We have some exciting news!

Toyota has decided to combine the Auris, Corolla and Masters of Africa blogs into one – The Toyota Blog (http://www.toyotablog.co.za/) This will allow you to access anything Toyota related in one place, rather than 3.

The Toyota Blog went live on 13 October 2009 and offers you everything from vehicle information, motorsport news, videos and photos, competitions, interactive forums and much more.

Join our new fanpage on Facebook, ToyotaSA and follow us on Twitter @ToyotaLive (http://twitter.com/ToyotaLive)

Have you seen the new Toyota Hilux Buddy advert? Visit the new Toyota blog to take a sneak peek of this advert that will flight for the first time tonight on South African TV.

Toyota is known for being one of the most forward thinking and innovative corporations in the world. Where did it all begin? What were the first steps Toyota took to greatness? Have a look at this nifty timeline below :

1933 - Automobile department established within textile loom maker Toyoda Automatic Loom Works -- now Toyota Industries Corp - founded by inventor Sakichi Toyoda

1935 - First vehicle, the Model G1 truck, built. First Toyota dealership established

1936 - Production starts of its first car, the Model AA

1957 - Crown becomes first passenger car made in Japan to be exported to the United States

1962 - First overseas vehicle plant, in Brazil

1964 - First Asian vehicle plant outside Japan, in Thailand

972 - Cumulative production in Japan reaches 10 million vehicles

1984 - Toyota's first U.S. car assembly plant, a joint venture with General Motors Corp. (GM.N), opens in California

1989 - Toyota launches luxury Lexus brand in North America

1992 - First European car plant begins production in Britain

1997 - Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid car, launched

1998 - Toyota takes majority stake in mini vehicle maker, Daihatsu Motor Co.  read more »

South Africans are known for making their mark internationally. The latest South African to join the ranks of international heavy-hitters is Dr. Johan van Zyl. Currently the President and CEO of Toyota SA, he has now become one of only five non-Japanese to be promoted to the position of Managing Officer within Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC).

Following a board meeting scheduled for June 2009 to confirm this appointment, Dr. van Zyl will take office as Managing Officer, but will also remain President and CEO of Toyota SA. TMC has only 50 Managing Officers globally and this appointment essentially makes Dr van Zyl part of the company’s global management team, reporting to the TMC Board. It sounds like he's going to be quite a busy man.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity and although I’m sure I’ll be much busier, it is business as usual at Toyota SA and my commitment remains firmly with this company,” he said.  read more »

Back in February I took a look at Toyota's new Optimal Drive engine. Toyota have released their new Corolla 1.3 Optimal Drive and it's time to see if this really is the fuel efficiency breakthrough we've been waiting for.

Before I leap right in and tell you what the outcome was, let's re-cap and take a look at what the Optimal Drive was supposed to deliver. The Optimal Drive promised almost 15-20% more fuel efficiency. It was also said that the engine would be more powerful (3-5%) than other engines of the same class. But what about the environment? Toyota claimed a drastic reduction in CO2 output, making this one of the worlds 'greener' engines.  read more »

Unitrans Motors made a clean sweep at Toyota South Africa’s annual Dealer of the Year Awards held in Durban recently, with two of the group’s outlets taking top honours – East Rand Toyota scooped the Toyota Dealer of theYear, and Limpopo Truck Centre’s Hannes Pretorius walked off with the inaugural Hino Dealer of the Year Award.

This is the second time in just five years that East Rand Toyota has walked away with the top dealer award. The dealership opened its doors in April 2004 and since then has consistently achieved top ratings in Customer Satisfaction studies and was also one of the first dealerships in the network to achieve environmental ECO III status.

Pretorius, who has been with Toyota South Africa for more than 40 years, said he was deeply humbled and honoured when he received the Hino Dealer of the Year Award.

The dealer awards are presented annually as part of Toyota South Africa’s ongoing commitment to dealer development and improvement. The awards celebrate excellence amongst dealers and are highly prized.

Did 2008 fly by or what? It's hard to believe it's already 2009. We're pretty excited here at the Corolla Blog. We're expecting this year to be even better than the last. Once again we'll be covering all the latest Toyota innovations and developments as well as another exciting rally season to look forward to. Don't forget our competitions, with great Toyota gear up for grabs.

We're looking forward to watching our community grow and thrive. If you have any Corolla related stories or experiences, feel free to blog them right here. We're always keen to hear how your Corolla has changed the way you drive. If you haven't registered yet, go here.

With all that said, we hope you have a brilliant 2009, keep safe, and most importantly, have fun!