Category: Toyota

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MINI Toyota Video

VIDEO: Episode 4 of Project Binky

Project Binky

Richard and Nik are back with the latest update on Project Binky. Without giving anything away they’ve made made great progress and are in fine form.

We like this bit of text from the YouTube description:

“It finally dawns on us that it just might be possible to get the 3SGTE engine in the car and the project might just work!”

Our question, had we been organised enough to ask it in time for the Q&A session, would have been: “Did you spend any time making sure these two cars could actually fit together before you started, or are you really just working it out as you go along?”

That statement above kind of answers our question, we think, and scares us a little at the same time!

The best news is the view counts for all Project Binky episodes have really increased in the last month or so and these guys are finally getting some of the credit and attention they deserve.

Crack on lads!

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Toyota

Well they did buy a Toyota after all

Toyota Camry Hybrid

At the risk of offending the majority of Australia’s car buying public we have to chuckle at a story being run by GoAuto, which highlights the ignorance of the average Toyota consumer.

Turns out many Toyota buyers had no idea the Japanese giant built cars in Australia and on hearing reports of Toyota leaving Australia they’ve been sent into a tailspin and contacting dealerships to ask what will happen after Toyota stops selling cars down under. Yes, really.

To be fair, it appears the majority of automotive consumers are unaware of Toyota Australia’s local manufacturing. According to sales and marketing boss Tony Cramb, a typical survey shows only 20% of respondents are aware that Toyota builds cars on our shores.

GoAuto explains:

Initial feedback from customers and dealers suggests that many Australians believe Toyota will abandon the market altogether when its Victorian plant in Altona plant ceases to make the Camry and Aurion…

One cited reason for customer confusion is understood to be the fact that a large proportion of the car buying public has been unaware Toyota builds cars in Australia in any form.

Oh what a reeling!

[Source: GoAuto]

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Toyota WEC

Toyota Racing shuffles 2014 WEC driver line ups

2014 Toyota TS040 Hybrid

The official entry for the Le Mans 24 Hours 2014 brings confirmation of a minor change to the driver line ups for Toyota Racing.

In effect Nico Lapierre and Stephane Sarrazin have swapped seats. Which means Toyota’s final pairings for the 2014 WEC season will be Alex Wurz, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima in the #7 TS040 Hybrid, while Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi will race in the #8 car.

The 2014-spec TS040 Hybrid will be revealed at the first WEC test session on 28–29 March. The big news is the TS040 now had power being sent to all four wheels, with electric power at both axles, in conjunction with a V8 petrol engine at the rear.

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Audi Porsche Toyota WEC

Mark Webber is an exceptional man

2014 FIA WEC season trailer

Mark Webber is an exceptional man. It’s true, this video promoting the 2014 FIA WEC season says so. While his F1 mates are starting to get busy, Mark still has a couple of months to go before his new job gets real. We can’t wait!

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Ford Holden News Toyota

Stuff the local industry, just give us cheaper cars!

Port Kembla

The Australian Automobile Association hasn’t wasted any time shedding tears for the demise of Australia’s car making industry. No, they’re starting the call for making our imported cars cheaper.

To be fair the AAA has anointed itself to represent “the interests of all Australian motorists nationally and internationally” and so giving too much thought to the origin of the cars we drive isn’t too high on its agenda. Just make them bloody cheaper!

Firmly in the AAA’s sights are the last few dregs of import tariffs charged on imported vehicles. Unsurprisingly, it is the Australian public’s thirst for imported vehicles—which nobody really wants to mention while crying over the spilt milk left by Ford, Holden and now Toyota as they get set to march their token manufacturing operations off shore—that’s a real nail in the coffin for local assembly lines.

Last year 90% of all new vehicles sold were imported; as the saying goes, money talks and bullshit walks. As a result the AAA says now is the time to lift tariffs.

“With local manufacturing coming to an end it is only fair that tariffs on imported vehicles must also stop,” said Andrew McKellar, AAA Chief Executive. “If tariffs were designed to help protect the local industry then there is no longer any justification to maintain them.”

“The removal of tariffs could save the average new car buyer between one and two thousand dollars on the cost of a vehicle,” Mr McKellar added. “The Government must use the upcoming Federal Budget to announce the end of vehicle import tariffs in order to improve motoring affordability.”

We think the people cheering the loudest over this call to arms will not be the public, but the car dealerships who will, of course, pass on any savings to the buying public. Wink, wink.

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News Toyota

Toyota Australia to stop local production in 2017

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota Australia will cease its local production at the end of 2017. Toyota officials addressed workers this afternoon with more than 2500 staff expected to lose their jobs. Further job losses will follow in related component and parts making industries.

Toyota Australia currently makes the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion models at its Altona factory in Melbourne.

The news was broken by the ABC and has since been confirmed in an official press release from Toyota Australia.

Toyota Australia President and CEO, Max Yasuda, said: “This is devastating news for all of our employees who have dedicated their lives to the company during the past 50 years.

“We did everything that we could to transform our business, but the reality is that there are too many factors beyond our control that make it unviable to build cars in Australia.

“Although the company has made profits in the past, our manufacturing operations have continued to be loss making despite our best efforts.”

Last December Holden announced it would close its local manufacturing operations in 2017. Ford Australia lead the charge off shore in May last year when it too confirmed its withdrawal from local production.

It was only a matter of time until Toyota followed suit, with the Australian car buying public continuing to show a thirst for imported models.

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Audi Hyundai Jaguar Kia Subaru Toyota Video Volkswagen

Super Bowl XLVIII ad watch

Volkswagen Super Bowl XLVII TVC

In case you’ve missed it there’s a big game of football on tonight. And we don’t mean the Man City v Chelsea game either. It’s American football and, of course, it’s the Super Bowl.

That means all the big wig advertising agencies have been locked away in rooms for months trying to come up with something clever and memorable. We’ve taken a look at the motoring-related TVCs and we’re sorry to say the standards from the big auto makers has slipped.

Most of these ads are pretty lame. Subaru should just be embarrassed. Audi, Kia and Volkswagen can perhaps keep their heads above water for producing moderately entertaining ads, but the rest are just shit.

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Toyota WEC

Toyota TS040 Hybrid LMP1 begins testing

Toyota TS030 Hybrid LMP1

Testing for Toyota’s successor to the TS030 Hybrid (pictured above) has begun with the new TS040 Hybrid taking to the Paul Ricard circuit in France earlier this week. Three days of testing were completed in all with Alexander Wurz and Anthony Davidson sharing the driving duties.

According to an unnamed Toyota Motorsport GmbH staffer, “It was the best roll-out we have had since we returned to endurance racing in 2012.”

The TS040 uses a normally aspirated V8 engine coupled to front and rear axle mounted energy recuperation systems. Further closed test sessions are scheduled at the Portimão and Aragon circuits before the TS040 makes its full debut ahead of the official WEC test session in March.

[Source: Autosport]

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BMW Toyota

Carbon fibre tub for the return of the BMW Z3

BMW Vision ConnectedDrive

The next BMW Z4 will actually see a return of the Z3 badge, an odd move given BMW’s recent nomenclature, and will be inspired by the look of the very sexy Vision ConnectedDrive concept car.

It will also be the first model developed under the BMW-Toyota partnership. Toyota’s first model under the co-development will be a hardtop coupé, although roadster and hardtop models will feature for both brands in time.

The Z3 will employ a folding soft-top with a view to saving weight. Increased use of aluminium and carbon fibre, including a carbon fibre tub, will be used to help keep weight down as well.

BMW will fit a range of four and six cylinder engines to the Z3 and there is a chance of M-badged models too.

The use of a carbon fibre tub is significant because BMW expects the Z3 to undercut the price of the Alfa Romeo 4C, which is currently one of the cheapest ways to get yourself into such an exotic chassis construction.

If you like the sound of all this don’t get too excited because the all-new Z3 is still a couple of years away yet.

[Source: Bimmerpost]

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Alfa Romeo Porsche Toyota

VIDEO: Alfa Romeo 4C v rivals

Alfa Romeo 4C

Not content with thrashing about in the McLaren P1, Steve Sutcliffe from Autocar kept in touch with the common man by thrashing about in an Alfa Romeo 4C on the track with two of its natural rivals, the Porsche Cayman and Toyota 86.

It turns out you may not have your pre-conceived ideas altered, but we expect you’ll still enjoy the journey to having your thoughts confirmed.

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Motor Shows Toyota

Detroit 2014: Toyota FT-1 concept

Toyota FT-1 concept

This very funky looking creation is a Toyota. A Toyota! You’ll find no signs of beige or Camry in this, the FT-1 concept car. It’s so much of a concept car that it’s little more than a three-dimensional model and the only way you can experience it for yourself is in the two-dimensional world of Gran Turismo 6.

Toyota has thrown in lots of emotive names into the melting pot—including 2000GT, 86, Celica, MR2 and Supra—but given us nothing other than to say “FT” stands for Future Toyota. There’s no word at all on what engine powers the FT-1 and not being gamers here perhaps GT6 users can fill us in.

Conceived over a two-year period by Toyota’s Calty Design Research studio in California, chief desginer Alex Shen said: “The FT-1 is a dream-project for a designer and car enthusiast like myself. Our team was heavily influenced by Toyota’s sports car past, especially Celica and Supra, and we sought to capture some of that history.

“It is an aggressive, track-focused sports car concept with a presence that has been amplified for shock and awe.”

In reality the best we can hope for is that the FT-1 is the first sign of a Supra revival and that if so they don’t so a Subaru and completely waste this very appealing and dramatic concept model.

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MINI Toyota Video

VIDEO: Episode 3 of Project Binky

Project Binky

Bad Obsession Motorsport updated us with Episode 3 of Project Binky on Christmas Day. As you know we’ve been enjoying a leisurely festive break as far as regular updates to AUSmotive are concerned, so a few days late here’s your chance to see how things are progressing in this very challenging, but very cool project.

This installment is all about fitting the rear suspension and sub-frame from the donor Celica GT4 into the tiny Austin Mini. If you’ve watched the first couple of episodes and wondered if these guys are making the challenge of merging these two cars together look harder than it really is, then this ep should put things right. What a ball ache!

Thankfully the lads are doing a sterling job and we can’t wait to see the end result.

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