Read more »
Read more »
The world's largest carmaker may subsequently see its operating profit drop by at least 100 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in the 2010 fiscal year (ending March 31 2011) and up to 200 billion yen in the 2011 fiscal year. Auto analyst Koji Endo says any impact on production destined for export will affect earnings even more. “Hardly any cars will be built in April and a very low level of production will continue from May,” Endo was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
Read more »
In order to reach that objective, CO2 targets are lowered progressively each year. In 2009 the average was 145.9 g/km and in 2010 it went down to 140.9 g/km. Emissions regulations will be imposed starting next year, with significant fines to be enforced to automakers that will not comply with the new emissions limits.
The second iteration of the FT-86 study made its first public outing at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month. Its main purpose is to preview actual production model that will go on sale in late 2012. The well-received styling of the original concept model evolved gaining new front and rear ends, more pronounced surfaces and a host of other fresh details, with Toyota claiming that the design changes were made for safety regulations as well as for practical reasons.
The Avensis race cars will be driven by Frank Wrathall Jr. and Tony Hughes. “The Toyota looks amazing and we are all delighted with it," said Wrathall. "Yes, it is frustrating not to have done more testing, but the first few rounds were always going to be tough for us, so we will just get on with it and do the best, most competitive job that we can."
Read more »
For those of you too fried to remember, Toyota had a bit of a flub a couple years ago regarding unintended acceleration in some of its vehicles; the problems were originally blamed on floor mats, poorly designed pedals, and driver error.
Currently, plaintiffs and their attorneys are still fighting for a proper explanation and compensation even though "the [U.S.] government's comprehensive review of Toyota's source code found no electronic causes of [unintended acceleration] in Toyota vehicles."
Read more »
Tammy Darvish, the owner of four Toyota dealerships around Washington D.C. explains: “A lot of customers are convinced that prices will be going up and that availability [of the Prius] will be a little short.”
A Texas Toyota dealer is reporting that his sales have doubled in the last six weeks due to steadily increasing fuel prices. And with no U.S. factory producing the popular hybrid five-door, it’s not like there’s a backup supply if things become more pear shaped in the land of the rising sun.
Read more »
Despite the delay in Japan, Toyota said that the North American version of the Prius V, which is scheduled to launch at the end of summer 2011, remains on track. “No decision has been made in regards to a possible need to change the launch timing,” Toyota said.
Read more »
Toyota said on Tuesday that is has decided to continue the vehicle-production halt that began on March 14 at all of its plants in Japan including subsidiary vehicle manufacturers through March 26, as the company faces shortages of parts from local suppliers that were affected by the disastrous earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear crisis that followed after. This is the second time in less than a week that Toyota extends a halt of its manufacturing plants in Japan.
Read more »
The 2011 study takes into account problems experienced in the past 12 months by more than 43,700 original owners of three-year-old cars (2008 model year). JD Power determines the overall dependability by the level of Problems encountered Per 100 vehicles (PP100). A lower score reflects higher quality and the good news is the overall vehicle dependability averaged 151 PP100, the best value since the creation of the study.
The full extent of damages caused by the earthquake and the ferocious tsunami remain unknown for now, but we’re already hearing news of people being evacuated and many homes and factories destroyed.
On the automotive front, Toyota and Honda were forced to shut down some of their production plants and evacuate their workers from several factories in the quake zone. According to reports, Toyota, which has a large manufacturing presence in northern Japan, was affected the most with the shutdown possibly affecting production of cars like the Yaris sedan and the Scion xB and xD models.
Read more »
Toyota's FT-86 II pre-production concept car displayed at the Geneva Motor Show last week attracted a lot of attention, with many viewing the car's styling as a step back from the FT-86. However, as Toyota explained, these changes were not imposed only by designers, but by the company's test drivers and safety regulations as well. More precisely, the feedback received from the test drivers after the early development stages had the biggest influence on the look of the FT-86 II. The most important change requested was to move back the A-pillars by around 100 mm at the base, which led to a more vertical windscreen.
Read more »
Now, we know some of you may be wondering what any of this has to do with an automotive website like Carscoop, so let’s cut to the chase and get to the story.
The answer is a stunning gallery from Bo de Visser, a photographer and journalist from The Netherlands, who was able to visit the Green Line in Cyprus and discover an abandoned Toyota dealer lot with an amazing collection of new cars from the 1970s.
There are probably more Pontiac Fiero-based imitations in the world than real Ferraris. Today, though, we have something a little different. No, it is not a Pontiac Fiero-based Lamborghini Miura (we have already had one of them), it is a Toyota Celica that has been transformed into a passable F430 replica. Did I say passable? Well, only just. From the front, it looks okay, with the hood, headlights and A-pillar being sufficiently F430-like. As you move back, however, it all starts to unwind. The awkward side window treatment, slab-sided rear flanks and the shape of the rear windscreen just seem wrong. Though you can’t expect much from trying to transform a front-engined, front wheel drive Japanese coupe in a mid engine, rear wheel drive Italian exotic.
Read more »
Subaru's designers only made a few changes to the front of the car, adding the brand's signature grille, a revised bumper and rounding up the headlights. As for the rest, it is virtually identical to Toyota's Verso-S. On the inside, changes are hard to spot too, with only the logos differentiating the two models.
