While Toyota won’t unveil the 2010 Toyota Prius until next month at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, it has released a little commercial/teaser joining forces with the Blue Man Group.
Not much to say here other than it’ll be pretty interesting to see who gains more traction after the show next month - the 2009 Honda Insight or the 2010 Toyota Prius.
While Honda has pulled the plug on the high-performance NSX supercar, Toyota said that it will not abandon plans to bring the Lexus LF-A to the market by 2011. Toyota recently teased the LF-A supercar at Toyota’s Motorsport Festival at Fuji Speedway.
Toyota confirmed its commitment to the LF-A program as it announced that it will keep investing into the Formula One World Championship. It’s rumored that Toyota will build a small number of LF-A prototypes this year which will take part in various racing championships.
The Lexus LF-A is expected to see a limited-production run of 500 units. Power will come from a 480-hp V8 engine.
Source: AutoExpress
Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Remember when four-door hatch versions of small Japanese cars were commonplace?
As we now know, the 80s were the last gasp for lengthened, four-door hatchback versions of Japanese subcompacts; once the minivans and SUVs took charge, the cold-eyed accountants at Toyota knew they wouldn't be making these things in quantity for much longer. In this case we've got a four-door hatch Corolla, fairly well beat up but still getting the groceries. 
Chevrolet sold a badge-engineered version of this car, built about 25 miles south of here and given the Nova name. You could also get a Fremont- built Corolla FX in the mid-to-late 80s.
When an ice storm knocked out power to much of New England, one Toyota Prius owner reached for his inverter and powered some of his home with the happy little hybrid. Smug FTW? Yes.
John Sweeney, of Harvard, Massachusetts, was among the many residents of Eastern Mass without power after a big ice storm hit on December 12th. Sweeney, an electrical engineer, saw his Prius as the answer. Using an inverter, he converted the DC power coming out of the car into AC power for his house. Though he couldn't run his entire house one his one car, they were able to get approximately 17 Kilowatt hours of energy. This was enough to power his refrigerator/freezer, television, lights, wood stove fan and accessories for a few days. Although anyone can use a regular DC power supply, like the battery found in a non-Hybrid car, but a hybrid is ideal.
First, the Prius carries a much larger batter pack than a regular car, allowing someone to power more appliances for longer than the conventional AC Delco found in most cars. Second, unlike some backup battery systems found in homes, the Prius, like other cars, can recharge its batteries with its normal internal combustion engine. And here's the best part — because the Prius automatically turns itself on when the batteries drain to a certain level, Sweeney left the car running and it automatically turned over when it needed to recharge — about once every 30 minutes. If you were trying to do what Sweeney did with a non-hybrid, you'd find yourself spending a lot more time outside in the cold. The efficiency of the auto-on feature meant Sweeney only used around five gallons of gas. As with any time you're trying to use your vehicle as a generator, you'll probably want to use a well-ventilated area.
If any of Sweeney's neighbors thought he was smug about his car choice before the storm they must have really hated him when he turned on the television and lights while they huddled for warmth on the hood of their Tahoe. Hat tip to Danny!
[Boston Business Journals]
According to The Wall Street Journal, Toyota’s President Katsuaki Watanabe is expected to step down next year and become chairman. Sources familiar with the matter said that the move doesn’t indicate change in the strategic direction of the company, but stems largely from the health of Watanabe.
It was announced yesterday that Watanabe will not be present at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit Next month.
Speculations have begun that Toyota will promote Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder, to president in April. Toyota later denied the report made by Bloomberg earlier this morning.
Source: WSJ and Detroit News
Toyota Motor Corp. seems to be in big trouble. The Japanese automaker forecasts a first-ever annual operating loss blaming the huge decline in demand and the rise in the yen.
“We are facing an unprecedented emergency,” President Katsuaki Watanabe told a year-end news conference yesterday. “This is a crisis unlike the crises of the past.”
Toyota cut its group operating forecast to a loss of 150 billion yen ($1.7 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31. That’s compared to the record profit of 2.27 trillion yen it announced last year.
As with the rest of the auto industry, Toyota has delayed projects, halted production at its plants and cut executive bonuses. It said those moves “will continue until the tide turns.”
Watanabe did not project any sales or earnings figures for next year saying that Toyota hopes to return to profit and cut capital spending to below 1 trillion yen next year.
Source: Reuters
If you were going to hire a fabrication god to scratchbuild the car of your choice, what would it be? It's hard to go wrong with the Toyota 2000GT, and that's what's happened here.
The 2000GT is one of those cars you might not be able to buy, period; the few that exist no doubt live behind quadruple-locked, nuke-proof steel doors, and the typical 2000GT owner would sell several internal organs before parting with the car. That's where Shin Yoshikawa comes in. A 2000GT chassis (no, we don't know who built it) and a bunch of aluminum comes into his shop, and what comes out is pure beauty. Yoshikawa's English takes some odd twists and turns, but his descriptions get the job done; check out his site when you're done here.
[Studio Time Capsule, thanks- yet again- to LTDScott for the tip]
The exhausting and inconsequential teaser series surrounding the 2010 Toyota Prius continues and now we get to see something that matters — the Hybrid Synergy Drive nestled snugly in its engine bay.
Along with the engine bay shot we get a peek at such hugely exciting bits as the headlight at night, a closeup of the door handle, and the Toyota badge. We can't tell if the badge is lit up or just has a printed blue effect behind it, but if Toyota keeps this kind of excitement up, we probably won't make it to the Detroit Auto Show unveil. [Carscoop]
The Wall Street Journal is reporting Toyota President Katsuaki "Ken" Watanabe will step down from his post in 2009. We're betting it may be early considering Watanabe turned down his Detroit Auto Show invite.
The CEO of Toyota Motor Company has been at the helm during its rise to market dominance but with yesterdays announcement of a $1.7 billion annual loss, Toyota may be set for a changing of the guard. WSJ goes on to posit that Akio Toyoda, an executive vice president at Toyota and grandson of Toyota's founder Kiichiro Toyoda, will step up to the plate and take over as President. We'll shy away from the easy joke of executive seppuku, since it cannot be argued that Watanabe has served honorably during his lengthy career with Toyota and in his Presidency of the automotive goliath since 2001.The guy is 66, maybe it's just time to retire. [Wall Street Journal]
What would have been unheard of a year ago could now very well become a reality: if auto sales don't rebound by the second half of next year, Toyota may be forced to lay off workers in the U.S. for the first time since it began manufacturing cars in the States in the mid 1980s. Jim Wiseman, vice president of external affairs for Toyota's North American production unit, told Bloomberg News that the company cannot rule out job cuts as sales continue to fall. "We wouldn't anticipate it getting to that point, but we never say never," Wiseman said. Overall, Toyota's North American operations employee some 30,000 workers.
Via: Bloobmberg
According to the WSJ, Toyota plans to unveil a "small battery electric-car concept" at next month's Detroit Auto Show alongside the new Prius. Is this a GEM or GEM Peapod competitor or something more?
With the race on to get away from icky gasoline, Toyota has announced in addition to unveiling the production version of the new Toyota Prius, it will display an electric "city car" based on a new compact model we're not supposed to know is the Toyota iQ. So it's not quite as small as a GEM electric — or even the GEM Peapod concept — but rather one step above it. Apparently, the car will slot into the space of a limited range, but affordable, electric with a possible price point around the $20,000 range. [WSJ]
According to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, the upcoming Subaru/Toyota rear-wheel-drive sports car has been delayed to 2012. Nikkei did not say where it got the information but said that production was to start at the end of 2011 and that Toyota has decided to postpone it until 2012.
“We’re discussing with Fuji Heavy the timing for the start of production and other details,” Hideaki Homma, a Toyota spokesman, said when contacted by Bloomberg. He declined to give further details on the talks.
The Subaru/Toyota rear-wheel-drive sports car will be powered by a 2.0L 4-cylinder boxer engine that makes 200-hp. A Subaru version of the car will come to markets first and will be priced under $20,000. The Toyota version of the car will follow at a later date.
Source: Bloomberg (via AutoBlog)
Earlier today, we heard about a Toyota EV Concept set to debut at next month's Detroit Auto Show. Now we get the first image in what we assume will be an agonizing teaser campaign.
The pocket-sized all-electric city car will be showing its stuff at the Detroit Auto Show and if history is our guide, Toyota will be dribbling out closeup images of inconsequential parts of the car all the way up to the reveal, just like the new Prius. After carefully doling out images for a few weeks, they'll accidentally spill images of the whole car all over the internet, then they'll keep putting out teaser images like nothing happened. I love what you do for me, Toyota! [KickingTires]
Toyota announced this morning that the automaker is going to unveil a new electric vehicle concept at the Detroit Auto Show next month.
Other than the single image of the logo and a very short press release (two sentences), Toyota did not release any other details about the new concept. The EV Concept will share the stage with the all-new 2010 Prius.
Related Stories:
More Photos of the 2010 Toyota Prius Show up on the Web
PRESS RELEASE:
TORRANCE, Calif., Dec. 22 -- Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. will display a battery electric vehicle concept at the 2009 North American International Auto Show. This display marks the world debut of this concept vehicle.
Toyota to debut some sort of electric something in Detroit.
Toyota announced today its intention to debut an all-new electric-vehicle concept at January’s Detroit auto show. The vehicle will be called the FT-EV, and the single image released shows only the badge, affixed to a translucent, amber-colored surface. As to the vehicle’s actual identity, FT is simply Toyota shorthand for ‘future,’ so the FT-EV could be anything, really.
To wit, Toyota showed the FT-HS sports-car concept—HS for Hybrid Sports—at the 2007 Detroit auto show. The FT prefix was also applied to the FT-SX concept, which eventually morphed into the production Venza crossover, as well as the FTX concept, which became the current Tundra pickup.
Toyota’s President Katsuaki Watanabe, a regular at the North American International Auto Show will not be attending the show next month in Detroit. Toyota did not comment on Watanabe’s immediate change of plans.
Toyota’s presence at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show will be very significant. The company plans on unveiling the next-generation Toyota Prius Hybrid as well as a dedicated hybrid model for its luxury Lexus brand.
We’re guessing Watanabe doesn’t want answer questions about the Japanese automakers health.
Source: Detroit News
It's official, as we reported unofficially on Friday, Toyota's a real, live flesh-n-blood automaker, posting an operating loss of $1.7 billion in 2008, the first in 70 years at the Japanese automaker.
Again, like he did after Honda's loss, we're waiting for Senator Richard Shelby (R-Hickabama) to verbally abuse Toyota for not making the cars Americans want to buy.
Wait, what was that? Sorry, folks, hold the phones, we're now hearing word Shelby did not say anything about Honda...and wait...yes, he won't be saying anything about Toyota's operating loss either. Hypocrisy you say? Why yes, well, what do you expect? He is a politician. [CNBC]
According to reports, Toyota will again revise its earnings prediction to the point where second half losses will negate gains from the first half of 2008, resulting in the first yearly loss in 70 years.
Japanese news outlets are reporting Toyota will announce second half losses which will exceed the profits from the first half of the year, resulting in overall net loss for the 2008 fiscal year. This comes in the face of increasingly dire sales figures across the auto industry and against a background of bailout loans for GM and Chrysler announced this morning. Because of this trend, Toyota may refrain from making sales and production forecasts for 2009 in an effort to avoid bringing shame upon Toyota City when they cannot meet targets. [Reuters]
Toyota Australia has pulled the plug on its TRD performance brand, citing the current global financial crisis as the determining factor.
Just 888 TRD vehicles have been delivered since the brand was established in Australia, with the last model set to roll off the production line on March 31, 2009.
The TRD Aurion accounted for 537 of this total since it was first launched 16 months ago, while the TRD HiLux sold 351 units in a much shorter space of time.
“Toyota has a responsibility to ensure its core business activities, and the people who rely on them, are protected for the long term,” said David Buttner, senior executive director Toyota Australia.
All TRD owners will be covered by Toyota’s new-vehicle warranty and the company would continue to supple parts in order to meet its legal obligations.
“Toyota made a significant financial commitment to TRD vehicle conversion and clearly understood short-term profitability was unlikely,” Mr Buttner said.
All employees involved in the TRD performance branch will be located to a new role within Toyota.
Toyota will be listing its preowned inventory on eBay in a move that will put it on the famous auction site with rivals such as General Motors and Chrysler. Toyota’s certified preowned inventory is now searchable on eBay Motors allowing the Japanese automaker to clear out some of its inventory of used vehicles taking up space on dealer lots.
Through November, Toyota has sold 253,855 certified preowned vehicles, an increase of 1.5 percent over last year.
GM has placed its entire 60,000 used vehicles on eBay and Chrysler lists more than 15,000 certified preowned vehicles.
Source: Toyota (via Motor Trend)
We now know that most of you approve of the $39,900 price tag on the 426 Wedge Sport Fury, so today we're going to change it up a bit with a rare Japanese machine.
While the 1970-74 Corollas sold in huge numbers in North America, the TE27 hardtop coupes weren't quite so common, and they're much in demand nowadays. You need to pay real money for a nice one, but $12,800 for a partially-completed restoration? It appears that this '74 is chock-full-o-NOS JDM goodies, and it's a non-rusty California car, so it's possible that no hubba rocks are needed to accept that price. What do you say?
We really can’t emphasize the consumer shift towards more compact vehicles and it seems like automakers are catering to that shift even when it comes to minivans. According to AutoExpress Toyota’s next MPV will be based on the Estima concept and surprisingly - the iQ and the Prius.
A source told the publication that Toyota is “looking at a seven-seater based on the Prius. It would use a lithium-ion battery, and could be here by 2012.”
Technicians behind the iQ say that the new MPV will also use the compact car’s technology to squeeze in seven-seats into a Yaris. Chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima said that Toyota is always looking for clever engineering and packaging solutions.
“For example, we’re working on a seven-seater that’s the size of the Yaris. We can do it, and give limo-like legroom in the back,” said Nakajima.
Source: AutoExpress
Besides showing us the next-generation 2010 Toyota Prius and a new dedicated hybrid for the Lexus brand, Toyota announced today that it will debut a battery electric-vehicle concept at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit Next month.
Toyota has released no details or images of the electric-vehicle concept so we’re not sure whether it will be a plug-in version of the Prius.
That’s all the info we have right now but we’ll bring you more details next month from Detroit.
Believe it or not, Japan wants Detroit to survive. Overseas automakers, mainly Toyota Motor Co., are endorsing some form of federal loans to keep GM and Chrysler out of a possible bankruptcy. Basically, a failure of one or more automakers would cause other automakers production problems, crush the already weak demand and open the door to low-cost competitors (hint-hint - those cheap Chinese knockoffs).
“We support measures to help the industry,” said Toyota spokeswoman Mira Sleilati. “We just want a strong, competitive healthy industry.”
According to CNNMoney, if one of the Big 3 goes under, that would most likely lead to a widespread bankruptcy of auto parts suppliers. That in turn would hurt the production of overseas automakers who produce more than 3 million vehicles in the U.S.
Demand for cars hit a 26-year low in November. Failure of any of the Detroit’s Big 3 automakers would further crush demand with an already aching U.S. economy.
Last but not least, overseas automakers fear the Chinese and Indian automakers entering the markets to buy up the assets of the failed automakers to create low-cost competitors in the U.S.
Sounds scary enough to us.
Source: CNNMoney
The Carpocalypse comes to the South as the Wall Street Journal reports Toyota plans to delay production of its new plant outside Tupelo, Mississippi.
Toyota's plans to start production at a new plant it is building in Blue Springs, Mississippi have been altered by a steep decline in the sales of new cars and trucks (sales down 32% in November). The company will continue to finish construction of the building but will hold off on installing equipment at the plant, which was supposed to build the Toyota Prius.
This is an interesting development in a regional / political Civil War conflict pitting anti-union Republicans from southern states and their foreign automaker allies against Democrats in the north and their domestic automaker / union supporters. According to the NY Daily News, right-to-work states have given over $3 billion in subsidies and tax incentives to foreign-owned car companies since 1992.
Most importantly for southern Senators, Toyota has claimed it will cut no jobs at the plant but will merely delay production. Just to clarify here — southern Senators believe loaning the not-so-Big Three money so they can pay to put people to work building the next generation of fuel efficient American cars is bad. Giving Toyota and others free money to pay people not to work building Japanese cars is good.
We wonder if those Toyota employees in Missisippi will start Vandalizing Escapes.
[Wall Street Journal]
Despite the doom and gloom of Toyota’s current economic status, including global operational losses of $1.7 billion forecast over the next six months, Toyota says it has no current plans to cut jobs in Australia.
Japanese media says falling sales and a climbing yen will lead to the company’s first interim operating loss since 1999 forcing the company to lower its earnings forecasts (October to March period likely to cut Toyota’s full-year profit by 80 per cent).
Unlike many other car manufacturers that have reduced job numbers, Toyota with strong Middle East exports, the production of the Hybrid Camry and a well-managed Australian operation should avoid any downturn locally.
National secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s vehicle division Ian Jones has welcomed the news saying,
“I think Toyota have got a good plan for Australia,” he said. “They are a very well-managed Australian operation. I don’t think they will experience the same problems as the other (carmakers).”
An attempt at the perfect sports car.
Another sports car concept that's not likely to reach production in these economic and fuel-conscious times.
Keep Reading Car and Driver : Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept - Video
There's been speculation lately the Lexus LFA supercar might be getting the axe due to US economic conditions but a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office suggests otherwise.
On December 1, 2008, Toyota Motor Company registered the trademark number 77623634 for the term "LFA," no dash as in the past "LF-A," to be used with "Automobiles and structural parts thereof." Now, this doesn't mean the LFA is absolutely, positively going into production, as automakers regularly place dibs on all kinds of names. It does mean that if the car does see the light of day we won't have to call it something else.
[USPTO (direct linking disabled), via AutoSpies]
For a new car, the British-built new Toyota Avensis looks and feels remarkably similar to the old one. The Avensis faithful will see this as a good thing. In much the same way that you’d worry if a BBC newsreader arrived on your screen one day with a pink mohican and LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles, you don’t look to the Avensis for innovation and novelty value. It’s safe, reassuring and reliable.
Designed in the south of France, the third-generation Avensis is available in saloon and estate forms (but no hatchback), with a choice of new petrol engines and revised diesels. It has a slightly sharper look, with a hint of Cadillac or Saab around the nose, although mostly it looks like an old Avensis that’s been gently squashed. It’s actually the same height as before, but 50mm longer and 50mm wider.
Not really, it still feels like a regular family car, whereas the once class-defining Ford has moved into an altogether chubbier, harder-to-park place. The Toyota also weighs more than the car it replaces, but only by 10kg.
There’s good room for four adults inside, plus a good-size child in the middle at the back. The doors are all big and open wide, so even a dodgy hip won’t stop you getting in and out easily. The long, shallow boot has a decent 509 litres of space, although the forwardmost parts take quite a stretch to reach. There’s a full-size spare under the boot floor. So far, so sensible.
The facelifted Toyota Yaris made its debut today at the Bologna motor show ahead of its European market launch in early 2009. On the outside, the revised Yaris features a few minor styling updates such as the new front and rear bumpers that gain protective plastic moldings, revised headlights and tail lamps and, a narrower front grille. Toyota has also refreshed the cabin with new upholstery and trim options. The most significant change though is hidden under the hood as the 2009 Yaris gains a new 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i 4-cylinder gasoline engine that was first introduced on the Auris.
The new petrol engine promises to delivers lower emissions, better fuel economy and improved power and torque figures compared to the 1.4-liter unit it replaces. The 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i delivers an output of 101HP and 132 Nm of torque and is matted to a new 6-speed manual gearbox or optionally, to a semi-automatic MMT transmission. Toyota claims that the manual version achieves an average fuel consumption of 5.1 lt per 100 km which translates to 46.1 mpg U.S.
Furthermore, the facelifted Yaris will be available for the first time with Toyota's new Stop&Start technology. According to the Japanese automaker, in a world-first design, the system has a permanently engaged starter gear mechanism meaning that the starter motor is in direct contact with the ring gear on the engine. As a result, the engine starts and stops faster and more quieter.
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