Returning Troops To Get A 'Welcome Home' Deal

Toyota and Lexus Offering Special Pricing For Military Members 

Since thousands of military personnel have or are in the process of returning home from overseas, Toyota thought they'd say "thank you" to those who served.  

Toyota and Lexus are offering special financing on new vehicles and cash-back rebates for the next few weeks specifically to military personnel.  

What a great idea.  

For full pricing details, contact your local Toyota dealer just to make sure your qualify.  Luckily, West Herr has two Toyota dealerships in the area, Orchard Park and Williamsville.  

Here is what you need to qualify:

1. Applicants must be on active duty in the U.S. Military or U.S. Military inactive Reserve. Retired military personnel aren't eligible for this promotion.

2. You'll need to finance the vehicle through Toyota Financial Services or Lexus Financial Services.

3. You'll also need to receive regular credit approval and to prove that you earn a salary sufficient to cover both living expenses and vehicle payments.

  So there you go.  A big thank you to our troops everywhere!  

Tweet For Cash With Toyota

Toyota Shareathon Offers Social Media Users Unique Opportunity 

You can get $500 from Toyota just for a tweet.  

As part of Toyota's Shareathon event, anyone who buys a Toyota by January 3rd and tweets about it can register for a $500 prepaid debit card.  The event runs Decemmber 21st to January 3rd.  

The best part is, by earning retweets you have a chance to get even more money.  

Starting at 11 a.m. ET each day of the Shareathon event,  the first 140 Shareathon registrants will be eligible for the $500 gift card.  you can earn even more money by getting your followers to retweet your message. Each retweet will increase the debit card value by $50 a plug, up to $500 for a maximum $1,000 debit card.

Search the Twitter hashtag #Shareathon to see what the people are buzzing about.  Then get to tweeting, grab a Toyota and collect your money! 

#1 For A Reason

West Herr Toyota of Orchard Park The Top Buffalo Toyota Dealer 

A hearty congratulations to West Herr Toyota of Orchard Park.  The dealership was the #1 volume Toyota dealer in Buffalo, Rochester and Albany in 2010!

"This is a testament to our team effort, we're truly honored," said store GM Tom Fogarty. "Most importantly we want to thank our customers for their support.  The Western New York community is just amazing."

We'd like to back up that sentiment and say thank you to our wonderful customers.  Your support is truly appreciated.  

In addition, the dealership also received the Toyota President's Award.  This is one of the highest honors a Toyota dealership can receive.  In order to qualify as a President's Award winner, dealerships must excel in each of a series of categories, including Customer Sales Satisfaction and Customer Service Satisfaction

So once again, thank you to all our customers who gave us good ratings on their Toyota surveys.  The Buffalo community has always been incredible to work with.

So congratulations to the staff and remember; it's not just a Toyota, it's a West Herr Toyota.  

Cars For Good

Toyota Puts Charity In The Hands Of The Public 

Toyota is giving away 100 vehicles over 100 days to nonprofit organizations.  The destination of these cars is entirely in the public's hands.  

Registered 501c organizations can apply online at Toyota's Facebook page,  then fans can vote there to decide where the cars will go.  Organizations can submit videos, pictures or any other form of media to make their case.  

“Over the past two decades, Toyota has contributed more than half a billion dollars to philanthropic programs in the United States, and now 100 Cars for Good will put the public in the driver’s seat for one of our philanthropic efforts,” said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc,

The vehicles up for giveaway are the Toyota Prius, Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander Hybrid, Sienna, or Sienna Mobility. A six-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty will also be provided for each vehicle awarded.

Applications submitted by March 21, 2011 will be reduced to 500 finalist organizations that will be in the running to win a vehicle.  These final organizations will be selected by an independent panel of judges who are experts in the fields of philanthropy and social responsibility. Finalists can submit videos, create their own online profiles and rally their friends and supporters to encourage voting for their organization.

So if you have a nonprofit organization in mind, send them some love at www.facebook.com/toyota and they just might have a new car to play with! 

Get Entune with Toyota

Toyota Launches Competition To Ford's Sync

Automakers are just finding new ways to improve the driving experience, particularly with adding social media and navigation apps.  We've told you all about Ford Sync, but now Toyota has launched some stiff competition with the announcement of Entune, Toyota's in car app.      

Instead of being powered by Google, the Entune is using Bing as it's main search provider.  Aside from Bing, Entune will offer access to four other in-car apps at launch: the Pandora and iheartradio streaming music services, Opentable (for booking dinner reservations) and Movietickets.com (for purchasing movie tickets.)  

Best part?  Toyota is promising quick, efficient and substantial upgrades.  You wont even have to lift a finger to get the latest info.   

So sure you can buy movie tickets or book dinner reservations in your car, but many wonder about safety.  Well Toyota's got you covered there. Like the Sync, all the apps are voice controlled.  If you're at a stoplight or in a traffic jam, there will also be a dashboard navigation system.  

Entune will be available on new vehicles beginning later in 2011, but Toyota isn't announcing the exact models until the Detroit Auto Show next week.  Check back and we'll let you know more about Entune.

For now, swing by a West Herr Toyota dealership and see what else Toyota has to offer.  

Toyota Tops In Consumer Reports

Automaker Rated Highest In Reliability

The results are in, and Toyota still makes the safest and most reliable automobile.  Consumer reports credits Toyota for their both in its mainstream brand and its luxury brand, Acura, scored at least average reliability.

"Toyota Motor Corp dominated the top of this year's reliability survey," said the Detroit Free Press. 

Consumer Reports sent out 5 million auto reliability surveys and 1.3 millions surveys were returned to the magazine. The survey goes back 10 years for vehicles and uses a number of ways to determine a vehicle"s reliability.

Earning an average or higher reliability ranking from Consumer Reports is essential for carmakers to make the magazine's recommended list, said Sullivan.

"Many people buying cars go to Consumer Reports recommended list and start shopping from there," he said. "If it's not there, they don't ever consider it."

Toyota has clearly had some setbacks, but consumers' opinions on the brand have not wavered.  Consumers indicated that Toyota consistently offers the most reliable lineups. 

John Hanson, Toyota's national manager for environmental safety and quality communications, said the will continue looking for ways to improve. 

"Toyota won't take its place near the top for granted," Hanson said. 

  

Prius Not So Sneaky Now

Toyota To Offer Noisemaking Add On For Quiet Hybrid Car

The Prius is known for it's gas mileage and it's quiet driving.  Toyota is looking to change the latter in the name of pedestrian safety.

Toyota has developed an “Approaching Vehicle Audible System” for the Prius that makes a synthesized warning tone to make up for its electric-only quietness.

The speaker system works at speeds under 16 mph when the Prius is rolling without the gasoline engine running.

It emits tones that sound like a whirring electric motor, which vary in pitch with vehicle speed. Future Toyota hybrid, electric, and fuel-cell vehicles will likely include such sound systems.  The device can be retrofitted to any current-generation Toyota Prius. 

Currently the device is only available in Japan but Toyota is developing a similar add-on for the U.S. and other countries.  At the moment there is no firm roll-out date set.

Now Is The Time To Buy A Toyota

Find Amazing Deals On Toyotas In Buffalo

Toyota has extended their incentives until August, and that means savings all around to consumers.  Toyota's National Clearance Event is going on now and the deals wont last much longer.  

A full list of deals can be found here on the Toyota website, including a very special offer for military personnel: 

Find Toyota deals near you

In certain areas Toyota is offering zero-percent APR financing for up to 60 months on the 2011 Camry. Some areas are also offering free maintenance on all new Toyotas for two years or 25,000 miles.  Again remember to click the link above to find the best Toyota deal for you. A beautiful new Toyota Corolla.

One car on the list is Toyota's hybrid, The Prius.  The Prius has received excellent reviews and ratings including this recent piece:

"At 50 MPG, The Toyota Prius is a game changer," said the Los Angeles Times. "The car feels like the same humble, humming people pod, only lacquered with a bit more confidence and esprit."

While fuel efficiency is key, safety is always first when it comes to cars.  Luckily for consumers, no other brand has more 2010 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick Awards than Toyota.  Safety awards include:

• 2011 Avalon- Top Safety Pick for large models
• 2011 Sienna- Top Safety Pick for minivans
• Toyota Highlander- Top Safety Pick
• Toyota Corolla- Top Safety Pick for small cars
• Toyota Venza- Top Safety Pick for midsize SUVs

Toyota also reports that they spend $1 million per hour on research and development of new safety initiatives for their vehicles.

For deals on new and used Toyotas in the Buffalo area, visit West Herr online or in person today.  We have two Toyota locations, Williamsville and Orchard Park. 

Get a deal today and remember, its not just a Toyota, its a West Herr Toyota.