Reader Review of the Week: 2012 Toyota Highlander

“Newbie Toyota Guy” from South Bend, Ind., has always considered himself an enthusiast of performance cars. Alas, with two children, he had to buy something a little more practical and opted for a top-of-the-line new Toyota Highlander. Much to his surprise, Newbie Toyota Guy is quite smitten with the SUV and with the Toyota brand itself. Continue reading below to find out why. If you want to share thoughts about your own car, you can do that here.

2012 Toyota Camry Video

The Toyota Camry gets what looks like mostly iterative changes to its exterior for the 2012 model year, but it's what's on the inside that counts. The 2012 Camry has a nice polish to its interior, good sightlines and lots of cargo space. Ride comfort and brakes are much improved, too, Cars.com Industry Analyst Kelsey Mays says.

How Affordable is the Prius c?

We've just published our full review of the new 50-mpg Prius c hybrid from Toyota and posted the detailed pricing for the Prius c's trim lineup: One, Two, Three and Four. But how affordable is this sub-$19,000 hybrid versus traditional subcompact cars that get decent mileage without the hybrid system or higher starting price?

It turns out the Prius c does pretty darn well.

2012 Toyota Prius c Priced at $18,950

According to Toyota, the "c" in the Prius c's name stands for "city." It also could stand for "cheap." The newest, tiniest addition to the Prius family will start at $18,950 when it goes on sale next month. The subcompact hybrid joins the original Prius compact hatchback and larger, new-for-2012 Prius v wagon.

2012 Toyota Prius c Review

Its price isn't the only attractive number. The four-door hatchback's 73-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and 60-hp electric motor should return excellent fuel economy. The EPA estimates it should get 53/46 mpg city/highway. Toyota says it's the "highest rated city fuel economy of any vehicle without a plug."

Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Toyota Prius c

Toyota's smallest hybrid, the Prius c, promises big fuel economy and a small price. But how does it drive? That's what Managing Editor David Thomas discovered during his test of the new vehicle. Find out if it lived up to the hype or disappointed when the low-rolling-resistance tires hit the road.

2012 Toyota Prius c Review

Toyota: 19 New Models in 2012

Toyota had a rough year in 2011. Safety investigations and natural disasters presented challenge after challenge and wounded the company’s supply chain, sales figures and brand image. It's a new year, and it sounds like Toyota plans to stay busy.

The automaker is planning to launch 19 new vehicles in 2012 across its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands, according to the Detroit Free Press. Executives detailed the plans to dealers last weekend at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Las Vegas.

Recall Alert: 2011 Toyota RAV4

Toyota is recalling 427 Toyota RAV4s from the 2011 model year because of a defect involving the side curtain airbags, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The affected vehicles, which were manufactured from Nov. 24 through Dec. 19, 2011, do not use the correct propellant that helps to initiate the expansion of the airbag. As a result, one or both side curtain airbags might not deploy in an accident, increasing the risk of injury.

Toyota will start notifying owners in March, and dealerships will replace one or each of the side curtain airbags, if necessary, free of charge. Owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: January 2012

After capping 2011 with four decent months, the auto industry hit 2012 running. Analysts expect auto sales to outpace 2011 figures anywhere from 6% to 10%, which could make 2012 the best sales year since 2007.

January enticed consumers with total incentives — including financing offers, automaker and dealer cash, and trade-in bonuses — amounting to 16% off the average car’s MSRP, CNW Marketing Research reports. That beats January 2011, when shoppers saw only 13.5% off the average MSRP.

Shoppers took advantage. January sales jumped 11%, beating Tuesday’s expectations. This marks the best annualized month since 2009, Automotive News reports. Chrysler, Nissan and Hyundai-Kia saw double-digit sales gains, with GM the only top-seven automaker to post a loss.

Win a Toyota Camry and Give Another to Friend or Family

To further push the redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry, which has competitors like the Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata chomping at the bit, Toyota has decided to give away two new Camrys to a lucky winner who uses the Shazam music service.

For folks who don't know about Shazam, it's a music identification application available on most major smartphone operating systems. Toyota wants you to Shazam its latest commercial, which sentimentally talks about the generations of Toyota Camry owners. By playing along, you'll be entered to win two new 2012 Toyota Camrys, collectively worth $53,280, says the automaker. You can watch the ad online on YouTube and use Shazam to enter. You can circumvent Shazam and just enter the game on Toyota's website.

The sweepstakes ends Sunday. Contestants can enter it once a day until Saturday.

Toyota Super Bowl Ad Shoots for Profound Reinvention

Toyota will air two 30-second ads during the Super Bowl for its 2012 Toyota Camry, the first time the automaker has advertised during the game in three years.

The ad, shown above in its full 60-second version, plays on the idea of reinvention to help convey the significant re-engineering of the Toyota Camry for the new model year.

Some funny "reinventions" include rain that makes you skinny, tasty pizza curtains and couches made out of attractive, living, human beings. Richard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (from Stanley Kubrick’s "2001: A Space Odyssey") underscores the clip. The ad is definitely over the top, especially for a vehicle that looks only iteratively different compared to the Camry it replaces.