Handy Toyota

With gasoline prices passing $4 a gallon in most areas, the Prius is the new hot commodity.  Well - maybe not "new" as much as remembered.

Back in 2007, gasoline hit a record high - then only $3.07 per gallon - and Toyota and other brand owners flocked to the most fuel efficient car in America, the Toyota Prius and its 50 miles per gallon combined.  At the time, Toyota set a Prius sales record of over…

As anyone reading this blog knows all too well, fuel isn't going to concede to your wallet's cries of anguish.  Unfortunately the price is very likely to hit $5 per gallon (or beyond), and as such it's time for you to start thinking about a more fuel efficient car - and we've got a new Prius model here that you might be interested in:  the Prius c compact hybrid.  But you also…

I thought this post I found on CNET.com, everything-review authority on the Internet, would give you some insight into just how well the 2012 Toyota Camry XLE is doing. Please note, the gentleman from CNET.com who reviewed this car, Antuan Goodwin, makes it very clear: "blech, Hybrids! They're the worst" he has said many times before.

Take a look at what he thinks of the redesigned, 200HP Camry Hybrid XLE.

With the 2012 Prius Plug-in getting named Forbes Magazine's Most Anticipated Car of 2012 as per readers' votes, it dawned on me that our information was not only stale but outdated.  That being the case I took the initiative and update all the Prius PHV information on our website resulting in not only a Prius Plug-in information page but a new Prius Plug-in contact form and a Prius PHV frequently asked questions area.

Learn more in today's blog by clicking the Read More button and subscribe today to never miss a beat.

As you very well know, the Prius IV (4th generation) is now on sale and doing as well as ever, and the new Prius v, a Prius hybrid with 58% more cargo room and still up to 44 mpg, has sold nicely and been received by owners of the vehicle with a fervent love.  And soon the Prius c, the world's first hybrid subcompact car, will be released along side the Prius Plug-in.  Knowing all of this, we at Handy Toyota of St. Albans, VT, Vermont's first Toyota dealership and America's first Cow Powered green dealer are inclined to think Toyota's newly launched Rethink the Way You Drive campaign is a teaser for the family of Prii... but is it?

Take a look at the Rethink the Way You Drive video and read some details we've dug up and let us know in the comments section of today's blog.  Click the Read More button to sound off and view the video.

Unless this is your first trip through the Handy Toyota blog, you are well aware of the upcoming four-car family of Prius hybrid vehicles:  the fourth generation Prius IV is already sitting on our St. Albans, VT new & used Toyota dealership lot, the recently released Prius v is also wowing drivers currently with its 58% more cargo room when compared to the original Prius hybrid, and the highly lauded 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in is but months away from its full launch date.  But what about the little guy of the herd, e.g. the 2012 Toyota Prius c?

With a recently released starting price, a bevy of standard features, and a long list of technologically savvy optional equipment, the sporty, stylish, and 50 mpg Prius c is now starting to make the waves it deserves.  Learn more by clicking the Read More button to learn about the pricing and options of the world's first subcompact to get 50 miles per gallon combined, the 2012 Toyota Prius c.

A few months back, Handy Toyota's blogging staff and the Handy Channel on YouTube broke the news of a new idea and new model in the Toyota hybrid and Hybrid Synergy Drive worlds, and many of you eco-friendly fanatics out there were riled up... and rightfully so.  A Toyota Yaris Hybrid, similarly to the upcoming Prius c, would mean something huge for Toyota:  combining the fuel efficiency of the Hybrid Synergy Drive engine with the small stature and gas-sipping makeup that is the Toyota Yaris.  To me, the Yaris Hybrid sounds like a solid win.

As of now, unfortunately, we have no news as to whether the States will ever actually see a Yaris Hybrid driving through the greater Burlington, VT Toyota dealers' neighborhoods, but all is not lost.  The United Kingdom's telegraph.co.uk was given a second opportunity to test drive the latest incarnation of the Yaris Hybrid, and writer Andrew English's synopsis in today's blog.

Click the Read More to view Mr. English's Toyota Yaris Hybrid test drive summary.

Will the 2012 Prius Plug-in make waves in the same regard as the original Prius?  If pre-orders and fan hype are any indication, Toyota Motors USA's Bob Carter, group vice president of sales, says absolutely.  And with a current EPA estimated 95 miles per gallon combined (gasoline plus a fully charged battery) and a final fuel economy score coming in weeks, Prius Plug-in fanfare is at an all time high.

Better yet, the Toyota Prius Plug-in isn't the only vehicle Toyota is unleashing with the hopes of dominating the market for another decade:  the 2012 Prius IV, e.g. the 4th generation Prius hybrid, just released to stellar reviews, the 2012 Prius v is seeing positive acceptance from critics and owners alike, and the compact Prius c is getting city-dwellers and fans of 55+ mpg lovers something to ponder.

Click the Read More button to view details on the release of the 2012 Prius Plug-in or subscribe to our blog today.

Though we have discussed interesting upcoming vehicles such as the Toyota 86, the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the RAV4 EV, or even the compact Prius c compact hybrid vehicle, that doesn't mean Toyota Motors and Toyota Motors USA were even close to being finished unveiling new and exciting vehicles at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in our country's automotive capital Detroit, MI this past week.

So allow us at Handy Toyota of St. Albans, Vermont properly introduce a concept vehicle with a four-year completion window (and likely shorter says Toyota Motors USA president and COO Jim Lentz):  the Toyota NS4 concept.

So what is this car all about?  Click the Read More button below to find out or subscribe to our blog for instant updates sent to your email address.

Headlining the news in the world of hybrid cars, the Prius, diesel engines and - believe it or not - Bavarian luxury vehicles, Toyota Motors and BMW have formed an alliance for the ages in the hopes of expanding upon each company's dominance in the eco-friendly fight against gas guzzlers and high gasoline prices alike.

On the heels of President Obama's recently proposed law that calls for fleetwide fuel economy ratings of no less than 54.5 in the next few years, BMW hopes to use Toyota's excellent Hybrid Synergy Drive technologies - the lithium-ion batteries that have propelled the Prius hybrid to reach a four-car family and over 3 million global sales, predominantly - to accomodate the new law while Toyota aims to expand their European market share with BMW's fascinating 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter diesel engines.

Click the Read More button above to learn all about this exciting new partnership.