Toyota July US auto sales fall 18.7 pct adjusted

DETROIT, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research)(TM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday that U.S. auto sales fell an adjusted 18.7 percent in July, driven by steep declines in large vehicles.

Toyota said sales dropped to 197,424 vehicles in July from 224,058 vehicles a year earlier. July had two extra selling days in 2008 compared with the prior year.

Toyota brand sales fell 17.9 percent, while the luxury Lexus brand fell 24.6 percent. (Reporting by David Bailey and Poornima Gupta; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Toyota Announces Segway Killer: The Winglet Personal Transporter
By Jose Fermoso EmailAugust 01, 2008 | 1:56:47 PMCategories: Robots, Transportation

Winglet0

Only a year after taking control of Sony’s robotics business, Toyota has come up with a vertical, mechanized scooter (or personal transporter, in future-speak) intended to help people move about in public areas.

Called the Winglet because of its fleet nature, it is the first gadget to duplicate the celebrated, and often mocked, navigation system of Dean Kamen’s Segway Transporter: self-balancing through gyroscopic sensors detecting the gentle directional tilts of a rider.

However, this personal scooter is probably not up to par to the Segway in speed or ruggedness. The newest Segway model can go up to 12.5 miles per hour, (versus the Winglet’s 3.7 MPH), and the slightness of the Winglet’s frame probably wouldn’t survive a Police chase.

Main_winglet

According to Toyota, they will begin testing three different models at a few Japanese airports later this year, as well as some popular malls. The feedback received from customers will help determine whether Toyota will mass-market the gadget for sales everywhere else.

Last year, Sony decided to sell off most of its robotics division in order to streamline its overflowing number of product departments (killing off the Aibo dog in the process), and Toyota stepped in to keep pushing the technology.

Check out the Winglet in action after the jump.