Travis Tritt to perform summer concert

BECKLEY (WVVA)-- The YMCA and "Friends of Coal"  announced Monday that Travis Tritt will be taking the main stage for their auto fair concert this summer.

The tenth annual festival will be taking place the weekend of July 19 - 21. The concert is that Saturday at 7:30.

Plus West Virginia natives, "The Davisson Brothers" will be opening up the show.
Tickets go on sale April 1 at 10am.

Courtesy of WVVA.com

Toyota Celeb Race in Long Beach Debuts New Car

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is right around the corner, and it's one of the fan favorites each year at the Long Beach Grand Prix. 

Stars of all kinds get to have some fun, raise money for charity and give the fans a thrill.

This year, the lucky celebs chosen to drive in the race will get new cars. Scion's sporty FR-S has been transformed into an FR-S celebrity racer.

"When they get in these cars, they're going to be blown away by how neat they drive," said Chuck Wade with Toyota Motorsports.

The FR-S has been a big hit with enthusiasts since going on sale last year. The enthusiastic celebrities who take on the streets of Long Beach next month will get upgrades like safety equipment, a tighter suspension and more durable brakes.

But before this year's thrill-seeking stars get to check them out, Scion held a media event to show the cars off at Willow Springs Raceway, where the celebrity race participants have been training for years.

Not only is the FR-S different looking, it's a different type of car underneath. For the past seven years, the celebrities have raced in the Scion tC, which is a front wheel drive car. The FR-S is rear wheel drive. Ask anybody who knows about racing or performance driving, and they'll tell you that rear wheel drive really is the way to go. But it presents a special challenge for the celebrity race.
The configuration can be unforgiving in the hands of a novice. But Toyota's race engineers thought ahead.

"We worked hard on the old front wheel drive cars to get them to where the back end would come around some. With these new cars we've done just the opposite. We worked hard with the back end so that it doesn't come around. So I don't know if it's going to be a real big learning curve for these celebrities to get in these cars and drive them hard," said Wade.

To really get an idea of how the new Scion performs, Raul Moreno took me for a spin. Moreno has been teaching the celebrities for many years. As it turns out, most check any ego at the door.
"The nice thing that we've always liked about all the celebrities, most of them, they all are very humble. So when they come, they come to learn," Moreno said.

Then it was my turn to get behind the wheel, in a seat that will soon be occupied by a celebrity. And as the real drivers of these cars take to the streets next month in Long Beach, they'll each try to be the first celebrity to put the Scion FR-S into the winner's circle.

The celebrities chosen for the race will be revealed next week.

Courtesy of ABC7.

See Every Car Toyota Has Ever Made In This Mind-Boggling Interactive Timeline

Nostalgic for your '87 Tercel? See it and every other car Toyota has ever made--with full specs--in this interactive experience.

Toyota’s first-ever car was the Toyoda 1936 Model AA sedan. Classy and classic, the car had a water-cooled inline 6-cylinder engine and sold for 3,350 yen or $16,086.47 in today’s dollars. It was successful enough that the following year, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. began full-scale manufacturing operations. Seventy-five years later, to celebrate the anniversary of the company’s founding, an intricate vehicle family tree at Toyota-global.com shows you the Model AA and every other car that Toyota has ever created.

The interactive design allows you to search for cars by year, model, make, image, and even innovation (including when front-wheel drive was first introduced). Run your search and a seemingly endless web of cars will scroll rapidly across the screen. Then, when you click on whatever catches your eye, up pops the car’s image, specs, and even a video of the model in action. (The 1963 AA sedan, it should be noted, is moving very slowly.) And for any automobile super wonks out there, don’t forget the supplementary engine-type chart, which will help you parse the company’s complicated engine codes. 

 

Courtesy of Co.CREATE

Toyota USA Foundation Grant Ends in Celebration

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (2/19/13) – Professors and students gathered to celebrate the culmination of the Toyota Math and Technology Leadership Academy (MTLA) on Feb. 18 at Mariah’s Restaurant.

In 2010, Western Kentucky University received a nationally competitive $500,000 grant from The Toyota USA Foundation. The Toyota MTLA was designed to improve student and teacher dispositions and beliefs, increase student learning, and increase family involvement in math and technology. This program was created by Dr. Pam Petty and directed by Dr. Marge Maxwell and Dr. Janet Tassell, all of WKU’s College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.

The main initiative of the Toyota MTLA was to grow teachers in leadership, mathematics, and technology. Taking part in the program were 14 teachers in grades K-6 from Warren County Public Schools and the Bowling Green Independent School District. Each teacher represented a different school in these two districts. The grant covered all the expenses for each teacher to complete coursework focused on a comprehensive math and technology approach that improved the teachers’ knowledge and instructional practices in math, technology, diversity, leadership, and assessment. Toyota MTLA participants then led other teachers at their schools in professional development and implementation of the instructional modules.

“It is clear this initiative would not have been successful without the collaboration and support of the superintendents, principals, and teachers,” Dr. Marge Maxwell said. “We cannot say enough about the importance of a healthy relationship where we listen to the school administrators’ ideas and concerns as we strive to make these initiatives work.”

“It is also so important to note the relationship in this initiative between the Housing Authority of Bowling Green and WKU,” Dr. Janet Tassell said. “How wonderful is it that the award helped fund tutoring for the children. We also greatly appreciate the Housing Authority for allowing our Toyota MTLA Scholars to work with the tutors and students in this community setting.”

WKU is the first university in Kentucky to offer the Elementary Mathematics Specialist Endorsement, which evolved out of this grant. Collaboration between the School of Teacher Education and the Ogden College Mathematics Department made this possible. “This outcome shows the importance of pushing ourselves to think smart, creatively and push for greatness,” Dr. Maxwell said.

“This is at a time when this need is great – when teachers want an opportunity for that extra focus to grow in mathematics instruction knowledge,” Dr. Tassell added.

“We want to thank the school administrators for their patience in allowing us to push some of the boundaries of what may not have ever been asked of teacher participants in an initiative before,” Dr. Maxwell said. “We hope it has been worth it.”

“The Toyota USA Foundation believed in this program and entrusted us with administering the vision in a quality manner,” Dr. Tassell said. “The Toyota MTLA Scholars have become our examples – they have shown their growth in Leadership, Mathematics, and Technology. They are our models.”

For more information, visit the Toyota MTLA website: http://wkumtla.weebly.com/index.html

Participants in the program include: Janet Cole, North Warren Elementary; Juanita Cole, Potter Gray Elementary; Erica C. Cutright, Alvaton Elementary; Stephanie Lee, Richardsville Elementary; Robert Lightning, Parker Bennett Curry Elementary; Emily Mills, W.R. McNeill Elementary; Rhonda Napper, Oakland Elementary; Allison Pearson, Lost River Elementary; Jamie Rector, Rockfield Elementary; Tanya Reeder, Dishman McGinnis Elementary; Neesa Richardson, William Natcher Elementary; Haley Victery, Plano Elementary School; Abigail Watkins, Rich Pond Elementary; Melissa Zimmer, Cumberland Trace Elementary.

Courtesy of SurfKY News
Information provided by WKU

Toyota teams up with Wyland Foundation to promote water conservation

Toyota is joining forces with the Wyland Foundation to help drive home the importance of protecting and preserving one of the nation’s most precious natural resources — water.

Throughout April, Toyota, which operates a large truck assembly plant in San Antonio, will conduct the National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. It will ask U.S. residents to sign an online pledge to conserve water and other vital resources.

Cities with the highest percentage of residents who make the commitment will have an opportunity to score hundreds of environmentally-friendly prizes — including a Toyota Prius, water-saving fixtures and gift certificates.

The Wyland Foundation, founded by the renowned marine artist Wyland, promotes the importance of healthy oceans and waterways. The foundation’s Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience, a traveling exhibition that demonstrates the ways water shapes human lives, will visit schools and community events across the U.S.

“Toyota recognizes that global sustainability depends on partnerships with organizations like the Wyland Foundation to help share information in innovative ways,” says Michael Rouse, Vice President of Diversity, Philanthropy and Community Affairs for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. “We hope both the national pledge and the interactive exhibits build awareness around the value of environmental stewardship and the impact individuals can make.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National League of Cities and Lowe’s Home Improvement stores are also supporting the challenge, along with CH2M Hill’s WaterMatch and the Rain Bird Corp.

For more information, visit mypledge.com.

Courtesy of bizjournals.com

Toyota GT86 GT4 racer is ready for UK competition

It’s about time we saw someone cook up a legitimate race version of the delectable Toyota GT86, and now it looks as if GPRM has done just that. The Buckingham-based race engineering team has built the creation you see here, complete with a turbocharged 2.0-liter, direct-injection four-cylinder boxer cooked up by Nicholson McLaren Engines. The team says the new mill delivers between 360 and 400 horsepower to the rear wheels depending on final testing, which is a sight bit more than the 197 horses the naturally aspirated stock mill offers.

The car will compete in GT4 events, including the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Technically, the GPRM effort isn’t factory backed, but the team says the effort “has the blessing of Toyota Great Britain.” How could it not

Courtesy of Autoblog

Toyota ousts GM to reclaim global sales crown

LONDON – Toyota has officially reclaimed its position as the world’s No. 1 car maker by sales.
On Monday, Toyota said that it sold a record 9.75 million vehicles last year. General Motors. sold 9.3 million vehicles over the same period. The No. 3 player, Germany’s fast-growing Volkswagen, sold 9.1 million vehicles.

Toyota has even bigger goals this year: Global vehicle sales of 9.9 million.

GM had been the top-selling automaker for more than seven decades before losing the title to Toyota in 2008. GM retook the sales crown in 2011, when Toyota’s production was hurt by the quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan. It was also suffering from the aftermath of the unintended-acceleration scandal and quality-perception struggles in the U.S.

But by last year, Toyota was solidly on the rebound. The government says it was unable to establish that Toyota has a widespread issue with unintended acceleration and the automaker’s Japanese plants were able to resume normal production following the disasters. Toyota, as it has in the past, says it takes no pride in being the world’s top-selling automaker.

“Rather than going after numbers, we hope to make fine products, one by one, to keep out customers satisfied. The numbers are just a result of our policy. And our policy will continue unchanged,” said Toyota spokeswoman Shino Yamada.

Analysts, however, say the sales crown is significant.

“It’s an important thing. It gives Toyota an edge,” says Alexander Edwards, president of analysts Strategic Vision in San Diego. He says it shows that Toyota is regaining its reputation for “dependability, trust and security.” When that image was tarnished, it allowed other companies like GM to move ahead. Now Toyota is scoring around the world with the right products, especially in emerging markets where its reputation is making a mark with often first-time buyers.

It won’t be easy, however, for Toyota to stay on top, Edwards warns. Other automakers are rising when it comes to sales growth and are hot on Toyota’s heels, such as South Korea’s Hyundai.
“I would be surprised if there wasn’t more fierce competition out there,” he says.

Contributing: Chris Woodyard, The Associated Press
Courtesy of USAToday.com