Nickelodeon and Toyota are making this the best summer ever for SpongeBob fans with the creation of the first SpongeBob SquarePants-inspired vehicle. The SpongeBob 2014 Toyota Highlander will feature a custom SpongeBob-themed exterior and an interior design that captures all of the beloved character’s high-octane energy. The one-of-a-kind concept vehicle will be unveiled on July 13th, during Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Day at the Padres vs. Giants game in San Diego, Calif.
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Toyota Partners with Tree of Life Clinic to Improve the Process of Providing Quality Free Health Care
Mary Ware arrives at the Tree of Life Clinic in Tupelo at 6:40 a.m. to ensure she will have a place in line for treatment when the free medical clinic opens at 4:30 that afternoon. Now, with the efficiencies instituted in the clinic – thanks to the partnership with Toyota – she can arrive later with assurance she will be seen that day.
Since January, members of the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC) and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi have partnered with Tree of Life Clinic to provide on-site support – free of charge – helping to improve the clinic flow while preserving doctor/patient interaction time. The improvements include increasing the number of patients seen while reducing waiting time for those patients by an average of 24 minutes and decreasing the length of the clinic workday for volunteers by an average of one hour.
Established in 2010, Tree of Life Clinic is a free medical clinic that provides basic medical and dental care for people in North Mississippi that is fully staffed by volunteers and 100% funded by donations. Open two days a month (1st Wednesday and 3rd Saturday), the clinic sees approximately 80 patients on Wednesdays and 120 on Saturdays for those who do not have health insurance, cannot afford to pay for medical care or may not be eligible for Medicare/Medicaid.
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On Tuesday, June 18th, 2013, Susan Campbell, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House (PRMH) and Linda Parry, the Director of Volunteers at PRMH arrived at Ardmore Toyota to accept a very generous donation from Max Paul. The Max Paul Family Organization through Ardmore Toyota, provided PRMH with two new 2013 Toyota Sienna vans to provide reliable transportation to and from the hospital for families staying at PRMH while their children receive lifesaving medical care.
This year marks the 23rd year that the Max Paul Family Organization has been providing PRMH with vans to transport their families. Every three years Ardmore Toyota replaces the vans with new vans at no cost to PRMH. The van services enable families to maintain their well-being by helping to reduce their transportation-related stress and expenses during their time at our House. Every day from 9am to 9pm, the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House provides scheduled van transportation service to and from eight area pediatric hospitals, with the majority of volunteer-provided shuttle trips to and from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
All families staying at PRMH are eligible to utilize the van service. Families meet in a dedicated meeting spot outside of our kitchen area prior to our regularly scheduled van departures and reminders about departing vans are issued via the House intercom system. In 2012, we provided approximately 3,500 van runs to the hospital. Without the generosity of the Max Paul Family Organization, this daily service to families would not be possible.
Camry Wins 2013 Initial Quality Study Segment & Toyota Brand Posts Best Ranking Since 2008
Lexus LS and Toyota Camry won their segments in the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study (IQS) and the LS again posted the best score of any model in the study. The study measures problems per hundred (pph) reported by consumers surveyed after 90 days of new-vehicle ownership.
The study found:
-Camry, the best-selling passenger car in the United States for the past 11 years, improved its IQS ranking from 4th last year to 1st this year with a score of 70 pph.
-The Toyota brand improved two places to 6th overall, its best overall ranking in the IQS since 2008, and ranked 3rd among non-premium brands.
Three manufacturing plants where Toyota and Lexus products are assembled also earned awards.
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Five Toyota and Lexus models won their segments in Edmunds.com’s third annual “Best Retained Value Awards,” more than any other automobile manufacturer, autoremarketing.com reported today.
The four winning Toyota models are the Tacoma, Prius, 4Runner and Venza. The winning Lexus model is the LX 570. The Toyota brand tied with Ford for the most model wins by a brand in the 22 segments.
The Best Retained Value Awards are projections of the residual value of new models after five years based on their average True Market Value price when sold new.
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Toyota Captures Most Segments of Any Manufacturer in ‘Best Retained Value Awards’
Three Toyota and three Lexus models have been named in AutoPacific’s 17th annual Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. The segment winners are:
• Lexus ES, Luxury Mid-size Car
• Toyota Avalon, Large Car
• Toyota Avalon Hybrid, Hybrid Car/EV
• Toyota Highlander, Premium Mid-size Crossover SUV
• Lexus RX 450h, Hybrid/EV Crossover SUV
The awards list is based on the survey responses of more than 52,000 new vehicle owners about 51 separate attributes, from interior comfort to fuel economy and performance.
AutoPacific President George Peterson says, “More than one-third of new vehicle buyers are positively influenced by objective awards based on owner ratings when deciding on a new car or truck.”
For a complete list of winners, visit http://bit.ly/11k1Qc9.
Toyota sharpened its focus when it developed the all-new 2013 RAV4 crossover SUV.
The new five-passenger RAV4 aims for the bull’s-eye in the middle of the crossover SUV market.
The RAV4 competes with five-seat crossovers such as the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Kia Sportage, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester and Volkswagen Tiguan.
It’s hard to get attention in that crowded segment. The RAV4 makes its pitch with good fuel economy, a roomy interior and excellent voice recognition for phone calls and navigation.
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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.
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