Toyota City, Japan, May 31, 2011—Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), as part of its social contribution activities, will introduce Table for Two (TFT), a program aimed at both encouraging healthy eating habits among its employees and providing meals to children in famine-afflicted areas of Africa. The program is administered by Table for Two International*, a non-profit organization that works to solve food-related problems around the world.

Beginning June 1, TMC will serve TFT lunches every Wednesday at a total of 15 employee cafeterias in the Tokyo head office and the Toyota City head office area. The price of these healthy lunches will include a 10-yen donation—matched by TMC—to be channeled through Table for Two International. This 20 yen can provide one hot school lunch to a child in Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi or Ethiopia. In this way, meals can be shared with those in need.

This is the first introduction of such a program, which TMC plans to expand companywide in stages, by a Japanese auto manufacturer.

As many as 1 billion people in developed countries are afflicted by obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases caused by overeating, while even more people in developing countries suffer from hunger. Table for Two International was established to address both aspects of this imbalance.

Separately, as part of wide-ranging efforts to support areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and its aftermath, meals containing ingredients produced in Japan’s Tohoku region are being served at TMC’s employee cafeterias. Some of these ingredients are planned for use in TFT lunches.

Courtesy of toyota.com

Gas prices are getting out of control, so it makes sense that more people are conserving as much energy as they can–although it’s difficult to imagine that everyone can actually cut back on their fuel consumption.

A lot of people are actually saving more by going green, or buying hybrid.

The hybrid and electric car market keeps growing each year, and these type of vehicles are only are getting more popular as time moves forward. Which fuel efficient models are the safest though?

The top 7 safest fuel efficient 2011 models are:

1. Chevrolet Cruze ECO
2. Ford Focus SFE
3. Honda Civic HF / Hybrid
4. Hyundai Elantra
5. Lexus CT 200h
6. Toyota Prius
7. Volkswagen Golf TDI

Courtesy of blogs.internetautoguide.com

Plug-In Toyota Prius (Autoblog).

Contrary to a report in the Japanese press on May 9, a Toyota spokesman says the company has no plans to make plug-in technology standard equipment on its entire lineup of hybrid vehicles.

An article in the Nikkei business daily Monday said Toyota was planning to make plug-in technology standard on its Prius lineup by 2014. A spokesman said Monday that was incorrect.

There’s good reason why, he said: Plug-in technology adds a lot of cost and weight to cars, and the added benefits are too small to justify the extras, say Toyota officials.

Toyota initially was reluctant to offer a plug-in hybrid at all in the U.S. They expressed skepticism that buyers would want to pay several thousand dollars more for plug-in technology that would only give drivers 10 to 15 miles of electric-only driving per charge.

“We see this market as being a small percentage of our hybrid market,” says John Hanson, a spokesman for Toyota. “We don’t see it as a car for everybody.”

But green advocates and techno junkies weren’t happy with that response, and have pressured the automaker to launch a plug-in. Some geeky types even went so far to modify their Priuses so they could plug them into their own home outlets.

Too, there has been public relations pressure on Toyota from General Motors, which launched the Chevy Volt extended range electric car last year. Toyota has not been a believer in the Volt as a sound business proposition, citing the $42,000 price tag on the vehicle to pay for the battery required to propel the Volt up to 40 miles on an electric charge.

Toyota’s first plug-in arrives in 2012, as a Prius. But the automaker has been open about having much more faith in its existing hybrid products and strategy: Introducing a family of Prius vehicles, adding one a size smaller and one a size larger than the current hatchback sedan.

Though Toyota is pursuing electric vehicles (EVs), and has even purchased a stake in luxury EV maker Tesla, the company is committed to hybrids as the mainstay of its green strategy. Pushing cars to full electric means adding bigger batteries, which adds weight. A plug-in system adds 400 pounds to a car, or the equivalent of two adult men sitting in your back seat during a commute. A heavier car means bigger brakes, springs and safety systems, adding more weight. And the heavier the car, the less fuel efficient it is. It becomes a case of diminishing returns.

The Prius dominates hybrid vehicle sales worldwide, but there is pressure from governments and environmental groups to keep pushing on EVs or at least plug-ins, like the Volt and Prius plug-in. Consumers are reacting with some hesitation to EVs, though, because of price, as well as performance and behavior of EVs in real world driving.

What are those real world differences?

The Volt stays in electric mode on 100% battery power until the battery is depleted. Then, a gas-powered motor kicks on to drive power through the battery to power the car, though the battery does not recharge itself during this period like a laptop computer or cell-phone. The fact that the car is not 100% dependent on a battery eliminates the anxiety many consumers feel when driving an EV that they will run out of juice and be stranded. Depending on driving conditions, a driver is expected to get up to 40 miles on a charge before the gas engine kicks on.

Traditional hybrid cars like the Prius or Ford Fusion Hybrid need to be babied a bit when accelerating, because pushing too hard on the gas pedal throws them out of battery mode and into gas-sucking mode.

The Nissan Leaf EV, which went on sale last Fall is a 100% electric car with a driving range of about 80 miles depending on how aggressively the driver is working the accelerator.

The plug-in Prius would drive on battery power for a while, though not for long — just 13 miles on electric mode – and that’s in perfect conditions. When it’s cold outside, the plug-in sometimes acts just like a regular old hybrid without running in full electric mode at all.

Toyota isn’t even sure how many plug-in vehicles it wants to sell in the U.S. The range could be anywhere from 5,000 to 40,000. The volume will affect how much the company will charge – fewer vehicles means higher prices.

Bottom Line: Prius Not Going 100% Plug-in

For now, Toyota seems to be betting that plug-in technology is a fad that will eventually fade away. The Japanese news agency report that reported that all Prius vehicles would be sold as “plug-in” in the U.S. was incorrect, according to Toyota officials.

Courtesy of autos.aol.com

WHAT: “Thousand Hearts” Japan Relief Benefit Concert, Presented by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
featuring Hiroshima and Quest Crew

WHO: JETAP (Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami Aid Project)

WHERE: Pasadena Civic Auditorium, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena 91101

WHEN: Saturday, April 23, 2011 at 7 pm with red carpet arrivals at 5 pm

TICKETS: $20 – $40 – $60 www.ThousandHearts.org

Pasadena, CA: The “Thousand Hearts” Japan Relief Benefit Concert, presented by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. will take place on Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The concert will be headlined by the Grammy-nominated band Hiroshima, a jazz and pop band, who will headline the “Thousand Hearts” Japan earthquake relief concert. Quest Crew, winner of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, Season 3, will also bring a great mix of humor, musicality, high-flying and eye-popping tricks, innovative choreography and personality that will bring the audience to their feet. Also performing will be the thundering sounds of the nationally and internationally premiere taiko group TaikoProject.

Mark Dacascos (Iron Chef America, Food Network), actor Lou Diamond Phillips, and actress Julia Ling (Chuck, NBC) are scheduled to appear along with a host of celebrities who will be walking the red carpet.

Net proceeds will go directly to assist the people in the hardest hit areas of the Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures and Sendai.

The devastating earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan. Patty Kinaga, a Pasadena resident was a former delegate of the Japanese American Leadership Delegation to Japan sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since then she has taken her responsibility of what she can do to strengthen the bridge between Japan and the United States seriously. In the day following the Japan disaster, Patty had her television set on NHK, a Japanese channel to keep abreast of what was happening while emailing and contacting various people, including talking to the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles on what she could do.

Patty’s 6 year-old daughter Emily was sitting on the bed, watching the images on television and listening to her mother’s side of various telephone conversation. Emily had first heard of the story about the Thousand Origami Cranes from June Kuramoto, one of the founding members of Hiroshima and a very good friend of the family who is teaching Emily the Koto. Her Auntie June has a beautiful song she co-wrote with Derek Nakamoto called “A Thousand Cranes”, a stirring ballad. Sadako Sasaki was a young girl in Japan who because of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II was dying from leukemia. Based on the ancient Japanese legend, Sadako started to fold origami cranes because the legend says anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes and holds them together by string will be granted a wish by a crane. Sadako wanted to get her health back. Unfortunately, she passed away. As a result of her death, Sakako’s classmates started a movement to raise money for a statute in memory of her and the children who died from the atomic bomb. From that a monument was erected at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park to honor her and the other children who died with the words “This is our Cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the World.” Since then, the thousand cranes has become a symbol of peace. Emily had heard this story from her Auntie June and remembered it as she was listening to her mother’s telephone conversations.

Emily then said to her mother: “Mommy, can’t we do something for the children in Japan. Can we make connecting paper hearts and write messages to send to the children of Japan”? When Patty recounts this story, it brings tears to her eyes to realize the love and care that her daughter has for humanity. Upon more discussion, they decided to do something to help Japan and the children and would call their project a “Thousand Hearts” – Patty & Emily gave a big high five to each other and Patty took the lead in creating the Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Benefit Concert. “Thousands Hearts” concert is to create a multi-cultural, multi-generational effort, reaching out to each other that we may reach out to the people of Japan – Heart to Heart.

As past president of the Japanese American Bar Association, Patty started with contacting and organizing bar associations, which helped her to mobilize this event. She called upon her friend Pasadena City Councilmember Steve Madison for his help, the first member of the Thousand Heart Blue Ribbon Committee along with Mayor Bill Bogaard and as of this writing Councilmembers Jacque Robinson, Margaret McAustin and Steve Haderlein. Rick Barr, General Manager of the Pasadena Civic Auditorium says “We are happy to be hosting this meaningful event for the people of Japan.”

The 700-member Pasadena Bar Association was one of the first groups to support this event. According to Ambassador Lisa Tan, Esq. “It’s impossible not to be moved by the images of devastation and the dignity and grace the Japanese people have shown in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis. No country is rich enough to recover from a disaster of this magnitude without the help of others. The Pasadena Bar Association is proud to be a part of JETAP and the Thousand Hearts Japan Relief Benefit Concert and their efforts to raise money for the hardest hit areas in Japan.” And to help this cause, Pasadena based nonprofit Pacific Film Currents with Chair Chester Hashizume is the Fiscal Sponsor for this program.

In the aftermath of Japan’s tragedy, this special concert has been organized by a multi-cultural coalition of bar associations and community groups, including the Japanese American Bar Association, the Mexican American Bar Association, the Langston Bar Association, the national Hispanic, Asian and African American bar associations, the Pasadena Bar Association and a host of community organizations. www.thousandhearts.org.

The Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Aid Project (JETAP), the concert host, is an informal coalition of members from ethnically-diverse professional and community associations throughout California. Tickets are $20, $40, and $60.

Emily is a student at Mayfield and resides in Pasadena with her mother Patty, father Peter and brother Brandon, a 4th grader at Mayfield. Along with learning the Koto, she is also taking piano lessons and is an artist. We hope that everyone will help Emily fulfill her wish to help the children of Japan and attend this benefit concert for an evening of enchantment through music, people and lots of heart!

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Courtesy of ci.pasadena.ca.us