Untitled

via online auto brochure

The U.S.-market sister ship to the Subaru BRZ, the Scion FR-S, will go on sale this spring. It is an unusual car for parent company Toyota, or at least the Toyota of late. Before the creation of the FR-S, Akio Toyoda (president of Toyota and grandson of the company’s founder) asked himself, “Where is the passion in our lineup? I want to build a sports car.”The Scion FR-S

See the full gallery on Posterous

 is that sports car. (It also will be sold across the globe as the Toyota GT 86 or simply 86.) Much has been made about the collaboration with Subaru. Toyota claims credit for the car’s existence and the idea itself, which is in direct opposition to what Subaru told us. Fight! Fight! Toyota says chief engineer Tetsuya Tada’s original concept called for a front-engined sports car with rear-wheel drive. Inspired by the rear-drive Corolla of the ’80s that became the darling of drifters, the new sports car would be light, agile, and affordable. After some internal resistance within Toyota and Subaru, a prototype was built in late 2007 using a Subaru flat-four and rear-wheel drive. The prototype changed minds; by early 2008, a sports-car program was born.

Toyota readily admits the lion’s share of the development was done by Subaru. However, according to Toyota, plans and objectives came from its engineers and were merely executed by Subaru’s team. (There’s that contradiction again.) For example, the all-new platform and chassis are from Subaru. Toyota made contributions along the way, such as adding its eight-injector direct and port fuel injection to Subaru’s 2.0-liter flat-four. Making the car attractive fell to Toyota. The greenhouse is a homage to the Toyota 2000GT of the 1960s; the nose hints at the Lexus LFA supercar. Squint a little while eyeing the FR-S, and cars like the Supra and Celica come to mind, too. Assembly of the FR-S and BRZ is Subaru’s responsibility. Read the rest of this article here.

TOYOTA ON THE MOVE AGAIN IN NOVEMBER 2011

via online auto brochure

Toyota deliveries rose 6.7 percent in November stated the automaker.

Sales of the Prius hybrid rose 49 percent to 15,208 and deliveries of the new 2012 Camry sedan climbed 13 percent to 23,440. The automaker exceeded five analysts’ average estimate for a 5 percent increase in November deliveries.

Four of the six largest automakers beat sales expectations, boosting industry sales to a 13.6 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate.  Pace exceeded the 13.4 million average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and is the best month since sales were helped by Cash for Clunkers in August 2009.

Some believe that consumers have been waiting for a surge. Several analyst in the industry believe that the cars consumers are driving are getting older and people are beginning to reach a point where they need or want to replace them. There is recession out there but there is a growing fatigue and people want to buy if they can.

Source http://toyota-alabama.com/toyota-on-the-move-again-in-november-2011/

Toyota recalling 200K Siennas over misprint

via online auto brochure

According to a report from Automotive News, Toyota is recalling more than 200,000 Sienna minivans from the 2011 and 2012 model years. But before you start worrying about reading the words 'Toyota' and 'recall' in the same sentence, know that this is for a very, very minor issue.

The problem? The tire and load information placard has been misprinted, and can cause a situation where owners over-inflate the tires. Overloaded tires can potentially fail (read: burst), and can result in a crash.

Toyota spokesperson Bryan Lyons told Automotive News that there isn't a problem with any mechanical part of the Sienna itself, just the sticker. To remedy this situation, the automaker will mail new replacement placards to affected vehicle owners.Toyota recalling 200K Siennas over misprint originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:57:00 EST.

Source http://toyotaowners.net/toyota-forum/showthread.php?t=21931

2013 Dodge Dart Will Offer New Nine-Speed Automatic

via online auto brochure

NEW YORK — Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne said he expects the new 2013 Dodge Dart will achieve a 40-mpg highway fuel-economy rating, which could give corporate parent Fiat a final chunk of Chrysler stock.

The all-new Dart debuts next month at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show and is slated to go into production next spring at Chrysler's Belvidere plant outside Chicago. Based on a stretched version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, the 2013 Dart sedan effectively replaces the Caliber as Dodge's volume entry in the compact segment.

Marchionne, in an interview with Reuters, indicated he expects the new Dart will be rated by the EPA at 40 mpg on the highway. Fiat, which has controlled Chrysler since the U.S. automaker emerged from bankruptcy last year, is entitled to receive another 5-percent equity stake in Chrysler if it is able to certify at least one new car at 40 mpg, according to Automotive News. Read the rest of the article here.

GM’s fully electric Chevy Spark

via online auto brochure

Set to be produced at a plant in White Marsh, Maryland, the Spark’s 85 kW, 114 hp motor will use nonophosphate lithium-ion batteries supplied by A123 Systems and have permanent magnet and induction motors. GM expects other vehicles in the future to run on propulsion motors, while nine of its vehicles already use electric motors as part of the propulsion system. According to GM’s Chief Engineer Pete Savagian, each of its electric motors has three long lives of 200k miles each.

“We’ve spent the past few years highlighting our in-house battery capability, which will play a significant role as one of our core competencies going forward,” said Larry Nitz, GM executive director of Vehicle Electrification Engineering. “Electric motor development and manufacturing is another area of expertise we’ll need as we expand vehicle electrification technologies to address the needs of our customers around the world.”

Until recently, electric cars have been held back in the US market due to a lack of choices, high price tags, poor infrastructure for charging stations and low fuel prices. But as the industry faces requirements to produce more fuel-efficient cars by 2025, the competition to build the greenest, sexiest electric cars has stimulated growth and innovation between competitors.

“We welcome competitors into the market,” Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan Americas, told Reuters. “We’re glad that GM has decided to go pure electric. This brings further validity to the segment.”

Under GM Chief Executive Daniel Akerson, GM’s fourth CEO since 2009, the company has pursued electric vehicles aggressively and is using the new Spark as a way to recoup some of the lost investment in the Volt. By mass-producing electric vehicle technology, as it did in the 90s, the cost of the cars would make them a fraction of the cost of the $40,000 Volt. Read entire article here.

Review: The 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK350

via online auto brochure

The new-generation SLK remains small,with just a 95.7-inch wheelbase. But it has more aggressive styling for a sexier, more masculine look and continues with its fast-acting retractable hardtop. Even the exhaust outlets are artfully shaped.

The 3,397-pound SLK350 has a solid feel—top up or down. But Mercedes stuck its plastic three-pointed star emblem right up front in the center of the grille, where it can be easily damaged.
 
The first Mercedes-Benz SLK, which I drove in Italy at a media preview in the late 1980s, was a bore. It had terribly plain styling and modest performance. It was at least some fun with a manual gearbox, but that wasn’t even initially offered in America.

Read the entire article here.

See the full gallery on Posterous