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Toyota has been on a sort of emotional roller coaster ride over the past couple of years. At the beginning, the Japanese manufacturer logged unprecedented media coverage, praise and award-wins for the fuel efficient, game-changing Prius. And of course, the praise was well deserved. But the past year has begun to shown a grim outlook for the automaker. Other manufacturers are entering the smart fuel economy space with something to prove, and the coming releases of several models of electric vehicles will give the Prius a run for its money. On top of that, the drooping economy in 2009 hit manufacturers across the entire industry hard, and a lot of them are reevaluating some of their previously top-selling models on the market. Finally, massive recalls over the end of 09 and beginning of 2010 have caused Toyota to lose a lot of face in the industry. But thank the gods for reliability. For decades, Toyota has built a strong loyalty for its Corolla and Camry models – cars that speak of fuel efficiency, low total cost of ownership, reliability and solid performance. And it’s a hard-won reputation, spread over a drawn-out period of building brand loyalty. Just ask any Schaumburg used Corolla dealership: the Corolla is still one of the most beloved new and used buys on the market for budget-minded consumers. And the numbers prove it, too. In fact, the final tallies from 2009 have just come in, and guess who shows up in two of the top five spots? You guessed right. That’d be Toyota. The Toyota Camry bumped itself up a notch this year from last, surpassing the wildly popular Chevrolet Silverado in comparison to last year. Schaumburg Corolla drivers got a nice little validation for their purchases, too. The Corolla knocked the Honda Accord down to fifth place, claiming its place in the fourth spot. While I’m sure the massive move towards low total cost of ownership and fuel efficiency during the recession didn’t hurt the Corolla and Camry’s chances, they nevertheless moved up in the food chain, much to the general contentedness of Schaumburg Corolla dealerships everywhere. While the numbers are for new car sales, I’m sure Schaumburg used Corolla dealers didn’t fair too poorly, either. While these sales were a solid boost for the suddenly struggling automaker, another huge announcement sent waves through green advocate blogs and auto trades everywhere. According to recent reports, Toyota is planning a plug-in Prius model for 2011 that could get as much as 15 and a half miles on pure battery power before the hybrid engine kicks in. That kind of fuel efficiency is sure to propel Toyota back into the spotlight and restore Schaumburg Corolla dealers to their state of glory by association. But we won’t really know until the car hits the market, and it will face heavy competition from both the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, two major innovations in electric-powered engine technology. Keep your eyes open and stop by Toyota’s website frequently to catch the latest news in the manufacturer’s world.