By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

If you desire a confident, comfortable — and plush — driving experience, but are dismayed that your choices have dwindled over the last decade we have an interesting suggestion.

Trek down to your nearest Toyota store and check out the 2011 Toyota Avalon.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Seating for five people in a full-sized light-duty pickup truck was unheard of just a few years ago. Standard-cab pickups were the norm; the maximum load was three people squeezed into a cab.

Extended cabs, with a tight second-row seat, slowly gained popularity though the 1980s and 1990s, as trucks became more family oriented. But rear quarters were cramped, and enduring more than a half-hour drive in the second row was a chore. The second row was on balance a nice storage area from the rain.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Mid-sized coupes under 30 grand are not exactly all the rage as the 2004 model year cranks up.

There aren’t many out there, and there’s one less for the 2004 model year with the elimination of the Acura CL. But that hasn’t deterred Toyota from introducing a second-generation Camry Solara.

Its only direct competition is the Honda Accord coupe and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
 

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Toyota officials had a target for their all-new 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan. The bullseye was affixed squarely on the Honda Odyssey.

Since the new Odyssey arrived for the 1999 model year, it has been a sales success and it has been the darling of the automotive media. For example, Edmunds.com at the introduction of the Odyssey in 1999 glowingly stated, “This is the best-engineered, most well-planned minivan ever.”

Could there be higher praise?

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The future of the automobile industry can be found at a Toyota store near you.
 
The industry may be reluctant to admit it, but the leading Japanese automaker has a running start on the field with its new second-generation hybrid car, the Prius.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Toyota has been highly successful selling small pickup trucks in the United States since it introduced the Stout in 1964. The name was changed to Hi-Lux in 1969, and by September 1977 Toyota had sold a million trucks to U.S. customers.

The pickup’s last complete makeover occurred in 1995 when the Tacoma nameplate was introduced. For a decade the Tacoma has been one of the most popular pickups in the segment with only minor modifications and a few exterior styling tweaks.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

With little fanfare, Toyota has endowed its biggest sport utility vehicle with more horsepower and torque.

The large Sequoia, which has done battle with the Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Tahoe since 2001 and with the Nissan Armada since 2003, needed an injection of power. And darn if they didn’t sneak some in while we weren’t looking.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Toyota Corolla is the world’s best selling car. That may be news to some people. But for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have owned a Corolla in recent times, that won’t come as a surprise.
 
They know about the compact car’s build quality, reliability, excellent resale value and good gas mileage. And consequently it should come as no surprise, too, that this year, J.D. Power and Associates named the Corolla the most dependable compact car sold in America.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman


We sat in a press conference in Atlanta more than 10 years ago thinking what an idiotic decision. Toyota was heralding the addition of a full-sized sedan to its lineup of small and mid-sized cars and trucks.

The Japanese automaker was announcing a new car with a front bench seat option and a shifter on the column that would give it six-passenger space and go head-to-head with Buick, Chrysler and Mercury.