser, Sienna V6 and Tundra CrewMax. Lexus won awards for five models: the GX 460, RX 450h, IS 250C, ES 350 and CT 200h.
In addition, Toyota received the Best Popular Brand Value and Highest Popular Brand Retained Value awards. Lexus won the Best Premium Brand Value and Highest Premium Brand Retained Value honors.
To see the full list of selected winners, go to http://bit.ly/yYsrxQ.
4. Toyota to Export Venzas to Russia, Ukraine
Toyota plans to export approximately 5,000 U.S.-assembled Venza vehicles annually to Russia and Ukraine. Production of the export Venza will begin in April at Toyota’s Georgetown manufacturing plant in Kentucky.
The Venza exports help further solidify Toyota’s U.S. manufacturing base and support the company’s growth as a key supplier of vehicles for global markets. In 2012, Toyota exported a record 124,000 U.S.-assembled vehicles to 21 global markets, an increase of 45 percent over the prior year.
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John Paul Strong
John Paul Strong combines his two decades of automotive marketing experience with a team of more than 150 professionals as owner and CEO of Strong Automotive.
