1998 Toyota 4runner Sr5 Sport Utility 4-door 3.4l on 2040-cars

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Toyota Harrier gets a whale of a facelift [w/video]

Historically, the Toyota Harrier has been a doppelgänger for North America's Lexus RX - at some points, it was little more than a badge-swap and a few options away, at least aesthetically. That appears to be changing with this just-revealed new generation at the Tokyo Motor Show.
That's because this two-row, five-seat Toyota is in possession of a bold new look, dominated by a jutting, baleen-like grille edged in chrome, along with new headlamps and fascia. The greenhouse has likewise been revamped and gotten more pointed at the rump, which has new taillights, a resurfaced tailgate and a faux rear diffuser. Were it to be ported over to North American Lexus dealers intact, the Harrier's look would be jarring in light of the brand's spindle-grille-based design language, so we suspect that if the RX gets any of these updates (it was just refreshed for 2013), it will strike out on a different path visually.
Unlike the US RX, the new Harrier will rely on smaller-displacement four-cylinder engines, namely a 2.0-liter paired with a continuously variable transmission or a 2.5-liter four backed up by an electric motor. We'd like to see a smaller-displacement option for the US RX (it presently runs with 3.5-liter V6 engines in both gas-only and hybrid guise), but suspect it won't arrive until the next all-new model.

Spongebob Squarepants Toyota Highlander gets Tanked in Vegas

In 2006, I bought a Scion xB (the super upright, first-generation one), and I always had this wild dream of turning the xBox into an aquarium after it had run its course in my personal test fleet. Long story short, that never happened. But apparently the folks at Toyota got wind of my idea - only, well, this isn't exactly what I had in mind.
Let's just start at the beginning here. This is a 2014 Toyota Highlander - you know, the redesigned one that bowed in New York earlier this year. I haven't driven it yet, but I'm sure it's plenty nice and will appeal to all sorts of families. Families with kids. Kids who like cartoons. Cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants.
Which brings me to our next talking point: the collaboration between Toyota and Nickelodeon for the Spongebob-themed wrap that covers every inch of this Highlander. This isn't the first time we've seen the yellow cartoon sponge on a Highlander - Toyota unveiled a differently wrapped version earlier this year - but this one features more of an aquatic, under-the-sea sort of theme. Perfect, considering the main point of this crossover's reason for being at SEMA.

Toyota struggling in Latin American market, attempting recovery

With uncertainty in the US and Chinese markets, automakers are scrambling to rev up their efforts in what were traditionally secondary markets. Take Toyota's efforts in Latin America. A recent story from The Wall Street Journal highlights the Japanese brand's push in the southern hemisphere, particularly in Brazil, where it has expanded its operations and installed new executives with a greater range of powers, all in a bid to grab a bigger slice of the ever-growing South American pie.
South America is dominated by General Motors, Fiat and Volkswagen, which maintain a combined 60 percent of the market share - Toyota holds a mere 4.5 percent. The WSJ spoke with Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's boss in Latin America, who said, "We are playing catch up, but we're catching up fast. We now have the resources to give the region the attention it really needs and deserves."
That attention includes an all-new, locally produced small car called the Etios. As bewildering as it seems, Toyota wasn't competing in the low-cost economy car market in South America. With the Etios, which arrived in September of 2012, its sales in the first seven months of 2013 are up 75 percent.