Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Twenty-odd years of fastidious engineering and unsurpassed quality have put Lexus in the pantheon of luxury automakers. But if there’s been one gripe leveled at Toyota’s luxury division over the years, it’s that the company has played it safe in the design department. It’s a complaint that hasn’t fallen on ...

Knowing how much all of you enjoy car-computer analogies (not!), let me offer another. When a person buys a Honda Civic, they don't expect it to drive like a BMW. They do expect it to run, however, especially on the first day of ownership

Toyota is charging ahead with three new plug-in EVs for 2012. Other automakers are being more cautious, but remember: Toyota got the Prius to sell when no one was excited about hybrids

Toyota plans to teach its well-honed assembly line techniques to community organizations like the St.

Prius made hybrids acceptable. Now Toyota is going to try to use those good feelings to get people to plug in.

Smartphones, MP3 players, tablets, laptops, netbooks--modern consumers never leave the house without more electronics than Robocop. We're addicted to using and spending money on mobile devices, which might explain why automakers lately can't stop trying to capture some of that trillion-dollar market for themselves. To wit: Today Microsoft and Toyota announced a strategic partnership to build the "ultimate 'mobile device.'" Touted as a 1 billion yen investment in Toyota Media Service (a lot more catchy than saying $12 million), the partnership will have both companies team up to build a global cloud platform to support next-gen telematics in Toyota's hybrid and plug-in vehicles

While most SUVs are never asked to demonstrate their recreational capabilities—why would anyone actually take a Cayenne off-road?—the XPLORE Adventure Series FJ Cruiser (www.xplorevehicles.com) demands to see frontline action in the outback theater. This sportier, more utile version of Toyota’s SUV is part of a specialty-vehicle lineup from Venchurs, an ...

While most SUVs are never asked to demonstrate their recreational capabilities—why would anyone actually take a Cayenne off-road?—the XPLORE Adventure Series FJ Cruiser (www.xplorevehicles.com) demands to see frontline action in the outback theater. This sportier, more utile version of Toyota’s SUV is part of a specialty-vehicle lineup from Venchurs, an ...

Toyota announced this week that the Prius, the first (and perhaps most beloved) mass-produced hybrid vehicle, passed 3 million sales worldwide in February. This isn't just a boon for Toyota; it's a big deal for the entire car industry.