The Toyota FT-86 II is the car which is supposed to reignite the soul of the Japanese auto giant. A rear-wheel drive sports coupe with provocative styling is a pretty good place to start, too. Via their FT86club website Toyota has provided some sound clips of their new hero model.
Hmm, we’re sure it will sound better when being driven in anger, rather than revved while stationary. Check it out for yourself after the break. There’s a couple of bonus ‘Toybaru’ clips for you to view as well.
This nifty little image of the Toyota TF109 gives a great example of how drivers, somehow, squeeze into a modern day Formula One car. Clearly, man plays second fiddle to the form and function of the machine here. Click on the image for a larger view.
[Source: motorcentral]
It’s now approaching three years since the Top Gear Polar Special first went to air and the company behind the cars from the episode are giving you the opportunity to fill Jeremy Clarkson’s shoes. Reykjavik-based Arctic Trucks Experience are now offering a variety of self-drive tours around Iceland. You can choose from daily trips, 2-5 day tours and longer tailored expeditions, all experience the amazing terrain and scenery that Iceland has to offer.
If you reckon the GFC is a minor inconvenience then you really should go to Iceland and do one of these tours. The poor buggers there got absolutely smashed by the financial doom and they need all the help they can get! Check out arctictrucks-experience.com for more.
It is just over 12 months since Toyota Australia was proudly boasting it was launching the first production cars in the world to wear the TRD nameplate. Yesterday the company announced the TRD performance brand will be dropped. Another scalp claimed by Carpocalypse Now (as named by Jalopnik). The decision will take effect at the end of March next year.
“Toyota made a significant financial commitment to TRD vehicle conversion and clearly understood short-term profitability was unlikely,” said David Buttner, senior executive director Toyota Australia.
“However, the perspective has changed for business globally and those new rules require tough decisions for the greater good. This is one of those decisions.”
This decision follows news that Toyota Australia will be increasing prices of its imported models from 1 January 2009 due to the falling Australian dollar.
The TRD operation produced a small product line, consisting of reworked Aurion and HiLux models. To the end of November just 888 TRD vehicles had been sold over its 16 month life cycle. Broken down, those sales amounted to 537 TRD Aurions and, since its April 2008 launch, 351 TRD HiLux models. While not directly comparable, HSV’s year to date sales to the end of November 2008 come to approximately 3500 vehicles. Although, recent sales have been encouraged by some heavy discounting.
TRD employed a small staff of just 17, and all will be kept on staff. Existing customers will continue to be covered by full factory warranty.
Full press statement after the jump.
The Global Financial Crisis has claimed it’s first genuine scalp in the local motor industry. The falling value of the Australian dollar against the Yen has seen Toyota Australia announce pricing increases on all of its imported models, with the exception of the Prius. The average increase on affected models is about 2.4 per cent. The new pricing regime will take effect on 1 January 2009.
Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner commented, “The Australian dollar has weakened against the yen by more than 35 per cent in the past three months.
“In the past year, there have also been steep increases in the prices of raw materials, such as steel. In the light of all these pressures, we believe the increase of 2.4 per cent from the start of the new year is extremely modest.”
Volume sellers such as the Yaris and Corolla will be affected by as much as $800 and $750 per model respectively. While the Kluger (up to $1500) and Prado (up to $2000) are at the higher end of the increases.
Pricing of Australian built Camry and Aurion models will not be affected. Toyota’s full press statement can be read below.
Australian rally stalwarts Neal Bates and Coral Taylor won their fourth national title by claiming the 2008 Australian Rally Championship over the weekend. Confirmation of their title came after some cautious driving in difficult conditions during the Coffs Coast Rally. Bates and Taylor guided their Team TRD Corolla to eighth position in Saturday’s Heat 1 , and in doing so secured enough points to win the title with a day to spare.
The win ends a 13 year drought for the long time rally partnership. “I am absolutely over the moon,” Bates said. “It has been 13 years between championships and overall it was a very tense day as we were listening out for every noise and squeak, but the S2000 Corolla has been faultless all year and it was again today.
“Probably 80 per cent of the work in rallying is done before you get to an event so it is a big thanks to our incredibly smart bunch of guys in Canberra that have made this championship happen.â€
Coral Taylor was both relieved and satisfied with their fourth Australian Rally Championship. “It is pretty amazing,” Taylor said. “I am not really sure where the last 13 years has gone since our last title but it is wonderful to win it again.â€
Further proof that Toyota as a brand has about as much appeal as a three day old tea-bag can be found by viewing the above YouTube clip. Sure, the blogosphere is talking about the ad, but it’s more a case of “if you can’t say anything nice then…”
Maybe Toyota is aiming for a LOLcat internet phenomenon, either way, this ad does nothing to make the Corolla a desirable brand. If Toyota wants cred, they could do a lot worse than having a chat with Colin Osborne.
(Thanks to Ben for the link.)
According to a report at Bloomberg.com Toyota’s market value has fallen, while Volkswagen’s has risen, on the back of strong market growth, due, in part, to Porsche’s increasing financial interests in the German auto giant. The Bloomberg article states, “Toyota declined 4.9 percent to 3,710 yen, the lowest since March 2004, at the 3 p.m. close on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, giving it a giving it a market capitalization of $124.3 billion.”
On current exchange rates Volkswagen’s value sits at US$127.5 billion. Amazingly, Toyota’s value has dropped over 55% since its market peak in February 2007. Whereas Volkswagen achieved its highest stock market values in mid September. The drop in Toyota’s worth follows a 32% drop in US sales, where it is still the market leader.
On my drive home from work the other day I caught the start of Paul Barclay’s Australia Talks program on Radio National. The focus of discussion was on Australia’s car industry, with topics canvassed including: