Autos News

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Although rumors have been circulating for month’s, Car and Driver is reporting that a soft-top Scion FR-S is coming in early 2014. The only surprise is that a convertible FR-S is not going to be in showrooms sooner than late next year or early 2014. Tetsuya Tada, Toyota lead developer for the 86 project, has told the car was designed from the start to be both a coupe and a convertible, and so it’s been planned all along.

The Scion FR-S which was developed in partnership with the Subaru BRZ, and the Toyota GT 86 which is sold overseas, are well priced, and just what sports car enthusiasts have been asking for. The Subaru BRZ has been selling so well that demand has been pushing prices at dealerships higher and deliveries have been pushed into 2013. When you give buyers what they want, they’ll respond by opening up their wallets.

The Scion FR-S convertible must be also be a good seller for Toyota. What could be better than a reasonably priced, sporty, rear-wheel-drive sports car with the top down. There aren’t a lot to choose from in this segment other than the Ford Mustang and the Mazda MX-5. The expenditure of building a brand new release platform must be prove profitcapable for Toyota, and keep everyone happy.

When Akio Toyoda, who is the president of Toyota, took over the reins a few years ago, Toyoda asked himself, “where is the passion in our lineup?, I want to build a sports car.” Toyoda was instrumental in developing the Toyota GT 86 that will be sold across the globe, the Scion FR-S and the recent launch of the LFA supercar. So it will be no surprise that he would also be behind the development of the Scion FR-S rag-top. The fun is definitely back at Toyota and it looks like they are not done yet building sports cars. A brand new release 400 horseStrength Toyota Supra successor is also told to be in the works.

Car and Driver predicts that the brand new release Scion FR-S convertible will have a back seat and at least be considered a four-seater. The addition of a folding mechanism for the roof would mean trunk space would be minimal. Look for the same 2.0-liter, 200-horseStrength naturally aspirated boxer four to bring over with a choice of six-velocity transmissions in either manual or automatic configurations. But don’t look for a turbo anytime soon.

Reports say the FR-S convertible must be be arriving in showrooms sometime late in 2013 or early 2014, with a sticker price a few thousand more than the coupe’s $25,000 MSRP. C & D also says that Toyota may be considering other models basing a small four-door sedan and larger coupe off the brand new release platform. Although nothing has been confirmed by Toyota yet.

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Coming shortly on the heels of its announcement last week that it would expand its operations in Michigan, Toyota announced today that it will add about 80 jobs in its Georgetown, KY plant. The expansion will cost Toyota over $30 million and will increase the total output of engines at the plant by 100,000 units per year. In total the plant can now produce over 500,000 per year and in the US Toyota can produce 1.2 million engines. This expansion will raise the total employment at the plant to 6,700 people. The twenty six year old plant represents an investment by Toyota of nearly $6 Billion dollars.

Toyota’s 2.5 liter, four-cylinder engine is relatively brand new release. Its 178 horseStrength can good torque rating can fuel efficiently Strength mid-size cars and crossovers that are not meant to be sports cars.

Political Support
Commenting in a press release, Wil James, president of TMMK. told “This is great brand new releases for our team members and our company. This project is the result of the strong partnerships we have locally and across the state, which will help grow our business and strengthen the communities where we do business.” A host of politicians of both parties praised Toyota’s increased commitment to the state,. Included in those commenting were Sen. Mitch McConnell, and Paul Rand, and Congressmen Ben Chandler and Geoff Davis.

In total, just since February, Toyota has announced investments in North America of over a half-billion dollars and 1,000 brand new release jobs. Many of the jobs are in manufacturing, but Toyota also recently added a brand new release design center in Michigan which will employ about 250 highly skilled engineers and scientists when it is complete. The company also opened a dedicated office in Silicon Valley to focus on infotainment systems.

Toyota is increasing production, design, and engineering staff and capacity in the US to meet high demand for its vehicles.

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Akio Toyoda, who is the president of Toyota, has brought brand new release passion to the Japanese automaker and infused the brand with a competitive spirit. Before the creation of the Scion FR-S, Toyoda asked himself, “where is the passion in our lineup?, I want to build a sports car.” Toyoda has been instrumental in developing the Toyota GT 86 that will be sold across the globe, the Scion FR-S and the recent launch of the LFA supercar.

The fun is definitely back at Toyota and it looks like they are not done yet building sports cars. According to Motor Trend, Toyota is working on the return of the Supra, but this time it will be returning as a mid-engine sports car with a hybrid drivetrain and all-wheel drive. Back in 2007 at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota unveiled the FT-HS concept car that was reportedly going to be a brand new release Supra model.

With the global financial downturn in 2008, Toyota abandoned the project and we haven’t heard anything until now. Under Akio Toyoda’s leadership, we are seeing the re-introduction of the Supra model, but this time with a whole brand new release attitude. The brand new release Supra will be much different than the rear-drive FT-HS concept.

The car is likely to be badged under a different name than Supra and would have a mid-engine, all-wheel-drive architecture and would pump out in excess of 400 horseStrength. The car is rumored to feature a 3.5-liter V-6 hybrid system that would get some high-performance tuning to generate all the horseStrength. The engine would be mated to a CVT transmission similar to the brand new release Lexus RX. The V-6 would Strength the rear wheels, while in-wheel electric motors would generate Strength to the front wheels.

The brand new release sports car would get Toyota’s latest technology adapted from the GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept which is now in its second generation. The hybrid concept was first unveiled at the grueling Nurburgring 24 Hour race last year, and was recently displayed at both the Tokyo Motor Show and the Tokyo Auto Salon. It looks like Totota is serious about keeping the car in the publics eye.

When it was first shown Toyota told it, “has long conducted active research on applying hybrid technologies to racing and sports cars” and told the GRMN vehicle is, “the next step in the evolution of these efforts.” The GRMN Sports Hybrid has also been extensively tested at Fuji velocityway in Japan.

We don’t know exactly what Toyota’s next step will be, but the brand new release Supra successor would likely be positioned above the Scion FR-S and would compete against the Nissan GT-R. We do know that CEO Akio Toyoda will be pushing to see the brand new release car reach production sooner than later.

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When the 2013 Dodge Dart arrives in dealerships this summer, there will be 4 trimlines availcapable beginning with the Dart SE, followed by the Dart SXT, the Dart Rallye and the Dart Limited. The standard engine across those four trimlines is the 2.0L Tigershark 4-cylinder that produces 160 horseStrength and 148lb-ft of torque while buyers of the SXT, Rallye and Limited packages can opt for the 1.4L MultiAir turbocharged 4-cylinder that makes the same 160 horseStrength but this tiny turbo motor churns out an impressive 184lb-ft of torque. Click here for a look at the standard features of the 2013 Dodge Dart in all trimlines.

The 2013 Dodge Dart equipped with the 2.0L Tigershark engine and the 6-velocity manual transmission has been rated by the EPA as offering 25 miles per gallon around town, 36mpg on the highway and a combined figure of 29mph total. This base model engine offers 1mpg better around town than similarly equipped Ford Focus models and 2 mpg better on the highway than the Toyota Corolla. More essentially, those 2013 Dart buyers who opt for the SXT, Rallye or Limited package fitted with the 1.4L MultiAir engine and the same 6-velocity manual transmission can expect to see fuel economy figures in the range of 27mpg around town, 39mpg on the highway and a combined total of 29mpg.

The fuel economy figures of the 2013 Dart Strengthed by the 1.4L MultiAir engine of 27/39/29 afford the Dart bragging rights over the Ford Focus, the Chevrolet Cruze and the Toyota Camry as when compared to those competitive models with a manual transmission – the Dart comfortably bests them all. Compared to the Ford Focus with a 2.0L engine and a manual transmission, the Dart is 1mpg better around town and 3mpg better on the highway. Compared to the Chevy Cruze with a 1.4L turbocharged engine and a manual transmission, the Dart turbo is 1mpg better around town and 1mpg better on the highway and compared to the Toyota Corolla, the brand new release Dodge offers similar city mileage but the Dart’s highway fuel economy beats out the Corolla by a whopping 5 miles per gallon.

In addition to offering better fuel economy than the competition around the C segment sedan class, the 2013 Dodge Dart also offers more Strength than any of the comparcapable sedans in the class. The standard 2.0L Tigershark engine offers identical Strength to the 2.0L engine found in the Ford Focus (160hp, 148tq) while the Dart’s entry level engine easily overStrengths the Chevrolet 1.4L turbo motor (138hp, 148tq) and the Toyota Corolla (132hp, 128tq). When you step up to the more Strengthful and more efficient 1.4L MultiAir 4-cylinder – the Dart blows all of the competition out of the water with a torque output that is substantially better than anything offered in the standard C segment sedan group.

It must be be noted that while the 2013 Dodge Dart with the optional 1.4L MultiAir engine is more fuel efficient than similarly equipped Focus and Cruze models – those two compact sedans both offer a super-efficiency model that achieves better fuel economy than the standard models. The Ford Focus SFE yields 28 around town and 40 on the highway while the Chevy Cruze Eco hits 28 and 42 to lead the class. The good brand new releases for Dodge is that the 2013 Dart will include a special Aero model that the Chrysler Group has promised will offer better than 41 miles per gallon on the highway. must be the 2013 Dart Aero achieve better than 41 miles per gallon (let’s guess that better than 41 means 42mpg), it will beat the Chevy Cruze Eco, the Ford Focus SFE and the Hyundai Elantra (29 city, 40 highway) – meaning that when the Dart Aero arrives it would officially become the most fuel efficient sedan in the C segment class. Little information has been offered on the Dart Aero package but considering the efficiency levels of the 1.4L MultiAir turbo motor and the 6-velocity manual transmission – we would expect that the Aero package would feature that high Strengthed and highly efficient drivetrain in a body that is more aerodynamic and most likely lighter than the SE, SXT, Rallye and Limited models. The Dart Aero package is expected to arrive during the third quarter of 2012.

Notice that we haven’t mentioned the 2013 Dodge Dart R/T at all…due to the late arrival of the Road and Track performance package, the Chrysler Group hasn’t announced the fuel economy figures for the Dart R/T but considering that this is a performance package – we would expect that the R/T won’t make a run at being the most efficient model in the class.

The 2013 Dodge Dart in SE, SXT, Rallye and Limited trims will arrive in dealerships soon while the R/T and Aero will arrive in the third quarter of 2012 with official fuel economy figures for those models coming closer to their arrival in dealerships around the country. We can also expect more on fuel economy figures for the models arriving this summer, especially with regard to those models fitted with an automatic transmission or the upcoming dual clutch unit.

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No matter the car show, concepts that are unveiled generally fall into one of two categories: “Wow” or “Bleh.” When Toyota unveiled the unique Yundong Shuangqing concept to Chinese audiences at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, it was definitely a Wow moment.

The concept gets its name from a Thai Chi stance called “movement upon clouds” (the translation of Yundong) and from the phrase for “dual support” (Shuangqing). This is emblazoned on the windows of the car (see photo).

Following on some great unveils in the U.S. and Europe, with bold statements like the NS4 and FCV-R concepts, this brand new release offering sports a strong centering on the Toyota badge at front and rear. The nose is decidedly stretched to that point, angling as the NS4 does in a way similar to a Cadillac, but with a much more interesting headlamp design that peers more than it gawks. Unlike the NS4, the Yundong has smaller bevels for its fog lamps and a much smaller intake area.

That small intake and the Shuangqing in its name hint at something else: a hybrid drive train developed at the Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing (China) Co, Ltd, the company’s research and development center in Changshu, China.

The shape and appeal of the car accentuate aerodynamics while chrome touches, including strips running down either side, keep the bold design from being overly audacious.

No announcements were made for the car’s production or release, if any, but the car was showcased as a glimpse into Toyota’s plans for hybridization in China, as part of a project underway for nearly two years. The company plans to release hybrid vehicles with Chinese-designed and made components in or around 2015.

Could the Yundong Shuangqing be part of that? Time will tell.

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