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Updated through 1/31/12, We are Dynamically posting Current United States Toyota Deals, Leases, Rebates, and Incentives. These Incentives do change as often as month to month and also vary by U.S. regions. Check back often. 

Current Toyota Deals, Leases, Rebates, Incentives

While not as attractive as incentives offered earlier, some financing incentives and cash back offers remain on 2011 models as dealers try to make room for new 2012 Toyotas. There are remaining 2011 models still available on dealer lots. Sharpen your negotiation skills.

There are some stand-out Toyota deals this January. The 2012 Toyota Highlander is available with 1.9 percent financing for five years or $500 cash back. Toyota’s low-interest financing offer is significantly better than what’s available on competing affordable midsize SUVs like the base Ford Explorer, which is currently available with $1,000 cash back or 3.9 percent financing for five years. If you take manufacturer financing, the Highlander’s lower base price and better financing deal will save you money.

Toyota continues to highlight a number of lease deals on 2011 models. In many areas, you can lease a 2011 Toyota Corolla for less than $170 a month for 36 months with roughly $2,400 to $3,000 down, depending on where you live. If you’ve been looking for a good deal on an affordable small car, now could be your chance. In any event. be sure to have a plan of action before visiting the dealership.

*Toyota is recovering from the Japan disaster. Also, the delays from Tornados in Alabama  in April 2011 that recently stalled production at a Toyota plant that manufactures engines for Tacoma and Tundra are fading.

Visit Toyota-Alabama often as there is a wealth of information on this site. Since Toyota Deals, Rebates, Leases. and Incentives Change quite Often Go to the link below for Current Toyota Deals, Leases, Rebates and Incentives and check back often:

Click Here For:  Current Toyota Deals, Leases, Rebates,Incentives

Earthquake Effects On Toyota

Toyota says that it will suspend production at its North American plants in a series of one-day shutdowns this month as a result of parts shortages caused by the earthquake that hit Japan.

The temporary shutdowns will affect workers, but there will be no layoffs. Toyota gets about 15 percent of its parts from Japan for cars and trucks built in North America. Those parts include electronic and rubber components, and a paint additive

All 13 of its North American plants will have down time, though the duration may vary at a few plants. For most plants, the one-day shutdowns will begin April 15 and end April 25, the company said.

In a related development, Toyota has warned its U.S. dealers that the supply of new vehicles could become “significantly impacted” downward by the summer, 2011.

Toyota Entune

Toyota Entune App is putting Bing, Pandora, and OpenTable on wheels, in action,and its looking  like it could be pretty good. Making a dinner reservation while driving there sounds pretty good.

The Entune dash uses your phone as a sort of modem, pulling in data for its apps via 3G, and then shuttling it over to the car with Bluetooth. Bing web results (and corresponding map directions) seem snappy enough. Pandora radio is also a nice touch, for when FM reception is driving you nuts.

For those choked up on any safety issues that touch interface might present, Entune does compensate by including some voice recognition support. The interface  running on Toyota software is clean and should require just few taps to go from main menu to driving directions.

As great as this seems, I’m staring at my iPad and can’t help but think though that it might be easier, better, and far cheaper just to have a car stereo shop stick an iPad in the dash…

Toyota Mobile app i-Strategy

Toyota has turned to a business philosophy known as kaizen, or fanatical focus on continuous improvement for the company’s  aggressive mobile app i-strategy.

Toyota wanted to build a mobile shopping app that would let consumers window shop among its 16 types of vehicles with more than 130 color options, find nearby dealers, and even take pictures of a vehicle identification number, or VIN, to get specific information about a car.

Toyota decided to deliver a mobile shopping app tuned for the iPhone, but then followed up with an Android app two weeks later and a BlackBerry app two weeks after that. Then Toyota added the VIN-photo feature to all three platforms. Today, Toyota is working on a tablet app that takes advantage of the iPad 2′s camera.

Companies looking to tap into the power of mobile apps often think they either have to develop a native app for a single platform or a vanilla app for multiple platforms. A native app leverages all of a platforms strengths yet risks the future if the platform falters. A vanilla app can run on and add features across platforms yet usually doesn’t offer a compelling user experience.

So how did Toyota get the best of both worlds?

A Mobile App Conundrum…
In the early days of smartphones, there was only one clear choice for app developer: iPhones. But the emergence of Android devices and all of its OS flavors has cast a harsh light on the issue. A recent Nielsen survey found that Android is the most popular smartphone operating system in the United States, surpassing both iPhone and BlackBerry; mobile app developers can no longer ignore the Android platform.

The pendulum is swinging toward multi-platform apps and even browser-based Web services on tablets, given that tablets’ big browsers render Web sites well. (Toyota decided against pinning its tablet strategy on Web services, because its Web site uses a lot of Flash, which isn’t supported on the iPad Safari browser.)

Among tablets, the iPad will no doubt increase its lead with iPad 2 shipping last week. According to results of a ChangeWave Research survey released last week, 82 percent of future tablet buyers say they’ll be purchasing an iPad. But iPad’s dominance is far from certain given the more than 80 Android tablets coming to market this year. Will they follow in the footsteps of Android smartphones?

Toyota believes it has found a way to sidestep the native platform vs. multiplatform dilemma: Build for Apple iOS using tools that make it easy to port to Android and BlackBerry. Toyota uses top advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi to design the front-end of the iPhone and iPad apps, and Kony Solutions for the back-end ties into Toyota’s database.

While Kony supports multiple platforms under the “write once, run anywhere” mantra, Bjorn Hildahl, director of product management at Kony, says his company employs more than 100 research-and-development employees dedicated to various platforms (including Android OS flavors) in order to deliver the native user experience.

“We make sure it feels and looks like, say, an iOS app,” Hildahl says. “We take all the native widgets, such as a day picker or scroll wheel, and expose it to the Kony APIs.”

If a new device comes out on a platform Kony supports, Kony promises to support the device in 30 days or less. For a new OS version, it’s 90 days or less. “You don’t have to worry about who’s going to win in the mobile platform arena,” Hildahl says.

The iPhone is really the standard bearer for smartphones and Toyota will design specifically for the iPhone. Android is the same functionality and somewhat of the same user interface. As long as the innovation leader continues to innovate, the thinking goes, it makes sense to follow the leader. It also helps that the majority of potential Toyota customers use Apple mobile devices.

Toyota Earthquake Tsunami Aftershock

The huge Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan last week has affected Toyota and a number of automakers and their vehicle productions. Toyota along with Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, and Suzuki, all have key facilities in Japan. Although their main headquarters have not been affected, various plants from these automakers have been closed and that could have an affect on models that are sold in the United States.

Toyota is halting production at all plants through Wednesday, including plants that produce the U.S. version of the Toyota Yaris, and Scion xB and xD. Toyota’s corporate headquarters are not affected, but they are assessing the damage at the plants and dealerships and looking at the impact to North American import vehicles and parts  inventories that are produced in japan and shipped to the U.S. for vehicle assembly. According to Bloomberg, Toyota could lose output of 40,000 vehicles.

It is clear that all Japanese auto manufacturers have been affected by the earthquake tragedy, but the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, as is the damage to the ports, ships, and related crews that are necessary to transport the models overseas. We’ll know more about the impact to North American imports and what that could mean for U.S. car buyers in the days and weeks to come. For now, there is ample days’ supply to ensure dealerships remain stocked for the foreseeable future.

Ball In Toyota's Court For New Model Momentum

Even though a federal study finds no evidence that electronic defects account for sudden acceleration in its vehicles, Toyota faces major hurdles restoring its image and market share. A host of new and revamped planned product introductions places the ball in Toyota’s court for revitalized Momentum.

“Customers are walking away with the perception that even though a Toyota is well built, they don’t see it as the next step in design, styling and innovative features,” said Alexander Edwards of Strategic Vision Inc., an automotive research and marketing consulting firm.

That’s a pretty strong customer perception statement and for the first time in years, Ford and Chevrolet brands are eating into Toyota market share and  in some cases, outselling Toyotas.

One example buyer who purchased an SUV last month rejected Toyota after test-driving several makes and models.

“I liked the people at Toyota the best, but the cars lagged a bit, both in styling and acceleration,” the buyer said. She also liked the interior of the SUV she purchased better.

Toyota’s share of the U.S. auto market fell to 15.2 percent last year from 17 percent in 2009. Continued momentum was of course hampered by the recall of millions of vehicles, the record payment of nearly $50 million in federal fines for failing to promptly inform regulators of defects in its vehicles and delaying recalls, and the endless government hearings. It was the only major automaker to log a sales decrease from 2009.

The company is responding with a flood of new products including a new Prius Wagon and new Camry and will launch a new advertising campaign this month that reminds consumers that it remains the top retail car brand in America, a Toyota Management spokesperson said, adding, “You are now going to see a relentless focus on our product.”

The Department Of Transportation’s report exonerating Toyota of hiding electrical flaws in its throttle mechanisms will make class action suits much harder to pursue, a product-liability expert said.

The Obama administration’s investigation into Toyota safety problems found no electronic flaws to account for reports of sudden, unintentional acceleration and other safety problems. The only known cause of the problems are mechanical defects that were fixed in previous recalls.

The Transportation Department, assisted by NASA Engineers, said its 10-month study of Toyota vehicles concluded there was no electronic cause of unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. The study, which was launched at the request of Congress, responded to consumer complaints that flawed electronics could be the culprit behind Toyota’s spate of recalls.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, “We feel that Toyota vehicles are safe to drive”.

Toyota said in a statement that the report should “further reinforce confidence in the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles” and “put to rest unsupported speculation” about the company’s electronic throttle control systems, which it said are “well-designed and well-tested to ensure that a real world, un-commanded acceleration of the vehicle cannot occur.”

Officials with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said they reviewed consumer complaints and warranty data in detail and found that many of the complaints involved cases in which the vehicle accelerated after it was stationary or at very low speeds.

NHTSA Deputy Administrator Ron Medford said that in many cases when a driver complained that the brakes were ineffective, the most likely cause was “pedal misapplication,” in which the driver stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes.

You may have wondered how well hybrids will hold up for the long haul. It’s been 10 years since the number one seller-Toyota Prius-hit the roads, and some are now hitting 200,000 miles.

Consumer Reports put one such Prius through its paces and the results are pretty impressive.

Kate Houlihan drives 700 miles a week, so after buying a 2002 Prius from her mom, she’s easily pushed the odometer past 207,000 miles.

Houlihan says, “Fuel economy is the exact same as it has ever been. There’s just been no changes as far as, you know, any driving differences.”

Consumer Reports tested the car to see how Kate’s observations hold up to scientific scrutiny.

“We did our standard fuel economy tests. We also did accelerations on the car,” said Consumer Reports. Kate’s Prius measured up surprisingly well with a similar Prius Consumer Reports tested new 10 years ago. Her Prius got 40.4 miles per gallon. The Prius tested in 2000 got 40.6 miles per gallon.

Consumer Reports added, “Acceleration was virtually the same, too. It was less than half a second difference getting to 60 miles per hour.”

When the Prius first came out, a concern was battery life-as the hybrid technology was brand new.

Toyota says the battery is designed to last the life of the car.

As it turns out, Ms Houlihan hasn’t had any trouble with hers.

Consumer Repors went on to say, “The good news is the cost of replacing the battery has come down several hundred dollars since the Prius first came out. But it still costs more than $2,000.”

Toyota says 900,000 Priuses have been sold in the US so far, and at today’s prices even moderate drivers can save an average of $750 a year in gas.

Add to that the satisfaction of lowering your carbon footprint, and you may come to the same conclusion as Ms. Houlihan… ”I would buy another Prius in a heartbeat.”

Ms. Houlihan added that she has not babied her Prius particularly, but she has done regular maintenance, including oil changes.

Well this is for Fun! This from Tokyo, apparently someone felt that they had to have a Chrysler 300 with some “BAD” gas mileage if you know what we mean…This custom creation appears to be a second generation (judging by the interior door panels) Toyota Prius hybrid wearing a…Chrysler 300 front end. The show car also features sliding rear doors, lowered suspension, larger five-spoke alloy wheels, Chrysler 300-style tail lights and a high-end audio-visual system that replaces the rear seats. Chrysler 300, Eldorado, Lincoln Town Car front ends (rear-ends too), with gas prices heading upward, someone could start a cottage industry here…

Toyota is a world class Boomerang! For all the costs of litigation, investigations, fines and blows to its image, Toyota, still the No. 1-selling automaker worldwide emerged in remarkably stable condition, asserting that it’s poised to gain back at least some of the ground it lost in the U.S., its most important market.

“Once you go through something like this there’s a new energy,” said a Toyota spokesman. “It’s made us stronger. We’re not arrogant, we’re making sure we’re listening to all our customers.”

While U.S. light-vehicle sales grew by 11.1 percent, a year of recovery, Toyota’s sales slipped 0.4 percent for the year, resulting in a loss of 1.8 points of market share to 15.2 percent. The decline knocked the company to third place from second, behind a resurgent Ford Motor Co. and the market leader, General Motors.

Toyota’s poor results are mitigated by two facts: First, the automaker virtually stopped selling vehicles for four weeks early in the year, due to regulatory pressure and hyper-cautious worry that some of its cars might be unsafe. Allegations that an electronic glitch in Toyota’s acceleration system were causing a malfunction so far have proved unfounded.

Second, only about 8 percent of Toyota’s sales went to rental and other fleets last year, compared with roughly 30 percent for domestic competitors — implying that Toyota remains less willing than some of its competitors to discount vehicles to gain share.

Toyota’s long track record of top safety ratings created what the authors of the survey called “brand insulation effect” that shielded the company from hostility among owners of the company’s products. Toyota owners tended to believe more than owners of non-Toyota vehicles that the company handled the recall well and that the sudden unintended acceleration uproar was an outlier.

Consumer Reports Fall 2010 rankings of the most reliable vehicles included 17 Toyota models,  the most of any automaker. In December, the magazine put five Toyotas on its list of vehicles likely to last beyond 200,000 miles; no other manufacturer had more than one vehicle on the list.

In the last three months Toyota shares have gained 14.5 percent, compared with 12.5 percent for the Nikkei index.

Despite the safety uproar, Toyota’s midsize Camry sedan remained the No. 1-selling passenger car in the U.S., outpacing Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion.

Toyota has expansion plans for its Prius nameplate, which the company believes will surpass Camry as its biggest in the U.S. by the end of the decade. More and more of its vehicles will get Prius’s gas-electric hybrid powertrain, which tends to save gasoline. The company reveals its Prius initiative in more detail at the North American International Auto Show this week.

We’d say any competitor that suspects Toyota is a company in decline based on its performance last year could be in for a rude shock, especially if the U.S. economy continues to gain strength and shoppers buy more new vehicles in 2011 for a second straight year

Well we’d certainly like to see the production version of the Toyota FT-86. It appears though Toyota may be laying some pipe for a younger sister – the TES T-Sport Concept. If the Google Translator is to be believed, the car supposedly originated from an inner-company survey that asked what type of cars Toyota engineers would most like to see built. Apparently the overwhelming answer was a fun-to-drive, affordable sports car.

Who would think that…

From there, the Toyota Engineering Society set about crafting their vision of a low buck machine that could still slather a smile on your face. Power comes courtesy of a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine with around 110 horsepower, and this thing hits the scales at less than 2,000 pounds. That sounds like a winning combination. As these kinds of things are at car shows, we’ll have to wait and see…

You have probably heard about a number of applications for LED technology, the LED traffic light around the corner, the bright and prettier automotive LED tail lights, stop lights and even the latest LED  headlights lights now available on Prius and other Toyota models.

For automotive giants Toyota and others, a new movement is about to come.  They are all actively working on the next generation of LED applications, the LED automotive headlight lamps.

The evolution from halogen headlight bulbs to LED headlight assembling means brighter and whiter lighting output, as well as longer lasting bulbs, (4 times longer lasting) with less energy consumption overall.

The brighter lighting output will provide better visibility therefore improving overall road safety.

The whiter color means the color temperature of LED headlight lamps is about 5000 kelvin to 5500 kelvin which is closer to the color of the sun light vs the halogen filament headlight bulbs’ yellowish 3500 kelvin.

An LED greater lifespan makes the headlight last “almost forever” with almost zero maintenance cost v.s. the halogen headlight’s shorter 500 working hour life, then replacement.

Toyota has introduced the new Prius with optional LED headlight lamps with other models to follow including Lexus models such as the LS600h and possibly a new 2012 Camry, Camry redesign.

In the short future, more cars will adopt the LED technology for headlight lamps for its brighter, whiter appearance, econ-friendly make-up, and long lasting characteristics.

Toyota returned to the top spot in the latest Kelley Blue Book  Q3 2010 Market Intelligence Brand Watch™ study as the most considered auto brand overall among new-car shoppers.   Toyota sat atop the Market Intelligence Brand Watch Study from its inception in 2007 through the third-quarter of 2009. After placing second for the past three quarters Toyota has regained its number one perch for the third-quarter of 2010.