Toyota
Report: Subaru Planning STI Version of FT-86
Earlier this week at the Tokyo Auto Show, Toyota drew back the covers on its new compact sports car concept, the FT-86. Using a Subaru engine, it has long been rumored that the rear drive car would also be sold as a Subaru, with with an all-wheel drive layout. Now word comes that Suabru’s high-performance…
Tokyo 2009: Toyota FT-86 Concept Officially Debuts
Toyota has officially unveiled the FT-86, a concept car that is set to inspire an upcoming compact sports car. The name FT-86 brings together Toyota’s past and future, with the “FT” coming from the FT-HS hybrid concept from a few years back, while the “86″ is donated from the AE-86, a small rear-drive, two-door Corolla-based…
Tokyo Preview: Toyota Sai Hybrid Debuts in Japan
If the all-new Toyota Sai Hybrid looks familiar – it should. The new Toyota hybrid model is based very closely on the new Lexus HS platform. Sold as a premium Lexus luxury car in North America, the same car will be down-graded somewhat for sale in its home market. Even the design is almost identical…
Tokyo Preview: New Rear-Drive Toyota Mark X Debuts
You probably haven’t heard of the Toyota Mark X and that’s not surprising considering it isn’t sold in North America. Its also a shame, however, as the largish car is based on the same platform as the Lexus GS, meaning it is rear-wheel drive – with an all-wheel drive option available. It has a lot…
Video: Toyobaru Runs the Nürburgring
Some video of the Toyobaru spots car lapping the Nürburgring in Germany has found its way on to YouTube. Considering the heavy use of camo used to cover the car up, there’s reason to believe this is the Subaru version of the small sports car, rather than the Toyota model. Toyota has already released numerous…
Report: Ford Catching Honda In Hybrid Sales Race
Ford is closing in on its Japanese rivals in the hybrid sales race. So far in 2009 the American automaker has posted a 73 percent gain in its hybrid sales with a total of 26,016 vehicles sold. That number is roughly 4,000 short of Honda’s total hybrid sales at 29,958 units, but the percentage of…
Report: New Toyota FT-86 Photos Give Detailed Look at Upcoming Sports Car
The official reveal of Toyota’s FT-86 Concept is just a few days away but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a better look at the company’s latest sports car right now. The folks at FT86Club have dug up a large selection of studio shots that show the concept in much greater detail. For starters, the…
VIDEO: Toyota FT-86 Concept Makes Video Game Debut in GranTurismo 5
Toyota’s new FT-86 Concept car hasn’t even received its official unveiling at the Tokyo Auto Show and yet its already made its video game debut. Toyota has released a short clip of the FT-86 in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 game. There are plenty of great clips of the stunning new Toyota, and even a…
Tokyo Preview: Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybird Concept to Get Japanese Debut in Tokyo
Officially unveiled last month at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, Toyota is now set to give the Prius plug-in hybrid concept an official unveiling in its native land and in front of a more welcoming audience. Toyota has said that the Prius PHV Concept will be able to travel up to 12 miles on…
Tokyo Preview: Toyota FT-EV II Electric Car Unveiled Ahead of Official Debut
Toyota will take the wraps off an updated version of its FT-EV electric car at the Tokyo Auto Show in just a few weeks. Called the FT-EV II, the car is designed for urban use with a total range of 90 km (56 miles) and a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). This news…
Report: Hybrids, Not Electric Vehicles, Are the Future Says Toyota Europe R&D Boss
Hybrid cars and not electric vehicles, are the future of mass market environmentally-responsible transportation, says Toyota Europe’s R&D boss Masato Katsumata. Obviously we would expect any Toyota representative to toe this line, as competitors like Nissan are focusing on the future of electric cars – like the Leaf EV. Speaking at a conference in Cologne,…
Tokyo Preview: Stunning Toyota FT-86 Concept Delivers “Racecar-like” Handling
Until today, if someone asked you what the best looking Toyota from the past decade was, you’d have a tough time thinking something up. As of today, the answer is the FT-86 Concept, which is set to officially debut at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month. The name FT-86 brings together Toyota’s past and…
Report: Toyota One Step Away from “Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death” Says New President
At a news conference in Tokyo, Toyota’s new President Akio Toyoda, said that Japan’s largest automaker has now slipped into the fourth (out of five) stages of corporate decline. Citing author Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall, Toyoda regretfully announced that Toyota had entered the stage called “grasping for salvation.” The previous three stages are…
Report: 2010 Toyota 4Runner Officially Unveiled at Texas State Fair
Toyota chose the Texas State Fair and its truck friendly audience as the venue to debut its latest 4Runner model. For 2010 this body-on-frame SUV is both wider and longer, further differentiating it from the Highlander crossover. Toyota has opted to drop the V8 engine for the new model, instead offering a 4.0-liter V6 that…
Frankfurt 2009: Toyota Auris Hybrid Concept Revealed
Toyota is planning to offer hybrid versions of all of its vehicles by 2020 and the next step in that process is a Hybrid Synergy Drive version of the Corolla-based Auris hatchback sold in the U.K. Toyota unveiled a prototype of that vehicle, the Auris HSD Concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show today. The Auris…
Frankfurt Preview: Toyota Auris HSD Concept Revealed
Notoriously good at keeping secrets, Toyota has decided to blow its own cover and has released a smattering of details on the Auris HSD Concept that will debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show tomorrow (September 15th). Designed specifically for the U.K.,the Auris HSD Concept uses the same Hybrid Synergy Drive powerplant as found in the…
Leaked: 2010 Toyota 4Runner Images Hit the Web
Toyota had set September 24th as the date to officially unveil the 2010 4Runner at the Texas State Fair, but thanks to an insider over at Toyota-4Runner.org, we have these leaked images. As a true off-road capable SUV with a body on frame construction, the 2010 4Runner looks the part, with plenty of hard lines…
Report: Toyota Officially Confirms Prius Plug-In Hybrid Concept for Frankfurt Debut
After much speculation, Toyota has finally confirmed that a concept version of the Prius Plug-In Hybrid will appear at the Frankfurt Auto Show next week. Designed to take on the Chevy Volt, there is no word on when full public sales of the Prius PHV start, while the Volt is scheduled for sale in early…
Report: Cash for Clunkers Boosts August Auto Sales
The U.S. auto industry showed continued improvement in the month of August, helped on by the Obama Administration’s Cash for Clunkers program. Ford was once again a big winner as sales increased 17.2 percent over last August, a significant improvement over the 2.4 percent growth in July – which was thought to be good at…
Breaking: Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept to Debut at Frankfurt Auto Show
We’ve been hearing from General Motors about the Chevy Volt for what seems like an eternity and now it’s Toyota’s turn. The Japanese automaker will reportedly debut a concept version of the Prius plug-in hybrid at the Frankfurt Auto Show in two weeks time. Toyota has yet to officially announce the debut, but that is…
Report: Toyota in Talks With BMW to Use New MINI Coupe Platform for Future Sports Car
Last week we reported on a story that BMW was in talks with Toyota to use its iQ city car platform as the basis of a future mini-MINI. Now it appears that deal may be two-sized as AutoCar is reporting that in exchange Toyota may get use of the MINI Coupe and Roadster platform to…
Report: Toyota Dealers Price Gouging on 2010 Prius Models
Several reports of price gouging on the new 2010 Prius have been reported at Toyota dealerships across the country. While the $4,500 rebate offered with the (now completed) cash-for-clunkers program made the Prius an attractive buy, many dealerships were apparently engaging in a little creative market value adjustment of their own, to capitalize on the…
Report: Toyota Closes California NUMMI Plant in Bid to Cut Production by One Million Units
Toyota has confirmed that, for the first time, it will close one of its U.S. plants. The facility is the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Freemont, California. “After the decision by General Motors to withdraw from the NUMMI joint venture, Toyota conducted a thorough review of its alternatives in light of current…
Report: 2010 Toyota 4Runner to Debut at State Fair of Texas
Toyota has announced that the State Fair of Texas will play host to the debut of the all-new 2010 4Runner. The new model promises to be “more rugged than ever,” which will help Toyota set the off-road-capable SUV apart from on-road machines like the Highlander. Once a staple of the Toyota lineup, car-based crossovers have…
