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Watch these Toyota engineers build Pokémon’s Miraidon from soup to nuts.

While everyone was getting worked up about the announcement of the next Pokémon game, the Toyota Engineering Society was busy working on a special project to create a life-sized Miraidon, the motorcycle-like legendary dragon mascot from Pokémon Violet.

Even though we’ll probably never get a chance to see the thing actually zooming around, it’s still cool as hell seeing it come together in this video about the collaboration.


Toyota’s 2024 Tacoma is an expensive way to buy stereo Bluetooth speakers.

The all-new 2024 Tacoma lineup (which is adding a hybrid option) uses a portable Toyota-branded JBL “FLEX” device as a center speaker for the main audio system when docked away — and since two of those Toyota speakers can pair for stereo sound... all you need are two Tacomas.

Rivian’s all-electric R1T and R1S also have a removable Bluetooth Camp speaker / lamp that elegantly hides away, although future models could swap in a drawer instead.


JBL bluetooth speaker sitting on the dash inside the new tacoma truck next to a hole in the das that was made for it.
The Toyota-branded JBL “FLEX” speaker docks into the Tacoma and works as the center channel.
Image: Toyota
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Toyota runs into familiar stumbles trying to make car software.

Legacy car company trying a “Silicon Valley-style” software unit with impossible ambitions running into the cold hard reality of needing to actually ship working software? Nope, not VW: this time it’s Toyota, whose Woven Planet software subsidiary working on CES-style nonsense ideas has basically hit the rocks.

Toyota named the concept Arene, a kind of operating system for cars that was envisioned as making it possible for drivers to wirelessly download a wide array of upgrades, just like Tesla. Arene-powered vehicles would connect to a cloud network, gathering and sharing data among millions of vehicles, smart homes and city infrastructure. Developers outside of Toyota would be able to use it to design their own applications and services for cars, and Arene would be open for use by other automakers as well, in the manner of Android, the mobile operating system that runs on many brands of smartphone.


Japan’s automakers are keeping sports cars alive in the EV era

The Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo saw the debut of five different electrified sports cars, ranging from production-intent coupes to outrageous concept supercars.

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Toyota and Pony.ai partner up to mass-produce robotaxis in China.

The companies are forming a joint venture that will provide Toyota-branded EVs to the autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai. The Level 4 vehicles can operate without a human at the wheel and will join the PonyPilot+ robotaxi network offered in China.

Last year, Pony.ai became the first autonomous car company with a taxi license in China. It has also been expanding its services throughout the country, and has started running its robotaxis without safety drivers in Beijing and Guangzhou.


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A three-row electric Subaru is on the way.

Toyota is planning on building it for Subaru, right after it makes its own mid-sized electric SUV, which will be called bZ5X, according to Automotive News. Subaru’s only current EV, the compact Solterra SUV, was also made by Toyota, which owns a 20 percent stake in the Japanese automaker. Initial sales were halted for months because the wheels could fall off.


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Toyota’s “killer robots from the future” design situation now has audio.

The new Prius looks a lot nicer but sounds downright evil when you back it up.