The 2012 NC Azalea Festival is almost here!!

The North Carolina Azalea Festival takes place every April in the city of Wilmington. The five-day festival celebrates local art, floral gardens and the history of Wilmington. Festivities include the queen's coronation, concerts, parade, street fair, garden and home tours, celebrity appearances and more at venues across town. 


The Azalea festival kicks off with the Queen's Coronation at Riverfront Park on Wednesday, April 11 at 3 p.m. The Queen's Coronation is an annual event where the Queen is officially crowned the North Carolina Azalea Festival Queen Azalea. In attendance are all the Festival Celebrities Guests as well as: City Officials, Board Members, and Cape Fear Garden Club Azalea Belles.  This is your chance to meet the Queen and the Celebrity Guests!  Grab a place along the river walk to watch the Official Party disembark from the Henrietta III, North Carolina's Largest Riverboat! For more information click HERE.


The next day following the Queen's Coronation is the first of two live concerts to be held at Trask Coliseum on the campus of UNCW. Multi-Platinum recording artist Kenny Loggins will be preforming at 8 p.m.on Thursday, April 12. Kenny Loggins has been many things to many people over the past three decades - "a moving target" as he's put it. In his time, Loggins has been a guitar slinger with a psychedelic rock band, a hot young songwriter with a publishing deal, half of a legendary country-rock duo, a massively successful and accomplished solo artist, a sonic pioneer in the smooth jazz genre, a reigning soundtrack superstar, a rocker, a seeker, as well as an enduring recording artist and live performer whose most recent works have spoken deeply to both young audiences and decidedly adult and worldly concerns. At the heart of it all, there remains a brilliant singer-songwriter and guitarist with a lifelong passion for exploring the endless power of the song to communicate. 


The second of the two concerts featuring American Idol winner Scotty McCreery will take place on Friday, April 13 at 8 p.m. Scotty developed his unique way of looking at things while growing up with older sister Ashley in a musical household in Garner, N.C. By age 3, he was singing “The Muffin Man” to anyone who would listen and a few years later her repeating the words of those around him in a song. His father, a senior manufacturing systems analyst, and his mother, a real estate agent and a teacher, sang in the church choir, as did their children. His grandmother gave Scotty a book on Elvis Presley while he was in pre-school, so Scotty began walking and talking like the King. His mother listened to artists such as Conway Twitty while driving and Scotty quickly fell with these sounds. He still vividly remembers his first country concert, a show featuring George Strait, Reba McEntire and LeAnn Womack.


The festival the the activities contained within the 5 days are a huge boom to our local economy. Studies show that the NC Azalea Festival has a $50 million dollar impact on the city of Wilmington. Dr. Stephen Meinhold and Woody Hall of UNC Wilmington conducted the study during the Azalea Festival earlier this year. 


If you happen to be in town for the festivities and need a rental car please let us know how we can help! We have multiple makes and models to choose from including the 2012 Prius, 2012 Sienna and the all new 2012 Camry! Click HERE to see our available inventory!


To visit the official North Carolina Azalea Festival website click HERE.

Prius c Launch Kicks Off with Strong Sales

Prius Family Sales Nearly 10,000 in First Half of March

Toyota’s subcompact Prius c five-door hatchback, the newest member of the Prius family of hybrid vehicles, is off to a quick start since going on sale March 12.

In its first three days on the market, it sold 1,201 units, making it one Toyota’s fastest-selling vehicles and eclipsing Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf sales for the entire month of February.

“A number of factors drive the auto market, and fuel prices is one of them,” said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division. “With 53 miles-per-gallon in the city and priced under $19,000, the timing for Prius c couldn’t be better.” 

During the first half of March, the four-member Prius Family, including the new Prius c, roomy Prius V, third-generation Liftback and new Plug-in Hybrid, accounted for sales of 9,821. 

Click the HERE to view our Prius c inventory!

Click the HERE to view our Prius V inventory!

Click the HERE to view our Prius inventory!

Enter to Win Indy Dream Weekend 2012

You've always dreamt of it...Being a VIP at one of stock car racing's most historic and significant tracks. Here's your chance! Enter the 2012 Sweepstakes to be a part of this all-inclusive weekend for two. You and a guest will enjoy all-access passes at the Sprint Cup race in Indianapolis, IN on July 29, 2012. You will also enjoy an at-the-track meet and greet with some of stock car racing's historic figures, tour the garages of the speedway, and watch the race from a trackside suite with a chance to also visit victory lane!

Check out Hendrickcars.com to enter the sweepstakes today or click HERE to fill out your entry.

Toyota 100 Cars for Good returning for 2012!

At the Chicago Auto Show today, Toyota announced the return of its “100 Cars for Good” program. For the second straight year, Toyota will award 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 U.S. nonprofit organizations, with winners selected through public voting on the Toyota Facebook page. Applications for the program will open on March 12, 2012 at http://www.facebook.com/toyota. Visit us at @ToyotaofWilmNC on Twitter or on Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/toyotascionofwilmington for more information.

The announcement was made by Michael Rouse, vice president of philanthropy and community affairs for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., who was accompanied by some of the nonprofits that received vehicles in last year’s 100 Cars for Good program.

“At Toyota, we appreciate what a big difference a new car can make for organizations working to improve lives and strengthen communities across the country, and we are thrilled to have this opportunity to lend a hand,” said Rouse. “Over the last 20 years, Toyota has contributed more than half a billion dollars to nonprofits throughout the U.S. 100 Cars for Good allows us to build on that commitment in important, new ways by making the public an integral part of these efforts and harnessing the power of social media to expand awareness and galvanize support for organizations that are having such a tremendous impact in neighborhoods nationwide.”

A 2011 winner of a new Toyota Sienna, the Chicago Zoological Society, also spoke at the announcement.

“We are very appreciative of this tremendous donation from Toyota,” said Stuart Strahl, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society. “The new van has been invaluable in our efforts to bring our conservation and informal science education programs to under-resourced communities throughout Chicago and the suburbs. Our dedicated staff travels year round to these communities, inspiring families to gain an appreciation of nature and wildlife, not only globally, but also in their own backyards. We have also used the minivan to transport young students to the zoo and field locations as part of the Society’s award-winning Youth Volunteer Corps.”

In communities across the country, vehicles from the first year of 100 Cars for Good are making a significant difference. These include:

• Supporting the efforts of Canines for Service here in Wilmington, North Carolina to train and deliver service dogs to wounded veterans and those with special needs.
• Ensuring that a soup kitchen in Morristown, New Jersey can pick up food donations that used to be turned away due to a lack of transportation, allowing it to provide meals and food to even more people in need;
• Helping a program near Detroit provide horseback riding visits for kids with cancer.

Toyota adds second shift for production of the 2012 Corolla

Toyota Mississippi Begins Second Shift

BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (February 6, 2012) –Toyota added a second shift for production of the Corolla, the world’s best-selling car of all time. Approximately 2,000 people are employed at the plant site.

“Adding a second shift is a significant milestone for us,” said David Copenhaver, vice president of administration at TMMMS. “Our team members’ strong work ethic and focus on quality and safety has begun to pay dividends for Corolla customers across North America as we continue production ramp up through spring.”

TMMMS is Toyota’s fourteenth North American plant, further advancing the company’s efforts to design, develop and build vehicles where they are sold. The plant is an $800 million investment and has the annual capacity to produce 150,000 Corollas.

Toyota’s direct total employment in the U.S. is now nearly 31,000. And according to a Center For Automotive Research study, Toyota’s direct employment, plus its dealership network in the U.S., contributes to the support of more than 365,000 jobs nationally with compensation of over $20 billion.

Photo shoot to benefit our friends at Canines for Service

Our friends at Canines for Service and the StarNews will be taking dog photographs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the StarNews, 1003 S. 17th St., as a fundraiser for the Canines for Service Walk for Those Who Can't. Donations are only $25 for each dog photographed and Owners will receive digital photos of their dogs via email. 

We at Toyota Scion of Wilmington were proud to present a new Toyota Sienna to Carolina Canines for Service on Monday, Nov. 14, 2011 as part of the Toyota 100 Cars for Good program. The new vehicle will be used to transport civilians and wounded veterans with disabilities as they receive trained service dogs and learn to work with their new four-legged partners. The Sienna has also been specially modified as a BraunAbility, or rampvan, to make the vehicle wheelchair accessible for clients.Canines for Service provides trained service dogs to wounded warriors and disabled civilians free of charge. 

The Walk for Those Who Can't will be held March 24 at Hugh MacRae Park in Wilmington. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. To register, form a team or get more information about the walk, visit www.walkforthosewhocant.org.

Midsize Shootout: PickupTruck.com has declared a winner with Toyota!

The 2012 Toyota Tacoma officially wins the 2012 Midsize Shootout. As quoted from this source:
"Sometimes during our Shootout comparisons, it’s difficult to find a clear winner. This was not one of those times. The segment has seen quite a bit of fluctuation as significant players have left, others have been left to languish, and still others are waiting on the sidelines. And through it all, the Tacoma has gotten better and better. There’s a lot of truck here for the money, and there’s a lot of money to be made in this segment. And for the time being, it looks like Toyota will continue to take most of that money — at least until someone wants to bring a strong competitor to market and give the Tacoma a serious push."

Check out our new Tacoma's HERE.
Check out our used Tacoma's HERE.

There are hundreds of vehicles available that have all won numerous awards like the Tacoma at http://www.toyotaofwilmington.com/.