Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Toyota

Toyota Disables Several Twitter Accounts After Super Bowl Social Media Spam Effort

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:35:42 +0000

Toyota has disabled several of their Twitter accounts after being called out for spamming people that talked about the Super Bowl on Twitter. What Toyota did was create several accounts and launched a campaign called the “Camry Effect a Friend! Giveaway.” All of the Toyota accounts that spammed people were “Verified.”

What Toyota did was spit out the same tweet repeatedly in the form of a reply to people that sent out a tweet containing the hashtag #giants or #patriots. The accounts that sent out the tweets included @CamryEffect, @CamryEffect1, @CamryEffect2, @CamryEffect3, @CamryEffect4, and @CamryEffect5.

Check out the image above. All the girl did in the tweet was write about her favorite NFL team, the Patriots and Toyota quickly sent her a response about the Camry promotion. Shortly after The Next Web called out Toyota, they were sent an apology statement.

We apologize to anyone in the Twitterverse who received an unwanted @reply over the past few days. We were excited to share the message of our Camry Effect campaign in a new way and it was never our intention to displease anyone.
We’ve certainly learned from this experience and have suspended the accounts effective immediately to avoid any additional issues.
Kimberley Gardiner, National Digital Marketing & Social Media Manager, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc.

Ford and Toyota Unite to Create Hybrid SUVs and Trucks

Riley Kennysmith — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:34:10 +0000

Ford and Toyota have announced a “memorandum of understanding” that partners the two companies in creating a hybrid platform for rear-wheel drive SUVs and light trucks. The collaboration also includes a partnership to further the future of telematics standards. Ford and Toyota will be “equal partners” in creating the hybrid system, Engadget reports.

Alan Mulally, Ford’s President and CEO, is quoted in the press release as saying that “this is the kind of collaborative effort that is required to address the big global challenges of energy independence and environmental sustainability.” Toyota’s President Akio Toyoda said, “our desire is to be able to continue to provide people in America automobiles that exceed their expectations.”

Toyota and Tesla Make Agreement To Develop Electric Version Of RAV4

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 22:31:21 +0000

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) and Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) have signed an agreement to develop an electric version of the RAV4. Toyota and Tesla are aiming to market the electric vehicle in the U.S. by 2012. The prototypes would be a Toyota RAV4 with a Tesla electric powertrain. The first prototype has been built and is going through testing. [Tesla PR]

Microsoft and Toyota Partnering On $12 Million Auto Media Service

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:17:27 +0000

Toyota Motor Corp. and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is going to work together on making Toyota’s cars Internet-enabled. Microsoft and Toyota will be investing $12 million in Toyota Media Service Co., a unit of Toyota that handles digital services. Toyota will make their digital services based on Microsoft’s Azure “cloud computing” platform with a roll-out expected in 2015.

Toyota will be monitoring power usage across people’s homes and cars to maximize efficiency. For example, electric cars would be automatically charged when power rates are lower. Toyota will benefit from the partnership because they would be able to use Microsoft’s cloud platforms without having to set up their own data centers in each of the 170 countries they sell cars in. Toyota was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami, but Toyota President Akio Toyoda said that the best way to help with Japan’s recovery is through future business opportunities.

[Reuters]

Apple Requests Toyota To Remove Theme From Cydia

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:10:55 +0000

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has asked Toyota to remove the theme from Cydia. Cydia is a directory of applications that is usable on jailbroken iPhones or iPod Touch devices. Modmyl founder Kyle Matthews was hosting and advertising Toyota’s theme. Toyota’s ad agency contacted him earlier this week and asked them to remove it. Toyota said: “Toyota had agreed to do so to ”maintain their good relationship with Apple.” [AppAdvice]

Toyota To Have Production Loss Of About 40,000 Vehicles Because Of Japan Earthquake

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:39:36 +0000

Japanese automotive company Toyota Motor Corp. is estimating that they will have a production loss of 40,000 vehicles due to the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in the Asian country. Toyota spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said that about 12 plants will remain closed until March 16. Toyota’s profit will most likely decline by 6% ($72 million) as a result. Goldman Sachs also predicts that Nissan and Honda will both loss about $24 million per day that they remain closed. [4WheelsNews]

Toyota Recalling 1.7 Million Vehicles Because Of Fuel Leaks

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:36:02 +0000

Last year Toyota had a record number of recalls in 2010. Its only the beginning of 2011 and now Toyota is recalling 1.7 million vehicles across the globe. The reason of the recall is because there are defects in the fuel system caused by insufficient tightening of a fuel pressure sensor that connects to an engine fuel delivery pipe. Over time, the pressure sensor may loosen and leak fuel out of a gasket used to connect the sensor and the pipe. The recalls include the Avensis sedan, station wagon models across Europe, and a dozen different models in Japan. The U.S. models affected by the recalled include the 2006 through 2007 Lexus GS300 and GS350 models, 2006 through early 2009 IS250 models, and 2006 through early 2008 IS350 sedans. Dealers will determine whether a leak has developed.

Toyota Entune Intotainment System Apps Include Pandora, Bing, OpenTable

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:58:19 +0000

Japanese car company Toyota has announced a new entertainment system called Entune. Entune will be implemented in certain car models. Entune will have applications, Bluetooth, and text messaging replay and read-back. Apps on Entune include Bing, Pandora, iheartradio, OpenTable, Pandora, and MovieTickets.com. Entune will also have fuel price alerts, stock alerts, weather reports, sports scores, etc. Below is the full press release:

Toyota Announces Entune™ Multimedia System at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show

• Toyota Offers the Largest Number of Mobile Apps with Bing, iheartradio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable.com, and Pandora
• Entune Boasts Industry-Leading Advanced Conversational Voice Recognition
• Toyota Entune Is Compatible with Most Smartphones and Feature Phones

LAS VEGAS, January 4, 2011 – Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A., Inc. today unveiled the Toyota Entune™ multimedia system at the Consumer Electronics Show. Toyota Entune leverages the customer’s mobile phone to create a rich in-vehicle experience that offers fully integrated and upgradeable entertainment, navigation, and information services. By utilizing conversational voice recognition and in-vehicle controls, the driver doesn’t have to touch their mobile phone, allowing for safer connectivity. Toyota Entune simplifies the interaction for customers and will be available in select vehicles this year.

“Consumers have grown accustomed to having the world at their fingertips through their mobile phones,” said Jon Bucci, vice president of the Advanced Technology Department at Toyota. “And unlike other industry solutions, Entune allows the driver to interact with informative and entertaining mobile content without fumbling with their phone. We offer features that our customers demand and integrate them seamlessly in the vehicle.”

After downloading the Toyota Entune mobile application and pairing a Bluetooth capable phone with their Toyota vehicle, customers can begin accessing a wide variety of personalized content and services. Toyota Entune is wirelessly upgradeable, so in-vehicle applications are never obsolete. Ensuring that nearly all customers can take advantage of this new technology, Toyota Entune is compatible with a wide variety of mobile phones with a data plan.

Toyota Entune key features include:
• Mobile Apps – Toyota Entune debuts Bing, keeping navigation continuously up to date with more than 16 million points of interest; OpenTable, make a reservation at one of 15,000 restaurants; and MovieTickets.com, buy movie tickets and read reviews. All destinations can be seamlessly sent to the navigation system. Making drivers’ lives even easier, Toyota Entune delivers customizable real time traffic, fuel prices, weather, stocks and sports.

• Music – Toyota Entune brings you more music in more ways with iheartradio’s 750+ hometown stations; personalized stations with Pandora; XM satellite radio 170+ channels with coast-to-coast coverage; and introducing HD Radio, digital broadcasts of your favorite terrestrial music. Toyota Entune also offers USB connectivity for portable media players and traditional terrestrial radio.
• Voice Recognition – Featuring a best-in-class, advanced conversational voice recognition system, Toyota Entune eliminates the need to memorize thousands of voice commands. The intuitive interface allows the driver to focus more on the road ahead.

“Toyota has always been a leader in the automotive industry, so it makes sense it would bring the latest in mobile technology to the car,” said Chris Daniels, general manager of Bing for Mobile, Microsoft Corp. “By bringing Bing Maps and Bing for Mobile technology to the car, we are helping Toyota enhance the overall in-vehicle experience to be as rich and robust as possible, which means personalizing the information to each driver’s needs.”

Safety Connect
Toyota Entune continues to build on the excellent foundation laid by Safety Connect, bringing peace of mind to drivers with an added layer of more personalized and convenience-oriented features. Safety Connect is the cornerstone of Toyota’s telematics systems providing Automatic Collision notification, Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance, Emergency Assistance, and Roadside Assistance on select Toyota models. Safety Connect combined with Toyota Entune offers comprehensive safety services and mobile applications not found in any other vehicle make.

Product Availability
Toyota Entune will be available as an option on select models this year. The featured apps of Toyota Entune include: Bing, iheartradio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable.com, and Pandora, as well as location-based services, such as personalized traffic, fuel prices, stocks, weather, and sports. Toyota Entune also includes support for read-back and replay capabilities for text messages. These are combined with a fully featured entertainment and communication system, which includes XM radio, HD Radio, CD player, USB connectivity, Bluetooth streaming and phonebook. A high quality JBL sound system is available as an option as well.

About Toyota
Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion. Established in 1957, TMS markets products and services through a network of nearly 1,500 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers which sold more than 1.77 million vehicles in 2009. Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 people in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion.

[Engadget]

Tesla Expecting To Make $60 Million In Revenue For Work On The RAV4

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:30:35 +0000

Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is expecting to make about $60 million in revenue for building the electric components for the Toyota RAV4 SUV. Toyota bought $50 million worth of equity in Tesla shortly after the California based electric vehicle company went public in June. Tesla will be building the batteries, gearbox, motor, and electric control system. Tesla also received a $30 million investment from Panasonic on November 2nd. Tesla sells the Roadster sports car for $109,000 and is planning to start selling a luxury sedan called the Model S in 2012. [WSJ]

The Largest Recalls In History [INFOGRAPHIC]

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:23:41 +0000

A few days ago Volvo and Ford had to recall over 18,000 vehicles in China. But that is nothing compared to the recalls that Toyota, GM, Ford, etc. have had not too long ago. Below is an infographic with some of the biggest recalls in history.

[via VisualLoop]