Free Republic

Some thoughts about Pope Francis’ recent visit to Singapore In an interview with Vatican News about Pope Francis’ recent visit to Singapore, Cardinal William Goh, archbishop of Singapore, had this to say: “I believe his visit has revived the faith of our people. His visit has caused many of our Catholics to work together. We have more than 5,000 volunteers just to serve at this papal visit.” “It’s a very rare occasion when all Catholics come together to work side by side. All of them have been very enthusiastic and have felt that it is a great privilege to be...

Traditionally linguists have bemoaned the fact that the general public knows little of what we do because the subject isn’t taught in schools. But that has changed over the past 20 years or so, as the internet and especially social media have been so effective at getting the word out. I have rejoiced to see the public becoming ever more hip to the fact that language always changes, that you aren’t handicapping your child by raising them to be bilingual, that the way I just used “them” does not spell the fall of our Republic.Twenty years ago I never thought...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis reportedly tells homosexual man thrown out of seminary: ‘Go forward with your vocation’According to Italian media reports, Pope Francis wrote a letter to a young man dismissed from a seminary for homosexuality, telling him to ‘go ahead with your vocation’ in contradiction to Catholic teaching.Pope Francis reportedly told a man who was dismissed from a seminary for being a practicing homosexual to “go forward with your vocation.”According to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, 22-year-old Lorenzo Michele Noè Caruso received a letter from Francis in response to an email that Caruso sent the pontiff about the pope’s...

President Joe Biden condemned “antisemitic protests” happening on college campuses, while attempting to see the perspective of Palestinians, during an Earth Day event on Monday held at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia. When asked by a reporter if he condemns the anti-Israel protests happening on college and university campuses around the United States, he said he did, while also condemning people “who don’t understand” what’s happening “with the Palestinians.”

(KRON) — Bay Area Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Livermore) took a swipe on prosecutors who are soft on violent crime on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday. The Democratic representative was retweeting a story about a 2-year-old boy who was kidnapped when the car he was in was carjacked. “My wife and I play these scenarios over in our head all the time,” Swalwell tweeted. “We’ve practiced going out through the back seat to get our kids out of our car if we are carjacked.”

Twelve years ago, Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) began testing a unique — and outlandishly expensive — automobile in California: a car powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This so-called FCHV (fuel cell hybrid vehicle) was an electric car that didn’t need to be plugged in. Its electricity was generated by a stack of fuel cells that ran on compressed gaseous hydrogen, a relatively cheap fuel that gives off no harmful emissions; its only byproduct was water vapor. The FCHV never made it to dealer lots, however. Production of plug-in electric cars proved more viable, partially because the FCHV technology was...

The booming sound you may be hearing right now -- especially if you live in San Francisco or Washington, D.C -- could be resulting from liberal heads exploding as they read about what Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda said during a conference this month. Electric vehicles will only ever make up 30 percent of the market or less, he argued, and politicians should get out of the way and let the markets decide which cars are preferable to consumers.Joe Biden, John Kerry, and Al Gore have not commented.Toyoda's opinion doesn't mean that he's completely given up on cleaner energy, though; he...

Electric vehicles will never dominate the market, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda has said, in the latest sign that car companies are backing away from the troubled technology. The Telegraph has more. Battery-powered electric vehicles will only ever capture 30% of global market share, the Chairman of Toyota has predicted, raising concerns about consumers’ willingness to align with Net Zero goals. Akio Toyoda said that traditional fuel-burning cars, as well as hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would make up the rest of the market. The grandson of the founder of the world’s largest car manufacturer said shifting towards electric vehicles...

A hydrogen combustion engine would be ideal for a Toyota GR branded sports car, if only drivers could fill up Toyota remains adamant that a variety of emissions-reducing technologies will be important for the automotive industry. One, in particular, will be helpful for people who like to drive fast: hydrogen combustion engines. The automaker believes that the technology could help keep internal combustion engine sports cars alive in an electric world. In fact, Masahito Watanabe, the head of Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division, says that complete electrification is not a priority for the sub-brand at this time. “We still think the...

It turns out the $10,000 pickup truck is actually too good to be true. But only by a little bit. The production version of the Toyota IMV 0 concept, now known as the Hilux Champ in Thailand, starts at 459,000 Thai Baht, or just over $13,000 at the current exchange rate. On the one hand, that’s 30 percent higher than the price we heard from Toyota engineers during a brief test drive in Japan. On the other hand, it’s a brand new truck with a full bed capable of hauling 2,200 pounds that’s almost as cheap as a 22-year-old Ford...

(Gray News) – Toyota is unveiling a new affordable truck model that was recently introduced at the Japan Mobility Show 2023. The IMV series first launched in Thailand in 2004 and is available in more than 180 countries and regions around the world, according to the automaker. “In Thailand, the IMV series is regarded as a local favorite, integral to daily life,” the company stated in a press release. Toyota said its engineers developed the Hilux Champ truck model with customer lifestyles and needs in mind. Nearly a dozen customized models were shown at the launch in Thailand that portrayed...

Roseville, Calif.- It’s no secret that sedan sales are sliding in the wrong direction. So, why did Toyota get rid of the Avalon sedan and quickly replace it with another sedan? For the record, the Japanese automaker says the 2023 Toyota Crown is not a replacement for the Avalon, which debuted nearly 30 years ago. Discontinued after its 2022 version, the Avalon was a roomy, premium sedan that never quite found a niche. It’s easy to figure out why Toyota shelved the Avalon – lack of sales. It hit rock bottom last year with all-time low of 12,215. And the...

If you like the Prius's new face, you'll probably dig the Camry's, and the interior also receives a comprehensive update. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The 2025 Toyota Camry marks the mid-size sedan's ninth generation. For the first time, the Camry will be offered only in hybrid guise. A revamped cabin borrows much of its new look from the Crown sedan. While SUVs dominate the automotive landscape like some sort of fender-cladded solar eclipse, mid-size sedans soldier on as family-friendly alternatives that are a little more down to earth (literally). The Hyundai Sonata has been given a recent refresh, and Honda released a new...

The next generation of the Toyota Camry, the best-selling sedan in the U.S. market, will come with only a gas-electric hybrid powertrain, the boldest move yet by the Japanese automaker to push hybrid technology into the heart of the U.S. market. The 2025 Camry will combine a 2.5-liter gasoline engine with an electric drive system tuned to deliver more power in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions of the car, Toyota said. Compliance with tougher U.S. fuel economy rules was a factor in Toyota’s decision to make the new Camry an all-hybrid vehicle line, dropping four- and six-cylinder combustion...

Carmaker Toyota on Wednesday announced a safety recall covering more than 1.8 million RAV4 vehicles in the U.S. due to a potential fire risk. The recall involves some 2013 to 2018 model year RAV4s. According to Toyota, some replacement 12-volt batteries of the size specified for the affected vehicles have different dimensions than others. “If a small-top battery is used for replacement and the hold-down clamp is not tightened correctly, the battery could move when the vehicle is driven with forceful turns,” according to Toyota. “The movement could cause the positive battery terminal to contact the hold-down clamp and short...

Toyota has said it is close to being able to mass manufacture potentially revolutionary solid-state batteries that could offer double the range of existing electric cars. According to Toyota, cars powered by solid-state batteries could have a range of 745 miles, a charging time of 10 minutes and hit the market in 2027 or 2028. They have been presented by experts as a revolutionary technology that could bring EVs into the mainstream. Switching to an electric vehicle is out of reach for many Americans, experts have warned, as a lack of access to charging ports mean they fear being left...

The FT-Se concept’s interior shows a "steering apparatus" that may play into the same steer-by-wire EV system as the Lexus RZ. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Toyota has been slow in adopting EVs; the bZ4X is the only current model. But the Japanese brand has big plans for EV battery tech, and Toyota may be poised to become a dominant player in the EV space. What will that future look like? Toyota is previewing it with two new concepts at the Japan Mobility Show. There's no electric pickup yet. But one of the two concepts definitely looks like an electric Supra. Meet the Toyota...

The automotive juggernaut unveiled new battery tech and new battery-powered vehicle plans. Toyota has big plans to bring new, improved tech — and, perhaps, a sharper focus — to the electric vehicle market. It suggests a shift from the auto juggernaut’s previous position, which took a more skeptical approach to converting to fully EVs, instead pursuing a mix of fully-electric, hybrid, and hydrogen cars. The maker of the Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid, says it will continue to offer a range of powertrain options, but it also announced a suite of new technologies designed to help the company fully...

Virtually alone among major auto manufacturers, Toyota has been a skeptic about the conversion of vehicle fleets to battery-powered electric vehicles. For people incapable of thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead, EVs are “zero emission” and therefore “save the planet” from CO2 (presumed to control the earth’s temperature despite no statistical correlation). But this leaves out the environmental and CO2 cost of generating and transmitting electricity (mostly by burning coal in the US and many other countries), manufacturing (and recycling) the enormous batteries, and the energy and wear and tear cost of the much-heavier cars that result. Energy losses due...

Toyota and other Japanese car makers are trying to extend hybrids to delay electrification of transport in Indonesia. Toyota still talks “customer choice” while not offering fully electric vehicles. Changing emissions regulations in China, the US, Europe and soon Australia mean massive increases in BEV adoption. This is a threat that Toyota fails to acknowledge. Toyota’s claim to be clean energy focused is increasingly being challenged. It's getting too late for Toyota to enter the BEV transformation race. Investors might re-think what this means. It's interesting to think about how one engages with an automotive manufacturer. When I think of...