Toyota Takes Fun to the Masses With 200-hp Sports Coupe

Check out the Toyota 86! Toyota President Akio Toyoda unveiled his company's new 200-hp rear-wheel-drive sports coupe before thousands of fans at a Formula One race track on Monday in his bid to spice up a brand better known for bland but utilitarian offerings such as the Corolla and Camry. The car, to be called the Toyota 86 in Japan and sold as the Scion FR-S in the United States, has been in the works for five years and received close scrutiny from Toyoda, who is banking on the car as an affordable halo model to burnish the company's performance credentials. The 86 hits a top speed of 142 mph and can do a 0-to-62-mph run in six seconds....

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Thanksgiving Travel Tips

If you're driving anywhere this Thanksgiving, please make sure to stay safe on the roads. AAA says that "Thanksgiving is the busiest travel holiday of the year, and unfortunately the deadliest." Check out these travel tips to make sure you have a safe and happy holiday! As travelers throughout the Philadelphia region and beyond begin to finalize their travel plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend, AAA reminds motorists to put safety first when behind the wheel in the coming weeks, and is offering tips for a smooth journey. Despite higher gas prices this year over last year, the overwhelming majority of Thanksgiving travelers...

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Toyota says hybrids offer best fuel economy gains

Hybrids are a “core technology,” says Toyota. Toyota will explore various power trains and fuel sources, but sees hybrids as the core technology for improving fuel economy, an engineering manager says. Ankil Shah, manager for materials engineering at Toyota's technical center here, says hybrids offer "the best short- to midterm gains in fuel economy." Given that battery energy density is far less than that of liquid fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuel, the cost and weight of battery packs needed to produce an acceptable range in an electric vehicle are prohibitive, Shah said. "This makes electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles...

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Greensburg neighborhood never forgets 87 who fought in WWII

Happy Veterans Day to all of the brave men and women who fought for our country. (A photograph of returning veterans from the neighborhood hangs at the Hill-Top Social Club) Veterans Day is a holiday that resonates in Hilltop, an Italian-American neighborhood of Greensburg that shipped out 87 sons and daughters during World War II. One of every 10 Americans -- 16 million men and women -- was in uniform between 1941 and 1945, according to Department of Defense statistics From cities to towns, farms to tight-knit communities, all rallied for the cause. One was Hilltop, roughly 16 streets sandwiched between Vine Street on the north and Bierer...

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Toyota Shows Machines to Help Sick, Elderly Move

This new technology from Toyota would be amazing to have here in PA with our large population of elderly residents. Can’t wait to see these products hit the market! Toyota unveiled its ambitions for high-tech health care Tuesday, displaying experimental robots that the auto giant says can lift disabled patients from their hospital beds or help them walk. The company aims to commercialize products such as its "independent walk assist" device sometime after 2013 — seeking to position itself in an industry with great potential in Japan, one of the world's most rapidly aging nations. Eiichi Saitoh, a professor in rehabilitation medicine, demonstrated...

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