This could be Japanese-only news, or just a case of bad translation, but Toyota Managing Officer Toshio Furutani has apparently told Japan's Nikkei Business News that Toyota wants every vehicle in the Lexus product line to offer a hybrid option, and that "in the medium to long term, Toyota was considering making the Lexus lineup hybrid-only."

Michigan has been begging for good news from the auto industry lately, and the Great Lakes state got some from a company that was once considered public enemy number one. Toyota has officially opened a brand new $187 million technical center in York Township that will provide 400 more jobs to the beleaguered state while giving the Japanese automaker additional manpower to develop more new vehicles for North America. The York Township facility will compliment the 700-person Toyota research and development center in Ann Arbor that has been operational since 1997. The Ann Arbor facility has performed R&D duties for various vehicle including the Avalon, Tundra, Sienna and upcoming Venza.

When you think about the Toyota Venza, we doubt the first thing that comes to mind is customization. But that hasn't stopped Toyota from tapping Street Image, Inc. and long-time partner Five Axis to create a duo of Venza project cars for November's SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Automotive News reports that Toyota is preparing a statement for a congressional hearing on the progress of EVs, the results of which could influence legislation that gives a big $7,500 tax credit to any hybrid with a battery pack rated at 6 kilowatt-hours of electricity or more. Toyota argues that the legislation is too restrictive and redefines what a hybrid is since the only vehicle eligible (that we know about) would be the 2011 Chevy Volt with its 16 killowatt-hour battery pack, though Toyota never calls out the series hybrid by name.

Even with the $5,000 difference between the Prius and non-hybrid Toyotas, there was a time when Toyota lost money on the car. Even when the car entered the black, and even though they halved the cost of the hybrid system from one generation to the next, Toyota still didn't make the margins on it that they did with their go-to sedans. Yet with plans to start making batteries for the Hybrid Synergy Drive in the U.S., Toyota says it should be able to halve costs again, and bring the next-gen Prius profit to near parity with the Corolla.

Vandals who mess with other people's cars are scum -- bottom-feeders who are beneath contempt. It doesn't matter what the vehicle being damaged is. Cars are a major purchase, there's often an emotional connection to them, and most importantly, they generally represent the owner's primary source of mobility -- getting him or her to work, to the store, to pick up the kids, and so on.