Category: Toyota

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Toyota

City v country

I was pretty critical of the daft Corolla ad this time last year. But, credit where credit is due, this new “Nothing soft gets in—Country border security” ad is bloody good.

“Can I get the collar down please.” “When did you have last latte sir?” “Yea, we got tofu here.”

Haha, they’re all great lines, and there’s still some hidden gems in there, as well.

Although, I thought it was a bit rough of them to single out an old Suzuki Sierra as being no good out bush. They’ve been hanging on in the outback, tough as old nails, as well as anything Toyota has ever made.

[Thanks to Adam for the reminder]

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Toyota Volkswagen

The car in front is a Volkswagen

Volkswagen Golf VI

News reports from around the globe are telling us Volkswagen has taken over from Toyota as the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world based on production. However, this title probably won’t rest with Volkswagen for too long.

For now, Volkswagen fanbois (like myself) can have their hearts warmed with the Number One tag, but don’t boast too much chaps as the unofficial ranking comes off the back of Toyota production cuts, more than anything else. Although, Volkswagen are to be acknowledged for making great inroads into the Chinese market.

According to an IHS Global report Volkswagen’s autobots have spat out 4.4 million vehicles to date in 2009, with Toyota behind at 4 million. Although, according to CarAdvice that figure is being disputed by Toyota who reckon they’ve actually made 4.9 million cars so far this year.

If this turns into a bit of a schoolyard punch up, I’d much rather the Porsche v Nissan stoush, even though that was starting to get a bit tired.

[via guardian.co.uk & CarAdvice]

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New vehicle sales report – October 2009

FCAI banner

Good news for the car industry last month, with sales increasing for the first time since the middle of last year. Official VFACTS data shows sales were up 2.2 per cent last month when compared to October 2008.

“The industry is looking to round out the year on a positive note and we expect a further surge in sales as businesses move to take advantage of the successful tax break prior to the end of the year,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

However, the overall downward trend remains for year-to-date new vehicle sales, which are down 11.7 per cent compared to the same period last year (762,787 sales to date).

Toyota, Holden and Ford round out the usual top three placings for overall sales, but that hasn’t stopped a number of manufacturers from putting their spin on things. A bunch of press releases to that effect can be viewed after the jump.

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Ferrari Formula 1 Toyota

Ferrari angry over Toyota withdrawal

Scuderia Ferrari logo

Ferrari has slammed the management of F1 over the loss of Toyota, and other manufacturers, to the sport. Describing the departure of major players as “a war waged against the major car manufacturers” the Scuderia are clearly not happy.

Even the arrival of new teams to fill the void left by the likes of Toyota and BMW is not enough to placate the passionate Italians who question the longevity of the new arrivals such as Manor, Lotus, USF1 and Campos Meta by asking “how many of them will really be there on the grid for the first race of next season in Bahrain and how many will still be there at the end of 2010.”

The fiery statement from Ferrari (available in full after the jump), which is not attributed to any staff member, compares Formula One’s management to Agatha Christie’s novel Ten Little Indians, declaring “the guilty party was only uncovered when all the other characters died, one after the other. Do we want to wait for this to happen or do we want to pen a different ending to the book on Formula 1?”

Let’s hope Renault doesn’t pull of F1 too, looks like Ferrari will be apoplectic if that happens!

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Formula 1 Toyota

Toyota quits Formula One

Toyota quits F1

Toyota has confirmed it will be the latest manufacturer to withdraw from Formula One. The automotive giant follows BMW and Honda out of the sport, and intends to “move forward in developing exciting production vehicles”, such as the Lexus LFA.

Toyota’s F1 program began in 2002 and while they secured 13 podium finishes and scored points in 87 races during that time, they failed to achieve the ultimate success of a Formula One race win. A cruel blow, no doubt, to the proud company.

Toyota Motor Corporation says they will do their best to secure the futures of their F1 employees, which they have rather quaintly referred to as a possible “inconvenience”. Quite!

This news may come as as a welcome relief to the remnants of the BMW Sauber team. As it stood there was no room on the grid for them in 2010. The former BMW backed team is hoping to continue as Sauber F1 and if they can secure a future they would be in pole position to fill the void left by Toyota.

Toyota’s full statement can be read after the jump.

UPDATE 5 November: The speech given by Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation can be read below.

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New vehicle sales report – September 2009

FCAI banner

A further sign that things automotive and economic are beginning to look brighter is today’s news from VFACTS that 78,131 vehicles were sold last month. That’s an increase of 4,844 sales compared to the August results.

However, so we don’t forget where we are coming from the 2009 figures for September are down by almost 3,000 vehicles against September 2008. The big improver on last year’s results continues to be the luxury SUV segment (up 30.9%), joined by sports cars (up 17.1%) and compact SUVs (up 5.0%).

FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said, “The September figure demonstrates signs of consolidation in the new vehicle market.”

Overall year-to-date figures are down 13.1% with 2009 new car sales so far totalling 681,974. Toyota continues to be the country’s best seller (16,007), ahead of Holden (9,744) and Ford (8,427).

Chest pumping from BMW, Mazda, MINI and Toyota can be read after the jump (more ikely to be available tomorrow).

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Aston Martin Toyota

Ugly duckling?

Aston Martin Cygnet concept

An Aston Martin that is a rebadged Toyota city car? Are you mad?! That’s precisely what this clay model Aston Martin Cygnet concept is—a rebadged and restyled Toyota iQ.

Has Aston Martin’s CEO Dr Ulrich Bez got the munchies, or is he genuinely on to a good idea here? Does a city runabout wearing an Aston badge make proper sense? Dr Bez seems to think so, “Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project – made possible with the support of an organisation of Toyota’s stature and capability and the intelligent design and perfect city car package of the iQ.”

There’s not a lot of detail on offer, other than to say it appears as if the Cygnet could be used as a lure to attract buyers of Aston’s more desirable sports car models. According to Dr Bez, “The offering of a ‘Cygnet’ with a DBS, DB9 or Vantage is a unique combination of opposites and a novel transport solution allowing intelligent and sensitive mobility on an exclusive and innovative level.”

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Volkswagen 1.4 TSI wins International Engine of the Year

Volkswagen 1.4 TSI engine

Volkswagen has knocked BMW off its perch by winning the International Engine of the Year overall honour with its twincharged 1.4 litre four cylinder engine.

Not content with the overall title, the 1.4 TSI also won the Best Green Engine 2009 and Best Engine in the 1.0-litre to 1.4-litre category.

A panel of 64 judges from 32 countries voted on the awards. Dr Ruediger Szengel, Head of Gasoline Engine Development for Volkswagen AG, was on hand to accept the award behalf of Volkswagen, “A combination of downsizing, direct injection and high boost pressure produce exceptionally high specific power output and torque with low emissions and fuel consumption from a gasoline engine.

“The success of TSI technology in this competition has blossomed as it has become available in more countries throughout the world. We are convinced that our competitors will follow but we are determined to keep our lead.”

The full list of winners is shown below, with links to the IEOTY website. Press releases from Volkswagen, Porsche and BMW can be read after the jump:

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Formula 1 Toyota

Buy your own F1 car

Toyota F1 parts for sale

Well, sort of. The Toyota F1 team is adding an exclusive line to its merchandise catalogue this year. “While stocks last” you can get your hands on front wings, rear wings, and even a rear wing, engine cover and undertray as one item. There seems to be enough on offer, including wheels and suspension parts, to buy your very own F1 car. It’s kind of like meccano, only bigger and better.

Prices start at around AU$360 a go up to AU$9000. The items are available online, although AUSmotive was having problems loading the website just now, perhaps you will have better luck.

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Formula 1 Toyota

Will Toyota finally lead the F1 pack?

Jarno Trulli at the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix

The latest rule changes earmarked for Formula One could propel Toyota to the head of the field. But not in the way the Japanese giant might like. Such is the dismay at the proposed £40M budget cap for the 2010 season that Toyota team boss John Howett said if the outlined changes stay as they are Toyota will withdraw from F1.

Howett also claims that Toyota would not be the only team to pull out of F1 should the budget cap proposal come to fruition.

“If nothing changes, we won’t be submitting an entry,” Howett told Reuters at the Spanish Grand Prix. “But I don’t think that is a unique opinion among other competitors.”

The draft budget cap plan will offer teams who abide by the £40M limit greater technical freedoms and advantages that many in the F1 paddock think would be insurmountable for teams operating outside the cap. It’s kind of ironic that a team with an operating budget under £40M could produce a car as much as two seconds a lap quicker than a team with no spending limit. However, that is the belief Patrick Head from Williams holds, as reported on autoblog (link below).

Okay, so why don’t all teams comply with the cap? Well, such is the degree of spending in the sport now that a reduction in budgets would bring countless job losses as teams would need to sack staff in order to comply.

[Source: guardian.co.uk via autoblog | Pic: Toyota-F1.com]

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MIMS 2009 – Best of the rest

2009 Melbourne International Motor Show

Here is one last wrap up of images from the media day at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show.

There’s pics from Honda (Insight, Civic Type R), Hyundai (i10 Blue, i30 Blue, Genesis Coupé), Kia (Soul), Lotus (Europa SE), Suzuki (Alto), Toyota (fully sik RAV4, fully sik Yaris, Hybrid Camry) and a few other bits and pieces, including the AutoHorizon FR-1, a charity-based project helping young kids.

So, what was the media day like? I have to say I was a bit nervous attending with a room full of battle-hardened journos around me. However, it was not really an issue and it was pretty cool moving around from stand to stand with nobody looking at me funny when I went up to various cars and opened them up, taking photos or just generally pushing and prodding around. Certainly a bit different, and better, than attending the show as a member of the general public.

Personally, I didn’t make the most of the networking opportunities on offer. Something I’m usually not good at, so I guess I’ll need to work on that.

Overall, though, it was a fun and valuable learning experience. It’s interesting seeing how many different ways there are to pull a cover off a car. Or not! My flight time meant I missed the presentations from Ford, Holden and Toyota, so maybe I missed a few new and innovative sheet pulling techniques!

Full marks to the catering, too, the Asian style lunch provided was very tasty, and after a few hours following Glenn Ridge around from presentation to presentation I was pretty damn hungry.

It was a long day, getting up at 4:30am to catch a plane from Canberra to Melbourne and not getting back to the hotel until 5pm. Before turning around and going back to the show as a casual observer with my wife.

I hope the coverage on AUSmotive has been interesting for all the readers out there and the audio clips provided on a few of the posts have brought you a bit closer to the action.

See you in Sydney in October 2010!

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Automotive industry supports Bushfire Appeal

Victorian Bushfires

Following the lead of Mercedes-Benz, two more manufacturers have donated cash towards the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Honda Australia, through its Honda Foundation, has pledged $200,000 to the cause. Joining Honda in today’s announcement is Nissan Australia and Nissan Motor Co. in Japan who will be offering a combined donation of $100,000.

Nissan Australia will also match donations made by its employees to the Australian Red Cross or Salvation Army. The company has also committed to a 100 vehicle loan fleet, allowing affected members of the public to apply for a free loan car, for a period of up to six months.

These announcements are a fantastic show of support and one would expect more manufacturers to follow in these very generous footsteps.

Where available, press statements from manufacturers are included after the jump.

UPDATE: Audi has made a “significant contribution” towards the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation which made a $1,000,000 donation earlier today.

Toyota has donated $100,000 to the Cricket Australia Bushfire Appeal. Ford also donated a Mondeo XR5 Turbo for auction, with all proceeds going to the appeal.

UPDATE 11 Feb: V8 Supercars have donated $100,000. (Source: The Australian)

BMW Group Australia has chipped in $100,000 plus other support.

UPDATE 12 Feb: News just in that Mitsubishi have donated $100,000 to the Appeal.

Holden has also come forward with a $152,000 (US$100,000) donation, via its GM Foundation, and a fleet of 300 loan cars available to bushfire victims for periods of 3-12 months. In addition to these pledges, Holden dealers nationawide have raised a further $200,000. (Source: news.com.au)

Update 13 Feb: The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group announced last night that it is donating $300,000 towards the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Fund to assist individuals and communities affected by the devastating fires.

Image: sourced from The Boston Globe

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