Monday, December 15, 2014

Five Habits that will Ruin Your Vehicle | Maita Toyota Sacramento CA




Avoiding these habits can go a long way in preventing an expensive repair bill.

Most things you own will last longer if you take care of them and treat them well. Your car is no exception to this rule. While neglecting your car may seem harmless in the short term, regular neglect and mistreatment will add up and will reduce your car’s lifespan. To keep your car running longer and stronger, avoid these five harmful habits.

1. Delaying regular maintenance
Regularly maintaining your car is vital to your car’s longevity. Regular maintenance includes oil and filter replacement, as well as transmission fluid, air filter and brake pad care. Every vehicle manufacturer specifies a different maintenance routine, which can be found in your owner’s manual. While regular maintenance requires you to invest some time and money, it’s peanuts compared to the cost of a new engine or transmission.

2. Ignoring dash warning lights
When a warning indicator lights up on your dash panel, it’s important to address the problem immediately. If you don’t know what the light means, check your owner’s manual or call your mechanic. Dash warning lights can alert you to some very serious problems, such as a coolant leak, which can cause your engine to overheat. A simple preventative repair can often prevent a large problem down the line.

3. Shifting while moving
The transmission is one of the most complex and expensive parts in your car and it’s important to use is as it was intended. Be careful not to shift from drive to reverse or vice versa while the car is still moving. This “jerky” shifting places excess strain on the transmission’s internal gears and can instantly destroy it.

4. Jerky driving
We all know someone who accelerates wildly on every straightaway only to brake hard at a traffic light or stop sign. This type of driving won’t destroy your car immediately, but will cause your engine, transmission and brake system to deteriorate much more quickly than intended. Cars that have been abused will have premature fluid leaks, broken seals and mechanical problems.

5. Putting off tire replacement
Tires for some cars can be expensive, so replacing them is an unwelcome cost. Driving on bald tires is very risky, however. If a tire blows out while you’re driving, you can lose control of your vehicle and have a serious accident. And if you drive with bald tires in the rain, the risk of hydroplaning goes up tremendously. A new set of tires may seem pricey, but probably costs less than your car, and even less than your insurance deductible.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Maita Toyota Benefits | Maita Toyota Sacramento CA


Maita Toyota Benefits

COURTESY SHUTTLE SERVICE:
Take advantage of our multiple courtesy shuttles Monday through Saturday. Our first Sienna van leaves the dealership at 7:30 am and is on the go till 6:00 pm. Our second Sienna van leaves at 8:00 am and continues to service our customers’ transportation needs till 6:00 pm Monday through Saturday. Our shuttles DELIVER and RETRIEVE our customers within a 10 mile radius of our beautiful new facility!

FREE WI-FI:

Whether you’re here for an Express Maintenance or a longer repair visit, we invite you to take advantage or our free wireless internet system. Conveniently labeled as “Guest1”, “Guest 2”, or ‘Guest 3” and open to the public throughout our dealership. We have plenty of electrical outlets and comfortable seating for your “surfing” pleasure or business productivity.
MAITA COVE:
Wondering what to do with the kids when you have your car serviced? Bring them to MAITA COVE, home of the only in-dealership pirate ship in California! The pirate ship is located right next to our 150 gallon salt-water aquarium to give your kids the feeling of the open ocean! If the kids look close enough, they’ll see Nemo and his friends swimming right here in MAITA COVE.

VINCES CAFÉ:
Visit VINCE’S CAFÉ for free coffee of tea whenever you’re in our dealership. Getting your car serviced during your lunch hour? Take advantage of the daily special or try one of our time-honored stand-bys to tide you over. VINCE’S CAFÉ will become one of your favorite stops while visiting us for all your automotive needs.

SERVICE RECEPTION:
Six covered lanes of SERVICE RECEPTION await your arrival! Maita Toyota’s Service Department welcomes you to use our numbered lanes for the start of your most memorable service visit. Lane #1 is most used for our clients with reservations for Toyota Express Maintenance; Lane #2 is most used for our clients just dropping in for Toyota Express Maintenance; Lane #3 is most used for our clients with reservations for one of our Team Advisors ( Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow or Red.) Lanes # 4 – 6 are most often used for service delivery and to allow our customers easy return to Auburn Boulevard. Be sure to look for the Green Arrow overhead indicating an open lane for your service visit!

Monday, November 17, 2014

Toyota Camry Dragster takes the phrase 'sleeper' to its logical extreme [w/video] | Maita Toyota Sacramento CA

Sometimes, looks can be deceiving. This is certainly one of those times, as Toyota successfully trolled the entirety of the media corps at the 2014 SEMA Show by rolling an innocent-looking Camry onto the floor... only to lift literally the entirety of its body to reveal an 850-horsepower, tube-framed dragster. Well, we have been asking for a more driver-oriented Toyota.

While it's designed to go fast in a straight line, the origin of the Camry Dragster's parts might be surprising. The 5.7-liter V8 engine, transmission, rear axle and electronics were plucked from the Toyota Tundra pickup. Toyota Racing Development donated a supercharger, while a wet-nitrous-injection system was also tacked on for that little extra something. Those goodies will help propel this anonymous looking monster through the quarter mile in just 9.8 seconds.

"This is the most extreme build we've ever unveiled at SEMA," said Toyota's motorsports chief Steve Appelbaum said in a statement. "The transformation from seemingly stock Camry to full-blown racecar just shocks the senses. Chuck Wade and the team at Motorsports Technical Center did a truly spectacular job executing the vision of this project."

See below for the video showing off this sleeper Camry from Toyota! 

Friday, November 7, 2014

Somebody's Watching Yout, All Right...Your Teen Driver | Maita Toyota Sacramento CA


  • Toyota’s TeenDrive365 Introduces New Resources to Help Parents Become Better
  • Driving Role Models for Their Teens
  • Based on Toyota Research with the University of Michigan That Shows Parents Are the Number One Influence on How Teens Drive
  • Toyota and Discovery Education Team Up to Reward a $15,000 Scholarship to the Winner of TeenDrive365 Video Challenge for the Best Idea to Get People to Drive Safely

NEW YORK (Nov. 6, 2014) – Put down that cup of coffee when you’re driving, Mom. And forget about checking that text while behind the wheel, Dad. Parents may think their teens aren’t paying attention to them, but the truth is the exact opposite. Safety research by Toyota and the University of Michigan Transportation Institute (UMTRI) reveals that parents are the number one influence on how their teenager will drive.  

That’s why Toyota created TeenDrive365 (www.TeenDrive365.com), a comprehensive initiative that offers online tools, expert advice, local events and social media elements to inspire parents and teens to be safe drivers together. TeenDrive365 builds on the programs and resources Toyota has offered for over a decade to help families ‘go safely.’ Since its launch last November, millions of people have engaged with the online and in-person resources that make up theTeenDrive365 program—over 1-million people have visited the web site, more than 22,000 people have taken Toyota’s safe driving pledge and over 10,000 people have interacted withTeenDrive365 at events around the country.

Now approaching year two, TeenDrive365 introduces new resources that further emphasize the impact parents have on their teen’s driving and help parents put that knowledge into action. The focus on parents as role models is based on research from a national study from Toyota’s Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC) and UMTRI. The study found a significant correlation between how parents and their teens drive, suggesting that parents are the biggest influence on how a teen will behave behind the wheel.

“As a mother of a teenager, I often remind myself that the things I do behind the wheel go a long way in setting a powerful example,” said Dr. Tina Sayer, Toyota Collaborative Safety Research Center principal engineer and teen safe driving expert. “Experience and education certainly help your teen become a safe and more confident driver, but our research shows us that the biggest factor in how teens will drive is their parents.”

TeenDrive365’s new resources, which can be accessed at www.TeenDrive365.com, highlight the critical role parents play in helping keep teens safe behind the wheel and include:
  • An online commercial coined “Parents Who Drive Bad Anonymous”, which takes a humorous look at parents’ vices behind the wheel as they commit to being safer drivers for their teens;
  • The “Masters of the Wheel” video series, featuring professional race car driving legends discussing the influential role parents play in teen driver safety;
  • An enhanced in-car distracted driving simulator with Oculus Rift virtual reality technology, which offers parents and teens the latest, most realistic virtual experience around how common distractions impact their ability to remain safe on the road. This marks the first time the Oculus Rift technology is being used in a driving simulator to educate people about distracted driving. The simulator, which is staged behind the wheel of a real Toyota vehicle, will be available at auto shows around the country;
  • An online pledge for parents to promise to set the best example behind the wheel for their teens; and
  • More ways parents and teens can share important safety tips on social media, includinganimated GIFs and picture-based riddles, which make learning about driving safety fun while informative. 

“We are thrilled that parents and teens responded so positively to TeenDrive365,” said Marjorie Schussel, Corporate Marketing Director for Toyota. “Over the last year, we learned that once parents realize that they are the key to how their teen will drive, they crave support and guidance on how to be better role models. Our new resources are designed with this in mind and empower parents to be the drivers they want their teens to be so they can help keep them safe.” 

Created in partnership with agency 360i, TeenDrive365 continues to be Toyota’s largest campaign to address teen safety to date. It is being supported by a comprehensive integrated marketing campaign –that includes targeted media across traditional and online channels, such as national radio, online video, display, mobile and paid social advertising – to raise awareness and drive visitors to the web site. The campaign is further supported by custom content and high-profile sponsorships. It will be promoted across Toyota’s branded social communities, including on Facebook and Twitter.

Popular Video Challenge Engages the Creativity and Talent of Teens Nationwide 

Today, Toyota, in partnership with Discovery Education, also launched the 2014-2015TeenDrive365 Video Challenge (formerly known as the Toyota Teen Driver Video Challenge). Now in its fourth year, the Video Challenge invites teens across the country to create short videos to inspire their friends to drive safely and avoid distractions. 

The grand prize winner will receive a $15,000 cash prize and work with a Discovery film crew to reproduce his/her video as a professional, TV-ready PSA. The second place winner will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize along with a trip to attend a taping of a Velocity network show, and the third place winner will receive a $7,500 cash prize. A panel of judges from Discovery Education and Toyota, as well as educators and community leaders, will select the first, second and third place winners. The winners will be chosen based on the creativity, content and presentation of their videos.

Additionally, the public will have the opportunity to cast their votes for the People’s Choice Award. Ten finalists will be chosen and their entries are posted online for public vote. The winner of the public vote will receive a $5,000 cash prize and a trip to see a taping of a Velocity network show. 

“With the reduction of safe driving programs at many schools, Toyota’s efforts to empower teens to make the right choices behind the wheel are more important than ever,” said Bill Goodwyn, President and CEO at Discovery Education. “We know that when it comes to the issue of safe driving, teens play a major role in influencing the behavior of their peers. We are proud to partner with Toyota and educators nationwide on this critically important endeavor and know that their work is literally saving lives.”
  
Last year, more than 1,000 videos were submitted by teens from all 50 states. Teens can submit entries today through March 16, 2015. Additional details can be found atwww.TeenDrive365inschool.com.

In addition to new resources and the Video Challenge, TeenDrive365 will continue to offer its existing teen driving tools such as:
  • “The Cost of Driving Calculator”, which helps parents teach their teens about the financial implications of life behind the wheel;
  • Toyota’s Mutual Driving Agreement, which encourages teens and parents to set expectations for safer behaviors while driving;
  • Heads Up!, an online driving game, which demonstrates the dangers of multitasking while driving; and
  • Safe driving events and resources offered around the country, including behind the wheel defensive driving courses and teen safety clinics in partnership with local Toyota dealerships.

TeenDrive365 is just one example of Toyota’s commitment to educate and empower all people on the road to ‘go safely,’ with specialized initiatives for children (Buckle Up For Life), teens (TeenDrive365) and adults (AARP Driver Safety). 

Related Links

“Parents Who Drive Bad Anonymous” Online Commercial
www.youtube.com/embed/dJ4BVnu-_QE
www.youtube.com/embed/eUTloWTDNB4

Animated Safety GIFs
http://safetygifs.tumblr.com/  

“Masters of the Wheel” Video Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-tmJR4ik1w

Friday, October 31, 2014

2015 Toyota Camry | Maita Toyota Sacramento CA

Every car has its definitive year. Whether it be the Chevrolet Corvette, the Ford Mustang, or yes, even the ubiquitous Toyota Camry, 10.2 million of which have been sold since 1983, every car has its year. For the Camry, that year was 1992. With son-of-Lexusstyling, a clear sense of purpose and a parent company that had hit its stride as the purveyor of faultlessly reliable family transportation devices, the Camry got its legs in 1992. It's a car that even your mom is likely to remember, even if she never owned one herself.

The Camry you see here represents the closest Toyota has come to emulating the magic formula that made the 1992 model the stuff of legends. Compared to the 2014 model, some 2000 of the car's 6,000 parts are new, most of them involving things you can see or touch (on the outside, for example, only the roof carries over from 2014).

It's not a full redesign, but nevertheless it's a stunning development considering the predecessor upon which it's based only survived two model years. That's a testament to both the hyper-competitive nature of the family sedan segment and the lukewarm critical response that the outgoing car garnered. But that's in the past now – after driving this 2015 model, we suspect the new car's changes will be thorough enough to continue pulling in new customers by the hundreds of thousands each year for the foreseeable future.

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Camry's sculpted and elongated body gives it a sense of grace it hasn't had since 1992.
For starters, it looks great. Photos perhaps overemphasize the gaping, Avalon-inspired maw, but the Camry's sculpted and elongated body – 1.7 inches longer than its predecessor – gives it a sense of grace it hasn't had since the aforementioned 1992 model. Swoopy new headlamps walk the line between pretty and predatory, and hash marks running down the cheeks containing LED running lamps on some models, add a bit of edge. Out back is a remarkably clean decklid/bumper situation, including a tasteful spoiler on certain models.

The new-for-15 XSE model (seen here in V6 form) brings monochromatic paint, blacked-out exterior details, and sexy 18-inch black and machined wheels (compared to 16-inch steel wheels/covers on LE models and 17-inchers on LE and SE models). It's a look that attempts to close in on the Mazda6 in sex appeal, yet isn't so radical that your grandma won't get inside when it's time to take her to church. If there's a weak spot in the design, it's the C-pillar garnish that pretends to be a window but isn't; still, even that deserves some of the credit for making this car look a bit more like the '92.

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On the inside, nearly every surface with which the driver or passengers interact has been changed. It's still conservative, yet more upscale.
On the inside, nearly every surface with which the driver or passengers interact has been changed – nothing radical, but if we were to put it in, say, hotel terms, the Camry interior has gone from Courtyard By Marriott to, well, Marriott – still conservative, yet more upscale. The high H-point seats feature the now-mandatory contrast stitching, and you'll find a bit more soft (or soft-ish) touch stuff on the dash and door panels. Color schemes correspond closely to trim level – rental-grade grays for the appliance-like LE; sportier and more metallic-heavy with the SE (now four-cylinder only); sinister with the new XSE grade, with all-black leatherette/faux suede upholstery and red stitching; leather-lined and luxurious with the top-dog XLE models. The latter two trims also get rear seat air vents and dual-zone climate controls inside, as well as full LED headlamps on the outside.

The new Camry also steps up its electronics, starting with Optitron gauge clusters on SE models and above, and nice, three-dimensional primary dials flanking a new high-definition info screen. The XSE and XLE V6 models get charging ports behind a door in the dashboard, as well as larger touchscreens (7.0 inches vs. 6.1 on the rest) for their app-based Entune infotainment systems. Safety options come in the form of a pre-collision system, automatic high beams and blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert.

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Toyota engineers retuned the Camry's shocks and springs for more responsiveness without killing the velvety ride quality for which the Camry is known.
Under the skin, there's not as much new stuff, but what has been changed is all vastly appreciated. As with many of Toyota's redesigned and refreshed vehicles, including the Yaris and Sienna, which we also drove this week in Hawaii (stay tuned), the Camry gets added structural reinforcements, including many more spot welds. This in turn has allowed Toyota engineers to retune the Camry's shocks and springs for more responsiveness without killing the velvety ride quality for which the Camry, and most Toyotas, for that matter, are known. A 0.4-inch increase in track gives all models a bit more of a planted stance.

The pre-production Camry models we drove on the mostly benign roads on the Big Island of Hawaii proved more responsive to inputs and less wobbly in corners than their predecessors, and the aforementioned XSE model is almost (though not quite) fun. We reviewed the Hybrid model separately, but from this author's perspective, it seems that all Camry models are even quieter than the cars that came before them.

One particular revelation involves the Camry's XSE's brakes, which are remarkably well tuned, thanks in part to a new two-stage master cylinder. Initial bite is crisp and response is linear all the way down the pedal travel. Stopping the car had us conjuring thoughts of the Mazda6, though with 60 to 100 pounds more weight than in 2014, the 2015 Camry still doesn't feel as light as the Mazda in any form. Also, if you want the most Germanic steering (i.e. with a bit of heft and a modicum of tactility through the wheel) point your browser to the XSE model and don't look at anything else.

2015 Toyota Camry

With 268 hp and 248 lb-ft, the 3.5-liter V6 is strong but course. And if those V6 stats seem familiar, it's because they haven't changed since the Bush administration.
If the Camry is a letdown in any particular respect, it's that the gas powertrains are virtually 100-percent carryover from before, and not surprisingly, they feel about as scintillating (which is to say not very) as ever. The standard 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder makes decent power – 178 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 170 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm – though it requires one to wind it out pretty good to get to it, and the six-speed automatic is none too playful a dance partner, even using the SE's manual shift paddles.

With 268 hp at 6,200 rpm and 248 lb-ft of torque at 4,700 rpm, the 3.5-liter V6 available only with XLE and XSE models is much stronger than the four-pot, of course, but its coarseness at high revs makes it none too enjoyable to access that power. And if those V6 stats seem familiar, it's because they haven't changed since the Bush administration. Therefore we're relatively certain that the V6 should be able to get the Camry to 60 mph in about 6.5 seconds, because that's what it's always done. The four-pot will probably take about a second or longer to do the same trick. And finally, EPA fuel economy estimates remain the same as before, at 25 miles per gallon city, 35 mpg highway for the four-cylinder and 21/31 for the V6.

2015 Toyota Camry

After driving the 2015 Camry, we'd say that this Toyota's spot at the top of the charts seems as secure as ever.
At $23,895 and $24,665, respectively, Camry LE and SE models come in at virtually the same price as their predecessors, while the $26,975 XLE brings about $1,200 more equipment into 2015 for just $340 more than before. The XSE is priced exactly the same as the XLE; both are expected to run about 11 percent of the model mix, according to Toyota.

The stakes couldn't be higher for Toyota when it comes to this car's success. For the last 12 years, the sales crown has been Camry's to lose, and the competition from Honda, Mazda, Kia,Hyundai, Chrysler, Ford and others – to say nothing of compact and midsize crossovers – has gotten stronger than ever. But after driving the 2015 Camry, we'd say that this Toyota's spot at the top of the charts seems as secure as ever.