Thanks to our friends over at Road & Track jumping the embargo gun, we received of the . Now the rest of the story has been published, with R&T taking a thorough look at how Toyota’s California-based Calty Design Research facility came up with the look of the racy hybrid 2+2 coupe.
“Only a few written attributes were given as criteria: avant-garde beauty, originality, driving joy and unequaled technology,” according to the story, which says CEO Akio Toyoda himself weighed in with a mandate that the car “have the ‘wow’ factor.”
has been working on the LF-LC Concept for a year and a half, so the concept is no mere auto show roller. That kind of attention-to-detail shows in the new photos, especially inside the car. A finely detailed interior with wave designs stitched into the leather door panels is a nice touch that reinforces the car’s exterior design language, which R&T says Lexus is calling “tumbling ribbon.” The car also has a multi-layered instrument panel that looks like it could have been inspired by any number of sci-fi video games.
One thing missing from the article is any further information about the hybrid drivetrain system in the car. Curiously, while the announcing that it would be unveiling the car mentions “Advanced Lexus Hybrid Drive,” that line was omitted from the release on the American site. Apparently we’ll have to wait until the car’s official reveal at the on January 9 to find out what (if anything) is under the hood of the LF-LC.
There’s plenty more to take in, including two new beauty shots from Autocar, so be sure to check out .
The chief executives of any two companies will inherently have something in common to share. All the more so for the CEOs of automakers, never mind how big or how small. But Akio Toyoda and Ulrich Bez share more than job descriptions. The heads of and also share a passion for motorsports and actively race themselves.
It’s a relationship helped broker the deal to turn the Toyota iQ into the Aston Martin Cygnet. It’s one that has seen not only their teams but they themselves compete against each other in sports car racing. It’s also one that only stands to intensify next season in endurance racing when both field LMP1 racers. But before that happens, the two pencil-pushers turned hot shoes swapped cars at the Nürburgring, Toyoda taking to the wheel of the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, and Bez piloting the . to watch the video footage.
For what seemed like an eternity, the title of World’s Largest Automaker belonged to . More recently, was able to from GM as the Japanese automaker in GM’s home country and abroad, and has been nipping at the two behemoth’s heels. According to Bloomberg, though, the top three are likely to see themselves reshuffled before 2011 officially draws to a close.
Volkswagen, with an estimated 2011 sales tally of around 8.1 million vehicles globally (up 13 percent over 2010), is likely to earn top billing as the largest automaker in the world. General Motors, which was , ought to move around 7.55 million machines (an eight-percent increase) to hold on to second place while Toyota’s estimated 7.27 million sales (a nine-percent falloff) would only be good enough for third in the global race for sales dominance.
There are a number of reasons Toyota has seen its sales flounder in 2011 – most notably the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in the first quarter of the year that halted production of many of its popular models, but also due in part to lingering aftereffects of its recall-ridden history over the past few years. Company CEO Akio Toyoda has vowed to address all of these concerns.
Analysts are split on predictions for 2012, with some suggesting VW will have enough momentum to hang on to its number one spot and others believing Toyota will rebound to reclaim first place in global sales. Success in emerging markets like China and India will likely be the deciding factor in sales supremacy, both in 2012 and in the years to follow.
has released a new image of the , which adds to the growing number of teaser images highlighting the updated sedan. We’ve seen a video of , along with a shot of the headlight. After that came . Now, we get to eyeball the backside with a photograph showing the taillamp and Camry badge courtesy of a new image posted to Twitter.
One of these days, we’ll get to see the whole thing… .
originally appeared on on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:58:00 EST. Please see our .
Toyota was busy introducing all flavors of the 2012 to the media earlier this week, but since all that stuff’s embargoed, there’s not much to tell. Yet. But what isn’t under embargo is this collection of spy photos showing the 2012 Camry Hybrid in its birthday suit while shooting a television commercial.
The new Camry’s familiar roofline communicates practicality overall, but the updated sheetmetal has more crisp lines, with new fascias fore and aft. The hybrid’s grille treatment apes that of the facelifted , and yes, those headlights are indeed the ones a few weeks ago.
In a nutshell, it’s still a conservative look, but decidedly less frumpy than before. Now, let’s see what changes Toyota’s made below the surface to bring the Camry in line with the current midsize family-sedan competition.
When does a mid-size sedan become a top-notch competitor to the ? The answer is apparently whenever said competitor begins stealing market share from America’s top-selling sedan.
Bloomberg reports that North America Chairman Yoshimi Inaba called the “a very honorable contender in the market” during an interview earlier this week. Inaba adds that Toyota has great respect for the strong-selling Hyundai, and we’re guessing they’re not the only automaker keeping an ever closer eye on Camp Hyundai. Sales of the Sonata soared by 35 percent in 2010 to 196,623 units. Meanwhile, 2010 Camry sales dropped by 31 percent to 327,804 units. To make matters worse for Toyota and the Camry, supply disruptions stemming from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami have further hurt Camry sales while the Sonata continues to attract new buyers. In fact, the Sonata outsold the Camry in May, in part because of Toyota’s production issues.
But while the Sonata has been gaining on the Camry, that trend could reverse itself with an set to arrive later this year. Toyota President Akio Toyoda already told U.S. dealers in June that the new model will feature a more contemporary design, and we’re hearing rumblings of a hugely improved interior, as well.
originally appeared on on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:31:00 EST. Please see our .
On the heels of last week’s official starring Akio Toyoda comes a new image that appears to show the full vehicle. Judging by how closely the headlamps of the car you see here resemble the ones on the red car that Mr. Toyoda was standing by, this very well may be what the all-new will look like. The best-selling mid-size sedan is expected to make its official debut later this year.
Buyers shouldn’t be surprised to find the proven 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter V6 to provide motive force, backed by six-speed automatic transmissions. If the pictures are indeed accurate, the Camry’s looks are going to to evolve slightly and pick up some -like cues. Dimensions aren’t likely to change much from the current Camry, and the quality of the interior outfitting is going to be a key point of interest. We’ll have the full details later this year.
We worked this 640i Coupe on the autobahn and on the many squeaky clean and manicured twisting two-lanes southeast of Munich where the low hills start to rumple up toward the Bavarian and Austrian Alps.
In that grand tradition, the editors at Autoblog have dug in on which of our country’s convertible muscle cars is the most American – the 2011 Ford Mustang GT Convertible or the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible.
America’s Big Three automakers continued to post impressive sales gains while gobbling up market share from their Asian competitors.
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is excited to brings its redesigned into the world. These type of vehicle launches take time though, and for the moment, Toyota can only show off so much of its new mid-size sedan. Akio Toyoda is the president of the company, so he can decide to reveal a little bit if he chooses. He’s taken to YouTube to provide glimpse of the new car, which he describes as the best Camry ever
The 2012 Toyota Camry is slated to arrive this fall. You can listen to Toyoda talk it up and catch a partial glimpse of it in the clip posted .
Carlos Ghosn has the honor of being the highest-paid foreign executive of any Japanese company. The CEO brought home a staggering $12 million for his efforts at the automaker last year alone, which marks a 10-percent increase over his take-home pay last year. For the sake of comparison, The Economic Times reports that Akio Toyoda, the president of , drew just $1.6 million in compensation and stock options last year.
It’s not as if Ghosn has been sitting on his hands, though. The executive helped lead Nissan to increase its net profit from $524.6 million from March 2008 to March 2009 to $3.95 billion the following year, and he doesn’t seem to be anxious to slow down anytime soon. Ghosn just unveiled a new business plan for Nissan called , which is supposed to help Nissan capture a total global market share of eight percent. Currently, the automaker holds onto around 5.8 percent of total market share.
There’s no question that needs to sell more cars if it is to survive in an industry rapidly centralizing into major groups. But when CEO Dany Bahar talks about looking for new buyers, he’s not talking about selling cars. He’s talking about selling the company itself.
Of course, Lotus is not Bahar’s to sell, strictly speaking. The company belongs to Proton. But the Malaysian state automaker may not have the necessary resources to provide Lotus with the synergies and shared development which Bahar identifies as crucial to Lotus’ future success.
A new report from Inside Line quotes Bahar as saying that Lotus may need to partner with a larger automaker in order to develop into a serious player in the sportscar business. All eyes are on , the Japanese automaker whose engines and other components Lotus currently uses.
The partnership could emerge as something akin to what is fostering with – that is to say, some sort of an alliance that does not involve selling the company – or could result in the brand being sold, lock stock and barrel, to the auto giant. One way or another, Lotus probably can’t go it alone.
With the exception of the facility that makes the plants in Japan have been closed following the earthquake disaster in Japan, but that is scheduled to change by April 18. The Associated Press is reporting that Toyota will resume production that day, though assembly lines will only work at half speed. The plants will run through April 27, when they will close again until May 9 to honor Japan’s Golden Week holiday. That’s a fairly short production window, but the move is likely welcome news to Toyota’s rank and file. The automaker has already lost 260,000 units since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Toyota’s plan to restart production comes as the automaker continues to struggle to procure parts needed for production. Toyota’s parts situation has improved, however, as the APreports that problem part counts have gone from 500 to under 150.
Toyota president Akio Toyoda acknowledges that parts supply issues are still hurting the automaker, but adds “we are doing our utmost to improve the conditions so that we can deliver cars to many customers.”
[Source: Associated Press via Image: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty]
Javier Quirós takes his new Lexus LFA for a spin – Click above to watch the video
Lucky owners across the globe are eager to receive their new supercars. Javier Quirós of Costa Rica is one such person, and decided to celebrate the delivery of his red LFA in a manner befitting such a vehicle… by doing a few donuts.
Don’t worry about Javier losing control of the 552-horsepower, 10-cylinder two-door. Quirós is a race driver with Gazoo Racing and president of Purdy Motor, the Costa Rican distributor for Toyota products. Javier has competed around the globe at tracks like Daytona and the Nürburgring.
You can’t see it in the video but we imagine Mr. Quirós’ smile is wider than the grille on the front of his new LFA. This is LFA #0014, which Quirós specially requested from Akio Toyoda because 14 is his usual racing number. for the clip.
2011 Scion tC – Click above for high-res image gallery
came out swinging when it launched in 2003 and sales hit a peak of 173,024 units in 2006. Since that time, however, things have been spiraling downward. In 2010, Scion sold just 45,678 vehicles. That represents a 21 percent decline compared to 2009 sales. Despite this lull, President Akio Toyoda says the youth-oriented brand isn’t going anywhere.
According to Automotive News, Scion represents a way for Toyota to reach a young demographic, and it doesn’t plan to lose that gateway anytime soon. One of the problems has been that folks under 30 have been hit by the economic recession just like everyone else. Another is that recent models have failed to capture the imagination – and sales – that models like the original box-like xB did. but will that rise include Scion’s demographic? Toyota recently redesigned the brand’s most-popular model, , trying to make sure it does.
Gallery:
Photos copyright (C)2011 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL
If, like us, you’ve been racking your brain to figure out how is possibly going to be able to offer the FT-86 anywhere near its price target, Road & Track may have part of the answer for you. The magazine is reporting that the next-generation Lexus IS will ride on a stretched version of the low-dollar coupe’s platform, allowing Toyota to spread the development costs between the two models. With the production version of the FT-86 due in dealerships in 2012, the IS is expected to bow shortly thereafter in 2013.
Of course, this also helps explain some of the rumors we’ve been hearing recently, too.
An added nugget of goodness in this news is that the next-generation IS may be a sharper car in every way thanks to its shared bloodline with the sporty FT-86. Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda has already made it clear that he would like to see his company’s products return to their sporty roots, and as a result, the new IS should be quite a bit more athletic than its predecessor. Don’t expect to see the -sourced flat four in the nose of the Lexus, though. Chances are the four-door will still get its power from derivatives of the four- and six-cylinder options currently available.
Akio Toyoda, president of , has stated that the Japanese automaker is planning to revise its earnings forecast due to the fact that the . The full-year profit forecast was based on a rate of 90 Yen to the US Dollar. It will be reduced to around 80 Yen to USD. The Yen has risen 15 percent against the USD and 13 percent against the Euro, which is not good for a company that has to repatriate earnings from its overseas sales.
Earlier this year, the rising Yen created concerns that Akio Toyoda would be . Toyoda assured the public that plants would not be closing, however more vehicle assembly is being shipped to overseas factories.
Toyota is not alone in making this move. has stated that it is looking at doing a revision of earnings as well as finding more locally sourced parts to aid overseas production.
President Akio Toyoda caused something of an uproar in the automaker’s home market of Japan when he suggested that “logically, it doesn’t make sense to manufacture in Japan.” Why? The surging value of the Yen, currently at a 15-year high, compared to the U.S. Dollar.
Considering that the vast majority of vehicles Toyota builds in Japan are intended for export and that the American market is still the automaker’s most important, the value of the Yen is a major stumbling block standing in the way of profits. Still, Toyoda has confirmed that his eponymous company has no intention of entirely halting production in Japan.
What that assurance doesn’t mean, however, is that Toyota won’t continue to shift production overseas in an effort to retain profitability. While none of the Japanese plants will be completely closed, they may see a good portion of their output transferred to facilities in other markets… notably North America.
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar presents Akio Toyoda with a Lotus Elise R – Click for high-res gallery
The last Toyota VVTLi four cylinder engine has been built, and Lotus got it. Lotus CEO Dany Bahar and Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda came together at the British Embassy in Tokyo for a celebration where Toyota was presented with an Elise R carrying the engine by Bahar. The shindig marks a new chapter in the two companies’ partnership, one that will allow Lotus to create powertrains that are more exclusively its own in future cars with the continued cooperation of Toyota.
Designed for Toyota by Yamaha, the 2ZZ-GE engine owed a lot to motorcycle engine practice, and the wide-angled valves and variable valve timing and lift system enabled the high-revving engine to develop 100 horsepower per liter, and even more when supercharged. Power levels floated between 160-180 hp naturally aspirated and as much as 250 when supercharged and intercooled.
The question now is what engine Lotus and Toyota will cook up to take the place of the 2ZZ-GE, now that its veteran power unit has been retired. We should find out more on that front at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. to see the press release.
Akio Toyoda may want to bring driving excitement back to , but he and his team have two major hurdles to overcome: The brands’s limited enthusiast base and the fact that Japan’s youth have very little interest in cars.
To combat both fronts, Toyota plans to launch a new line of budget-oriented vehicles that offer a modicum of sport. But so far, things don’t look too promising.
Despite debuting an FT-86-based concept at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, line of products have mainly focused on the Voxy and Noah minivans, while a “sports” version of the is apparently in the works.
More interestingly, the Mainichi Daily News reports that a version of the has been given the greenlight, meaning a mid-engined hybrid successor to the MR2 is in the works.
All these developments come after Toyota established a sports vehicle management division in January, which now has a hand in the brand’s overall product planning. We should get a look at the fruits of their labors during next year’s auto show season and could see this new breed of budget sports vehicles on the market – at least in Japan – within the next few years.
Toyota FT-HS Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
What’s in a name? Well now, that’d depend on the name, wouldn’t it? For instance, while both are sporty cars from , there’s a big difference to Blue Oval fans when discussing the merits of the Ford versus the Ford Probe. When talk turns to , the name that conjures up the most memories in the hearts and minds of enthusiasts is ‘Supra.’
Despite all this, the Japanese automaker inexplicably let its trademark for the iconic Supra moniker pass by in 2006. Luckily, nobody tried to punish Toyota by trying to snap up the name, and now the chance is over. According to Car and Driver, Toyota has reapplied for the trademark on the Supra name, and now has three years to make use of it.
This revelation just so happens to coincide with reports that Toyota president Akio Toyoda wants “to see the next Supra tested in the near future.” Kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it? We’re thinking that it’s unlikely that Toyota would use the Supra name for its long-anticipated FT-86 revival, so we’ll of course be keeping our ears to the ground for any coming out of Japan.
