I think Toyota's president agrees with many of us here about the current state of its lineup (Boring). I think he's on the same page as a lot of us :thumbsup:

http://www.autonews.com/article/2009...911139985/1289

With all of the talk about the FT-86, and all of the questions surrounding what it will be called, I decided to pose this question:

What NEW name should the FT-86 be called? The key word is NEW!

It's not a Corolla, the Celica is dead, the Supra is dead, and the Scion tC should be dead!

So lets see what names people can come up with.

I'll start with Toyota Touge, since "touge" in Japanese means mountain passes, which is exactly where people are going to want to take this car drifting.

Bankruptcy, its a wonderful thing:


The New United Motor Manufacturing Incorporated assembly plantin Fremont, California, might have begun life as a joint-venture between General Motors and Toyota , but reports out of California indicate that only the Japanese automaker will be covering the cost of closing the plant , including worker severance pay and environmental concerns.

The portion of the former General Motors that is still languishing in bankruptcy, Motors Liquidation Corporation, says it is not planning to help out at all with the costs involved in closing the plant. GM has officially stopped producing the Pontiac Vibe at the facility, leaving Toyota as its sole occupier until the automaker moves out by March of next year.
Tim Yost, a spokesman for Motors Liquidation, told the Detroit News, “We don’t believe there will be a requirement for us to do so.”
GM abandoned the plant in June, leaving Toyota hanging. The Japanese automaker decided about a month later that it would also stop using the facility. The plant employed about 4,700 workers, meaning severance costs will climb well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars according to analysts at Maryann Keller & Associates. In addition, the firm says that numerous environmental issues, required by both California and the federal government will need to be addressed before the plant can officially be shuttered.
“This is an old factory, built when rules were quite different,” Maryann Keller said. “Who knows what kind of environmental issues will have to be resolved?”

http://www.leftlanenews.com/report-t...sts-alone.html

Found this article that the Subaru Twin of the FT-86 will be bigger and badder than the Toyota version. Subaru version will be all wheel drive turbo and the FT-86 will be rear wheel drive. I have alot of hope for this car but sometimes I wish Toyota would stop being so conservative and bring out a affordable coupe that is fast, good looking, and handles well. Maybe two out of three ain't bad. http://www.7tune.com/confirmed-bigge...r-subaru-216a/

imo, it looks awesome. best of luck to them. can't wait to see what the aftermarket industry does with it

They say that the sound is from a FT-86 running around Nuburgring. They had speakers hidden under the car or something. There speculating that Toyota maybe using another engine of there own ( some say because the Subi will be all wheel drive and toyota will be rear wheel drive ) and they want to separate it from the Subi. Sounds ok but I like the sound of the boxer alot better. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/05/v...-like-a-boxer/

Found this video of a couple of drivers taking laps in an LF-A. The V-10 sounds pretty nice. http://lexusenthusiast.com/ :thumbsup:

Here's a picture of a FT-86 convertble. To me they should build it. Looks really nice. http://blogs.insideline.com/straight...nvertible.html:clap:

Toyota to Kill Mid-Cycle Refreshes

By Robert Farago
November 2, 2009

Schwing! (courtesy cargurus.com)

Automotive News [AN, sub] reckons it’s got the inside line on Toyota’s “new U.S. plan.” They’re so chuffed with the scoop that their article presents the bulleted battle plan in both the body text and a little gray box. And here it is: “Review and possibly trim the lineup of full-frame trucks; Skip midcycle vehicle enhancements to focus on bigger launches; Introduce more hybrids to North America; Give U.S. engineers a bigger voice in r&d.” AN reckons the headline is the potential truck trimming and hybrid adding bit. Which is certainly important news for a company with a “tattered image” (Toyota, apparently, not the American zombies clinging to profits via pickups, who’ve yet to produce a single large-volume hybrid vehicle). But what of ToMoCo leaving existing vehicles as is for longer?

Toyota will drop minor model changes and make a bigger deal of model changes when they do occur. That will happen more, even if it means delaying launches, said Yukitoshi Funo, an executive vice president who now oversees emerging markets. He formerly headed North American operations.

“We are going to have a smaller number of production actions so that each of those has more impact,” Funo said in a separate interview. “Instead of cosmetic changes, we may have more fundamental changes, though it may require a little longer time.”

Executives cited midcycle face-lifts to items such as grilles, headlamps, bumpers and interior colors as tweaks that might get passed over.

Oh dear. Is this cost-cutting run amok or a fundamental misunderstanding of the American automotive business? Yes. By sacrificing cosmetic changes for cost savings, Toyota fails to see the importance of fashion in their core demographic. Maybe they’ve bought into the motorhead meme that their products are appliances, and nothing more. If so, Toyota has just opened the door a bit wider for their American competition. Well, any automaker fast enough to outpace them with regular style updates.




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Here's a video of the carbon fiber machine weaving an a-pillar of the LF-A. They say there's only two in existence. It's a short video but pretty cool. They said they will use carbon fiber on future models now that they have this machine. Parts will be lighter and stronger but also alot more expensive.http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/29/v...lar/#continued

Consumer Reports has issued it's consumer rankings of all manufacturer brands. Toyota Brands takes 2 of the top 3! :thumbsup: Big surprise there on Scion moving up the ladder!

Good to see with Scion expanding to Canada soon!

1. Scion
2. Honda
3. Toyota
4. Infiniti
5. Acura
6. Mitsubishi
7. Lexus
8. Hyundai
9. Porsche
10. Mercury
11. Saab
12. Subaru
13. Suzuki
14. Kia
15. Mazda
16. Ford
17. Nissan
18. Volvo
19. Buick
20. Lincoln
21. Volkswagen
22. Pontiac
23. Mercedes-Benz
24. Audi
25. Chevrolet
26. BMW
27. Mini
28. GMC
29. Saturn
30. Jeep
31. Dodge
32. Cadillac
33. Chrysler

Here's more detailed photos of the LF-A. Shows the detailed carbon fiber all around the car the beautiful engine and suspension. http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009...-the-lf-a.aspx

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99

Check that out, some news about the Subaru version of the FT-86.

Looks like it'll be coming with a turbo'd engine and AWD, but also be heavier and bigger.