Even though Toyota expects to post its first operating loss in over seventy years, it still looks to be on track to out-sell every other automaker in the United States for the second year in a row.

The Detroit Free Press reports that even if Scion's 109,777 sales are excluded, Toyota still leads the industry with 1.7 million car and truck sales through November of this year. Toyota first took over the Number One spot last year when it topped Chevrolet by 41,296 vehicles, for a total of 2.3 million cars and trucks sold.

When reached for comment, George Pipas at Ford notes that "In times like these, who's on first is less important than who's still on the team, meaning who's still selling cars and trucks." On the other hand, the Freep also reports that Toyota won't be flaunting its top honors, with Toyota's Mike Michels saying, "We don't find that it's a very strong motivation for customers."

+ Detroit Free Press: Toyota to stay top seller in U.S.

The Detroit Auto Show is right around the corner, and in addition to its all-electric city car, Toyota will be unveiling the next-generation 2010 Prius. In this latest teaser video, the infamous Blue Man Group checks out the latest Prius, though we'll have to wait until next month to get up close and personal, ourselves.

+ YouTube: 2010 Toyota Prius

We already know that Toyota is planning to show its 2010 Prius at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, but the automaker has now hinted that it will be showing an all-electric vehicle at Cobo Hall, as well. In a very short press release, Toyota said that "this display marks the world debut of this concept vehicle," so we're not really sure what to expect.

Naturally, there's been some speculation within the industry, and the folks at the Wall Street Journal seem to think that this new concept is a battery-powered version of Toyota's iQ, the Smart ForTwo rival. We'll be sure to bring you the full details from Toyota's press conference in a couple of weeks.

+ The Car Connection: 2009 Detroit Auto Show: Toyota Bringing Electric City Car

Toyota has finally confirmed that it will release the all-new 2010 Prius to the world at a press conference during the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Along with a host of innovative features, the new Prius will be able to deliver improved mileage and performance over the original model with the help of a substantially revised Hybrid Synergy Drive system.

The conference is scheduled on January 12 (Monday), 11:30 AM Eastern time in the Riverview Ballroom in COBO Center and simulcast live to the Toyota display area at the show. A video clip of the event will also be posted on the Toyota.com website later on, and we'll be there to bring you the proceedings.

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Toyota Prius
48 mpg city / 45 mpg highway / 46 combined

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If there was one positive factor about 2008's energy crisis, it's that it forced consumers to put more weight on fuel economy when making car-buying decisions. And while we may have moved away from $4-per-gallon gasoline, fuel efficiency still places high on the "must have" list for a lot of new car shoppers. Now that we know how easily these price hikes can happen, it's better to be safe than sorry, right?

We've seen major manufacturers expanding their ranges of hybrid offerings, and for the first time, clean diesels are starting to make their way onto American soil, proving that you don't have to sacrifice performance for the sake of fuel consumption. Scroll through the gallery above to see out list of the ten most fuel efficient cars for 2009.

Note: This information is based off of the 2009 FuelEconomy.gov listing.

Toyota has gone to great lengths to make its new iQ the world’s first four-seat car that measure’s less than three meters from tip to tail. The iQ utilizes innovations in the design of its differential, engine bay, air conditioning unit, and especially the ultra-thin seats. Take a video walkthrough of the car by hitting the play button above. You’ll find Toyota’s press release below.

We've got a bonus round of Ask It for you all this week and it comes straight from our forums. This time aroud, it's the Toyota Tundra Double Cab -- the Japanese full-sizer that gives the American pickups a good run for their money.

Click on over to the forum thread and fire away with your questions about the Tundra and check back for our responses to all of your queries. Also, keep watching that forum for additional bonus Ask It vehicles.

+ Ask It: Toyota Tundra Double Cab

In an effort to steal at least a bit of the spotlight from Tata, Toyota has announced that it too will launch a super-budget mini-car into the automotive market. Unlike the Nano however, Toyota's price mark is set at around $5000 and will probably not make it onto the market until 2015.

The budget mini-car probably won't face many of the unpredicted setbacks as the Tata Nano has suffered, but fluctuating prices on materials such as steel and plastics could be a future issue. The car is to be co-developed with Daihatsu and built in Bangalore, India where Toyota already has one plant, and another set to open in 2010.

Toyota's current micro-car, the iQ, requires a bigger wallet (though not by much) than the planned budget car, with prices predicted to hit below the $12,000 mark as set by the entry level Yaris if it does hit US shores under the Scion brand.
 
+ Motor Authority: Report: Toyota working on $5,000 microcar for emerging markets

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Starting sometime in January, Toyota will be offering its mid-size Highlander SUV with the all new 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine in the base model. The new four, which had a chance to sample at great length in our recent Toyota Venza review, will offer buyers a more fuel efficient and budget-friendly way into the Highlander of their dreams.

Rated at 27 miles per gallon on the highway and 20 in city driving, the I-4 Highlander is not only more of a teetotaler than the V-6 equipped version, it also happens to have a better rating on the highway than the Highlander Hybrid’s (seen above) 25 mpg (though the hybrid still wins out in combined economy, 26 to 22). The 2.7-liter makes 187 horsepower and 186 pound-feet of torque, and allows for a decent maximum towing capacity of 3500 pounds—more than enough for those Jet Ski’s in the garage.

Scroll down to read the official Toyota press release.

When any manufacturer, but particularly an industry titan like Toyota, rolls out a new vehicle that they say is “in a new class”, well, the hairs on any journalist’s neck stand up a bit. That was certainly the case as we listened to Toyota’s executives and engineers roll out the new Venza.  But after a couple of days of driving it, talking to Toyota about it, and reviewing the data, we think they have a point. It’s a subtle point, but a point nonetheless.

You’ll notice that so far we haven’t said what the Venza “is”.  We haven’t put it in a category. Before we discuss the category the vehicle belongs in, we invite you to do the same experiment we performed with some of our colleagues at the launch.  Take a good look at the pictures of the Venza. What would you say this is?  Just for fun, make a mental note of that, so you can compare your reaction to what a group of journalists said in response to the same question.