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Toyota to Invest $912 Million in U.S. Plants to Increase Hybrid Vehicle Production by Michael Wayland

William Attardi on November 22, 2025

Toyota Motor on Tuesday announced plans to invest $912 million in U.S. manufacturing plants in five Southern states as part of a previously announced plan for the company to invest up to $10 billion domestically by 2030. The investments announced Tuesday are broadly meant to support increasing production of hybrid vehicles, which Toyota leads with a more than 51% market share through the third quarter of this year, according to Motor Intelligence data. Most of the investments are expected to be completed by 2027.  The investments are expected to create 252 new jobs.  Toyota and the entire automotive industry have been trying to navigate production plans amid regulatory changes impacting all-electric vehicles and Trump’s litany of tariffs this year on new vehicles and auto parts.  Toyota to invest $912 million in U.S. plants to increase hybrid vehicle production

Deals on Leases Drive EV Market by Christopher Otts

William Attardi on January 13, 2025

Toyota Motor’s only electric vehicle widely on sale in the U.S. starts at about $37,000. But practically nobody plunks down that much for the mid size SUV, named bZ4X. “Almost everyone leases the car,” Toyota U.S. sales chief David Christ said in a re cent interview. “You’d be a fool not to.” The Japanese-made SUV, which qualifies for a $7,500 federal subsidy only if it is leased, illustrates a broader shift in the way car companies are marketing electric cars to consumers, with more-afford able monthly payments and no long-term commitment. People who leased the Toyota in 2024 paid $445 a month on average, compared with $717 for those who financed the car through a purchase loan, according to credit bureau Experian. WQWLtBjXe8K8Ki1Y3MfL-WSJNewsPaper-1-13-2025.pdf

Telling Time – 12-hour time is a very ancient system that traces back to the Mesopotamian empires. They had a cultural fixation with the number 12, used a base-12 numerical system, and divided up most things into 12ths whenever possible – including day and night. The 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night system spread throughout Europe and the Middle East and has defied multiple attempts to change it over the centuries. Also, for anyone curious as to why there was such a love of the number 12, it was because that was how they counted on their hand. Look at your hand. Notice how each of your fingers minus your thumb has three easily identifiable parts to it. They used to count by using their thumb to count each part of the finger, much in the same way we count to 10 using our fingers today. So, 12 was the max you could count on one hand.