The Supra is one of Toyota’s most beloved and iconic sports cars. While the Supra has long been discontinued, rumors of its resurrection continue to circulate.

Among the latest news concerning the sports car is from the folks at Car and Driver, who assert that the Supra name has officially been trademarked by Toyota, which means that the automaker now has three years to utilize it.

Although there’s no official word on production of the next-generation Supra, Toyota president Akio Toyoda has recently said that he wants “to see the next Supra tested in the near future.” Already, Toyota is developing at least one sports car model, so it will be interesting to see if the upcoming FT-86 sports car ends up donning a ‘Supra’ badge. Stay tuned.

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This year marks a major milestone for the world’s most popular hybrid. Toyota has offered the Prius in North America for a decade now, where it remains the top selling hybrid on the market.

Since its launch in Japan back in 1997, the Toyota Prius has sold more than 1.8 million units. About half of those sales were attributed to car buyers in the U.S.

“Toyota recognized in the 1990s that sustainable transportation would become a huge challenge in the coming decades,” said Jim Lentz, president and COO of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. “Those realizations proved accurate, and if anything, even more profound considering what we know today.”

Plenty has changed in the past decade. The Prius started out as a gawky and somewhat awkward-looking sedan that didn’t quite deliver the fuel-economy that many consumers were looking for. The second-generation Prius brought the teardrop-shaped, hatchback body-style that has since become synonymous with the model. It was followed by the current third-gen Prius which featured improved performance and fuel-efficiency compared to the previous iteration.

Soon the Prius will have a new model, a plug-in hybrid version with lithium ion batteries. The model is already being tested in fleet applications and will see full production in 2012.

Prius Timeline: Significant Dates and Milestones

1990: Meetings begin concept work on Project G21, “a car for the 21st Century”, in Toyota City and Higashifugi Technical Center. Fuel economy target was 20 kilometers per liter, about 50% better than other passenger cars of the time.

1994 (January): Project team addresses drivetrain, chassis and packaging decisions. The team was granted the right to develop new parts from scratch “if necessary.”

1994 (July): G21 Project, Phase III begins, accelerating development for production of the Prius parallel to development of Toyota’s experimental hybrid system.

1995 (June): Toyota Hybrid System approved and code-named 890T.

1995 (October): Hybrid concept Prius displayed at Tokyo Motor Show with propulsion system described as Toyota-EMS (“Energy Management System”).

1996 (December): Anticipating the future EV and hybrid vehicle market, Panasonic EV Energy was established as a joint venture between Matsushita and Toyota.

1997 (December): Gen 1 Prius launched in Japan after a final design period of 17 months. Wins Japan Car of the Year award and Global Climate Protection Award from the U.S. EPA, among other accolades.

1998: Announced in July that Toyota would export 20,000 units annually to North America and Europe.

2000: Post-Prius era of automotive history begins. From this time on, the concept of environmental performance begins to take root, and all economy cars would be compared to the Prius.

2003: Prius sales hit 24,000 units, double the number originally planned.

2004: Second generation Prius launched, called “Car of the Year” by Motor Trend Magazine.

2007: Total U.S. Prius sales reach 500,000 units since it first launched in July 2000.

2008: National average gas prices hit $4.09 per gallon on July 7.

2009: Third generation Prius launched as 2010 model with larger 1.8-liter engine, 0.25 coefficient of drag and 51 mpg City.

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According to sources speaking to PickupTrucks.com, Toyota’s full-size Sequoia SUV will no longer be produced beyond the current model. This is likely in part due to slow sales, but also could be part of Toyota’s strategy to meet stringent CAFE requirements.

Although it shares its platform with the Sequoia, Toyota will continue to offer the Tundra full-size pickup. An all-new Tundra is slated to arrive in 2014, which is also around the same time that other full-size pickups from GM, Ford, and Nissan, are due arrive.

While the Tundra has not competed as strongly against domestic offerings as Toyota would have hoped, sales have still warranted further involvement in the segment. As for the Sequoia, sales topped 70,000 in 2002, but have since steadily declined. Last year, Sequoia sales fell under 20,000 units.

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As Toyota recovers from one of its worst periods in recent history, the company is not only bolstering its reputation for quality and safety, but it’s also looking to making a number of changes to how their products look.

Akio Toyoda has reportedly ordered the company’s products to feature a more emotional appeal as part of a new global product philosophy. From this we can expect that new models will look similar to each other across the board.

This new design language is not only aimed at strengthening the Toyota brand, but according to Inside Line it is also aimed at making Toyota’s smaller products appear larger. At this time, there’s no word on whether this change in design language will also affect Lexus.

In addition, Toyota has observed that vehicles with a more European-influenced design usually perform well in other markets, which is why new models will also be tailored with European tastes in mind.

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Recently, Toyota and Tesla execs announced that two EV prototypes were being jointly developed. It has now been confirmed that one of these prototypes, which feature EV drivetrains from Tesla and Toyota platforms, will include a RAV4 model that could be production ready by 2012.

The two prototypes are being worked on by Tesla and will be delivered to Toyota by the end of the month. Toyota reportedly plans to test both prototypes rigorously to ensure the vehicles are performing to Toyota’s standards.

“With an aim to market the EV in the United States in 2012, prototypes will be made combining the Toyota RAV4 model with a Tesla electric powertrain. Tesla plans to produce and deliver a fleet of prototypes to Toyota for evaluation within this year. The first prototype has already been built and is now undergoing testing,” said Toyota in a statement.

If the electrified RAV4 model becomes a reality, it will be the second RAV4 to feature an electric drivetrain. The original EV debuted in the late 1990s and was available for lease, but many units were eventually sold and about 800 are still in use today. Aside from the original RAV4 EV, Toyota has naturally become synonymous with hybrid technology and this new partnership with Tesla promises to push the development eco-friendly technology even further.

Toyota added, “TMC has, since its foundation in 1937, operated under the philosophy of “contributing to society through the manufacture of automobiles,” and made cars that satisfy its many customers around the world. TMC introduced the first-generation Prius hybrid vehicle in 1997. The company also plans to introduce EVs into the market by 2012.”

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For the second consecutive year, the Toyota Camry has topped the Cars.com “American-Made Index,” which “recognizes cars that are built here, have a high amount of domestic parts and are bought in large numbers by American consumers.” The Camry lives up to that ranking by having at least 75 percent of its parts made in the U.S., being built in both Georgetown, Ky., and Lafayette, Ind., and remaining a consistent fixture among the best-selling cars in the country.

In fact, the Camry notched more sales in 2009 than any other car sold in the U.S., and has been in the top seven every month through May in 2010.

The secret to this success is no secret, though. The Camry earns its customers by providing a strong combination of styling, fuel efficiency and performance, all of which received significant upgrades for the 2010 model year.

The current Camry wears a sharp-looking grille with an aggressive front air intake, streamlined front headlamps and sophisticated sheet metal on the outside, while its well-executed interior offers plenty of storage, a six-speaker 160-watt sound system, cruise control, air conditioning and a tilt/telescopic steering wheel—and that’s just the standard equipment on the base model.

Under its flowing hood, the Camry offers three engine choices, including an advanced 2.5-liter I4 engine with variable valve timing and 169 hp (or 179 hp in the Camry SE). That mill offers surprisingly peppy performance to go with an EPA line of 22 mpg city/33 mpg highway/26 mpg combined—better than either the Ford Fusion or Honda Accord. Two transmissions can be mated to the responsive four-cylinder powerplant, a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic that offers driver-oriented sequential shifting.

Depending on whether they want to maximize mph or mpg, drivers also can opt for either a potent 268-hp V6 or the efficient Hybrid Synergy Drive. The former boasts adaptive functionality that automatically adjusts the engine’s shift points based on driver input; the latter pushes the Camry hybrid’s fuel efficiency numbers up to 31 mpg city/35 mpg highway/33 mpg combined.

With all these benefits and more, it’s clear that customers who want to buy American—and buy “smart”—should start by stopping at their local Toyota dealerships to check out the Camry.

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New reports are emerging regarding a Toyota prototype vehicle featuring a Tesla electric drive unit. This vehicle was announced in a recent interview with Toyota CEO and president Akio Toyoda. The development was later confirmed by Tesla’s Chief Technology Officer, J.B. Straubel.

A total of two test mules are currently being worked on between the automakers. They feature Tesla battery packs, power electronics and motors, all of which are being fitted into Toyota vehicles.

Straubel reported that the two vehicles should be delivered to Toyota later this month. It has been said that the test mules will be used to test the performance and durability of the Tesla packs and to see if they meet Toyota’s standards.

Should a Tesla-Toyota electric vehicle enter production, it will likely be an entirely new model and will not be the Toyota/Scion iQ-based EV that’s slated for 2012.

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One of the numerous steps that Toyota is taking to bolster the quality of their products and respond to customer concerns is to open six product quality field offices around North America. These offices will start popping up this month alongside Toyota Motor Sales regional offices.

When reports of customer issues surface, these new offices will be on the front lines to investigate the issues, fix any problems, and hopefully quell concerns quickly. Each office will be staffed by engineers and technicians that will work with dealers and Toyota USA’s HQ to gather data and and solve problems.

“Everyone at Toyota is working aggressively to understand what our customers are experiencing and to respond quickly to their needs by enhancing our information gathering capabilities,” said Dino Triantafyllos, Vice President, Quality Division, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing (TEMA). “The expansion of our Product Quality Field Offices initiative is one example of the significant changes we are making across our North American operations to help ensure that we are a quality-focused and responsive organization.”

Once data is collected and issues identified, the staff of these offices will test and deploy procedures to ensure that problems are not repeated on other Toyota products.

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At next weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, which runs from July 2-4, Toyota plans on making its presence felt as the automaker will be highlighting its rally racing past.

Specifically, Toyota will be celebrating its success in the World Rally Championship in the 1980s and 1990s. The automaker will also be bringing at least three rally cars to show off, including the Group B Celica Twin Cam TA64, Group A Celica ST185, and Corolla WRC.

The aforementioned cars are said to represent 16 years of success at the pinnacle of the sport. Their success includes:

• Celica Twin Cam TA64, the 380bhp Group B machine (1983 – 1986) that was hailed as the “King of Africa” for its dominance of the Safari and Ivory Coast rallies

• Celica ST185, the Group A car that was driven to consecutive driver’s championships by Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol from 1992 to 1994, and Toyota’s first manufacturer’s championship with seven victories in 1993.

• Corolla WRC, which claimed 25 podium finishes between 1997 and 1999

In addition to these race-winning rallycars, Toyota will also be brining the Lexus FLA supercar and a new performance-tuned variant of the iQ minicar. A Land Cruiser model that also raced in the Dakar Rally earlier this year will also be on hand for the event.

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Every few months there are rumors concerning successors to the the Toyota Supra and MR2. These two on-again, off-again sports cars appear to be on again in the midst of continued work on the Toyota FT-86 rear-wheel-drive sports coupe.

The latest rumors suggest that both the Supra and MR2 will hit the market within the next four years. The MR2 could feature a hybrid powertrain with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine. A V6-equipped hybrid powertrain was originally considered, but due to the staggering sales of the Honda CR-Z in Japan, engineers at Toyota are rumored to favor a more fuel-efficient unit instead.

As for the Supra, which is said to be based on the FT-HS Concept, a hybrid powertrain with a V6 engine will be more likely.

It also would appear that the development of these two models are running in conjunction with the development of the FT-86 sports car, which is being co-developed Subaru.

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