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On May 23rd, 2013, Toyota announced a $250,000 donation to support relief and rebuilding efforts for victims of the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma and the greater Oklahoma City area on May 20.  Funds will be allocated to immediate response and for mid-to-long term needs in the areas of food, small business revitalization and home rebuilding.  Toyota will also match employee contributions. “On behalf of Toyota, we express our sincere condolences to everyone impacted by this devastating tornado. Our thoughts are with the affected families as they work to rebuild their lives,” said Latondra Newton, group vice president of philanthropy and chief diversity officer.

Kelley Blue Book has released its Top 10 list of Best Family Cars and the Toyota Prius v and Avalon made the 2013 list.  Prius v ranks third, while Avalon came in sixth place for scoring high in areas like safety, roominess, comfort and value. KBB.com editors selected the Prius v because it comes “jam-packed with all the Prius-ness you crave while also offering roughly 50 percent more cargo space.” Editors thought the fully redesigned Toyota Avalon can now add “high style” to its list of highlights.  KBB said, “In addition, laudable fuel economy coupled with an exemplary reputation for reliability and quality make the 2013 Avalon a smart buy for today’s value-conscious family.” To see the full list and editorial commentary for the 10 Best Family Cars, please visit click here.

According to the 2013 Automotive Executive Survey from KPMG, Toyota is the fourth fastest growing car company in the world.  A story on Forbes.com says Toyota will remain a dominant force around the world with 68 percent of KPMG survey respondents saying it will increase market share.  Just 7 percent think Toyota could lose market share in the next five years. Of the top 27 companies on the KPMG survey list, GM and Ford were ranked No. 14.  Forbes said the Detroit automakers will find it harder to build market share among increasing competition from Asian automakers, some of which they already partner with in China in particular.  Survey respondents (44 percent) think GM and Ford will increase their market share, and 23 percent think their market share will decrease by 2018. The Forbes report can be found here.

It received little more than passing mention in the Lavishly Expensive Roadster Edition of Wheelies, but something significant happened a couple of weekends ago. It wasn’t earth shattering, but it was noteworthy: RM Auctions sold a 1967 Toyota 2000 GT for nearly $1.2 million. It ended up being one of the higher priced cars in a batch that included Ferraris, Porsches and one-off concept cars like a 1954 Chrysler GS-1 Special that sold for $616,000. According to the figures David Kinney – publisher of Hagerty’s Price Guide – came up with, the yellow ’67 is not only the most expensive production Toyota in history, but also the highest-priced Asian production car ever. But 2000 GTs were never cheap cars. An article in the February 2009 issue of Automobile magazine puts the list price of one when new at $7,230, which is more than $50,000 in today’s dollars. By comparison, a Chevrolet Corvette sold for $4,663 and a Jaguar E-Type for $5,559. Even a Porsche 911 was only $6,190. The 2000 GT saw only limited production. Although the exact number of cars built varies from source to source, RM Auctions claims Toyota built 351 of the curvaceous little sports cars from 1967 to 1970. Although the 2000 GT was a short-lived nameplate, it left a lasting legacy. It was the car that showed Japanese car manufacturers that they were capable of building more than just stodgy family cars that many considered knock-offs of European designs. Toyota, and later other Japanese automakers, knew they could do sporty, and they knew they could do beautiful. For full Story in the New York Times, Click Here.

Toyota is the top Full Line Automotive Brand of the Year, according to the latest Harris Poll EquiTrend study, which assesses companies based on familiarity, quality and purchase consideration. “Understanding the health of your brand is a critical component in determining the business priorities for companies in any industry,” said Aron Galonsky, senior vice president at Harris Interactive.  “The higher scores point to increased consumer affinity and likelihood to purchase from these companies.” To view the Harris Poll EquiTrend results, please click here.

Hymie’s Deli of Merion uses Max Paul’s Ardmore Toyota as their official vehicle of transportation for their World Famous Deli. To learn more about Hymie’s click here. Question of the day:    What is your favorite Deli meal?

On Tuesday April 30th, The Philadelphia Inquirer published the following story that was written by Emma Jayne Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Last year, Toyota introduced the redesigned midsize Camry Hybrid sedan, which came as part of the makeover of the entire Camry line. The hybrid got a revised Synergy Drive system, with a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and improved fuel economy. Changes to the hybrid were part of an overall Camry makeover, including the gasoline-only models. Click here for the full story.

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} -- [gallery columns="1"] On Thursday May 2nd, Sales Associate Bobby Tahmas was surprised by his customers Candy & James when they came to pick up their new 2013 Toyota Rav4. They arrived at the dealership with 2 freshly baked Cakes and cupcakes with a Toyota Theme! Check out the pictures of the tasty treats that they had for Ardmore Toyota employees. Thank you Candy & James for a wonderful treat, and more importantly we wish you all the best with your new 2013 Toyota Rav4 on behalf of your sales associate Bobby! Ardmore Toyota Customer celebrates their new Rav4 by baking Toyota Cakes and Cupcakes! Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} --

The 2013 Toyota RAV4 sport utility vehicle has earned the Top Safety Pick (TSP) Award for good performance from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Institute (IIHS) noted Toyota improved the RAV4's roof structure to earn a good rating for rollover protection. With 13 segment award recipients, the Toyota brand has more 2013 Top Safety Picks than any other automotive brand. Both Lexus and Scion each have four TSP winners on the list. To qualify for the Top Safety Pick, vehicles must have good ratings for occupant protection in the moderate overlap frontal test, side impact, rollover and rear tests, regardless of their small overlap rating. The award recognizes vehicles that perform best in these tests administered by the IIHS, which the IIHS believes predict good performance in protecting people in front, side, rollover and rear crashes. To view the RAV4 IIHS test results, please go to: http://bit.ly/rdScYo

Toyota ranks 48th on the 2013 DiversityInc list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity and is the only automobile manufacturer to make the list. Toyota also is the Top Company for Employee Engagement and No. 8 on DiversityInc’s list of Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees. DiversityInc praised Toyota for its mentoring program, resource groups and increasing charitable donations to multicultural organizations by 24 percent. More than 40 percent of Toyota’s philanthropy supports racial/ethnic, LGBT or disability nonprofits. In addition, DiversityInc said Toyota’s Diversity Advisory Board continues to “move the needle on setting metrics and goals.” DiversityInc assesses companies based on four key areas of diversity: CEO commitment, human capital, corporate and organizational communications and supplier diversity

On Saturday April 20th, 2013 Ardmore Toyota & Central City Toyota participated in the 32nd Annual 5K Run for Clean air. In observance of Earth Day, we had a Toyota Prius V on hand for participants and guests to see and to learn about. Our Technology Genie Peter was on hand answering questions for everyone about the Prius and the amazing technology in this Toyota Hybrid? Want to learn more, or see our selection of Hybrids? Click here. Over the past 32 years, the 5K Run for Clean Air has grown into Philadelphia’s largest Earth Day Celebration, become a certified green event, added a 3K walk, and more. Located on the beautiful banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, the Run is a celebration of sustainability, clean air, and improvements in the region’s environmental health. To learn more about the event and to see the results, click here.

On Thursday April 18th, 2013, Ardmore Toyota & Central City Toyota hosted a celebration for all new owners. With a fully catered buffet from Hymies, customers had the opportunity to meet the Service Directors of both Ardmore & Central City, as well as the Technicians and advisors. Some customers won prizes and all left with a goodie bag. Customers learned about vehicle maintenance and technology during the celebration. Do you want to attend a future New Owner Celebration? Email us at events@ardmoretoyota.com to find out more. Thank you to the over 60 new owners of Toyota models who came to the celebration!