Today, Toyota provided details on its previously announced plans to export trucks made in North America to other markets. The Sequoia and Tundra will be sold through distributors in Latin America and the Middle East, with the first shipments starting in December 2008. The trucks have a very limited market outside the United States, but selling roughly 15,000 Sequoias per year in the Middle East (just 150 in Latin America) and around 1,000 Tundras in Latin America per year — as Toyota cautiously predicted — would help keep the Princeton, Indiana truck plant running at capacity.

Toyota first started exporting vehicles from the United States in 1988.

Corolland.com, the dedicated Toyota Corolla site, has posted extensive reviews (with their own photos) of the hot Camry-powered Corolla XRS and the luxury-trimmed Corolla XLE.

The event will include “Smart Car” collision avoidance demonstrations on New York’s 11th Ave.

Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing North America announced details of its presentation and demonstration activities for the 15th Annual World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

This year’s World Congress on ITS will be held in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center from November 16th through the 20th. With over 200 exhibitors and 10,000 delegates, the 2008 World Congress will be the largest ever.

Over the four days of the Congress, Toyota will participate in seven specific ITS demonstrations on New York’s 11th Avenue. The “smart car” demonstrations will utilize 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) to create both car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications. The demonstrations will include pedestrian and vehicle collision avoidance sequences, as well as a traffic congestion monitoring system that informs a driver of the optimum speed at which to maintain a constant traffic flow.

Toyota will also participate in nine educational sessions. Subjects will include efforts to improve:
• parking and pedestrian safety,
• driver attentiveness,
• drunk driving prevention,
• and pre-crash safety systems.

Global Toyota sales fell 4% for the second quarter of 2008, though year-to-date sales are still slightly higher than the similar period in 2007. This is the first quarter in seven years that Toyota’s global sales have fallen. The downturn was due largely to a 32% drop in September 2008 United States sales, which sent American year-to-date sales down 10%.

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Toyota Engineering and Manufacturing North America (TEMA) will present and demonstrate its systems for the 15th Annual World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in New York City. The World Congress will be held from November 16th through the 20th.

Toyota will participate in seven specific ITS demonstrations on New York’s 11th Avenue. The “smart car” demonstrations will utilize 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) to create both car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications. The demonstrations will include pedestrian and vehicle collision avoidance sequences, as well as a traffic congestion monitoring system that informs a driver of the optimum speed at which to maintain a constant traffic flow.

Toyota will also participate in nine educational sessions to improve parking and pedestrian safety, driver attentiveness and sobriety, and pre-crash systems.

Paul Tracy, an IndyCar racer who drove stock cars in six Nationwide Series races in 2006, will be driving a Toyota Tundra in the Craftsman Truck Series starting on October 31st. Sponsors include Sport Clips and Bombardier/Learjet.