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Way, way back in 2019 when SEMA was still a physical show, Toyota showed us a concept called the Supra Heritage Edition. The goal was to evoke the look of the beloved fourth-generation 1994-98 Supra on the fifth-gen 2020 GR Supra with the addition of a body kit, hoop spoiler, and iconic quad-element taillights. For the virtual SEMA 360 show of 2020, Toyota is modifying the Heritage Edition yet again, this time with an open roof.

Called the Sport Roof, the name recalls the removable top option on some fourth-gen Supras. Unlike the more typical T-tops of the era, the entire center section of the roof could be removed with no center spine connecting the front and rear sections. It's basically a Targa top, except Porsche holds the trademark to the Targa name.

It wouldn't be SEMA without Supras, and Toyota was more than happy to oblige as the company has introduced a one-off art car.

Toyota has been for years one of the biggest OEM supporters of SEMA, the aftermarket advocacy group and show organizer. The SEMA Show has been canceled this year (because 2020) but that doesn't mean the parade of wildly customized cars has ceased. Instead, it's moved to an online format called SEMA 360, giving companies a chance to show off the project cars they've spent all year building.

These days, a customized Toyota is much more likely to be a lifted truck than a slammed Celica or MR2. Capitalizing on the popularity of overlanding, or living out of a self-sustained off-roader, Toyota has created a supercharged Tacoma capable of 370 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque.

The Honda Civic Type R and Toyota Camry TRD are not rivals by any stretch of the imagination, yet they have one thing in common: they both happen to cost around 40 grand.

Chrysler scored a massive sales hit with its original K-platform-derived minivans of the middle 1980s, and the Japanese automakers decided to jump into the North American small-van game with their popular-in-the-home-market rear-wheel-drive vans. Mitsubishi had the Delica (called the Mitsubishi Van here), Nissan had the Vanette (called the Nissan Van here), and Toyota had the LiteAce/TownAce/MasterAce (known as the Toyota Van here). Clearly, the Japanese companies' marketing departments weren't particularly creative when it came to names. Toyota's Van was by far the best-selling of the three in the American market, and it proved to be a reliable machine. Here's a Colorado Toyota Van with a quarter-million miles on the clock and a lot of exciting stories to tell.

TurboZentrum's heavily-modded Toyota Supra A80 crashed earlier this month during the TTT half-mile drag racing event held at the Lausitzring racetrack in Germany.

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick. This week, they talk about driving the BMW M2 Competition, Honda Odyssey and Toyota RAV4 Prime. Then they discuss James' experience testing the new Yakima CBX cargo carrier, Autoblog readers' preference for the GMC Hummer EV over the Tesla Cybertruck, and Mercedes-Benz taking a larger stake in Aston Martin. Lastly, they help James' father find a new car in the Spend My Money segment.

Mitsuoka, one of Japan's most eclectic tuners, can't resist the market's shift towards crossovers and SUVs. It alchemized the Toyota RAV4 into retro family hauler that borrows styling cues from 1980s Chevrolet trucks.

Called Buddy, the Americanized RAV4 is the latest in a long line of intriguing creations that put a retro spin on a modern car. Chevrolet's trademarked Bowtie emblem doesn't appear anywhere on the crossover, but the shiny grille and the two-piece rectangular headlights are strongly reminiscent of the third-generation C/K pickup, especially the face-lifted model introduced for the 1981 model year. Mitsuoka also redesigned the hood, made the front end boxier, and added a thick strip of chrome-look trim that reminds us of the C/K's metal front bumper.

The Toyota 2000GT is arguably the brand's most legendary car ever made, and on the rare occasion an example is put up for sale, the price attests to that.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The minivan segment isn't a huge one, and it's largely dominated by three players. There's the stylish Chrysler Pacifica, with the excellent plug-in hybrid option. The Honda Odyssey unapologetically leans into its minivan-ness and family-hauling duties. Then there's the new, totally redesigned 2021 Toyota Sienna. Its selling points are immediately apparent: unique styling, a standard hybrid powertrain and available all-wheel drive. Oh, and it's a Toyota, which precedes itself with a reputation for reliability and utility, as well as a huge existing customer base. Barring some sort of dealbreaker in the test drive, this blend of existing traits (brand, AWD) and new ones (design, hybrid only) should probably be enough to make the Sienna appealing to those shopping in this lightly stocked aisle.

Spoiler alert: we found no dealbreakers during our test drive, but we were able to dig deeper into what we love, what we like and what we can accept.

In addition to a stylish design and hybrid fuel economy, the 2021 Toyota Venza can now brag about its safety ratings. The IIHS has awarded the crossover its second-highest Top Safety Pick rating for its all-around superb safety scores. The only thing holding it back from the highest Top Safety Pick + rating is slightly subpar standard headlights.

In the Venza's favor are crash test ratings that earn the top "Good" rating across the board. Also impressive are its collision prevention ratings. Tested for car-to-car and car-to-pedestrian crash prevention, the Venza's suite of automatic braking and warning systems earned the highest "Superior" score for both. Those systems are all standard on all Venza's, too. Finally, the child seat LATCH anchor access is rated "Good +."

The 2020 Toyota Highlander and Highlander Hybrid are being recalled due to a fault affecting the side airbags, according to documents the automaker filed with NHTSA.

The issue reportedly affects a total of 3,121 vehicles. In the affected SUVs, an incorrect piece of seat trim was installed on the front passenger's seat. That incorrect part can prevent the seat-mounted side airbag from deploying, increasing the risk of injury in a crash. Toyota says it knows of no accidents or injuries related to the issue.

Toyota has had something of a performance car revival over the past few years. It has released the Toyota 86 and Supra sports cars, and has even developed TRD versions of the Camry and Avalon. Things are even more exciting overseas with the wild, turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Yaris GR, which will reportedly spawn a fast Corolla for the United States. In the meantime, Toyota has spiced up its humble compact sedan with the 2021 Corolla Apex Edition.  It's a limited edition with an aggressive body kit and chassis upgrades. Unfortunately, while it looks cool, it's frustrating to drive and expensive for what you get.

So what exactly do you get with the Apex? On the outside, the Apex picks up a unique body kit incorporating a front spoiler, side skirts, and an aggressive rear diffuser, all in gloss black. The trunk spoiler is optional and costs $375. These parts all match the pearl black roof and mirrors, as well as the 18-inch alloy wheels. Toyota claims the wheels are designed to aid brake cooling and each one weighs 2.2-pounds less than the equivalent wheels for the regular SE and XSE Corollas. The Apex also features bronze accents and LED lighting, and a rear spoiler is available as an option. Inside, not much has changed, but each car gets unique upholstery, cloth for the SE and leatherette for the XSE, with bronze-colored contrast stitching. It's a mean, sporty-looking thing, and conjures up images of Scion's glory days.

Toyota is planning a significant expansion of its range of GR-branded models and this could even include a sporty version of the next-generation Land Cruiser 300 Series.