[vs-jwplayer movieid=”4S1dEfzLTGU” width=”640″ height=”390″ autoplay=”0″] When Toyota’s FT-86 finally makes it to market in North America next year it will wear a Scion badge. Revealed at the New York Auto Show, the FR-S Concept is the latest rendition of the front-engine rear-drive sports car that enthusiasts have been clamoring for since they first saw the...
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Dealers may be in for an arduous summer as Japan’s auto parts shortage is on track to choke off new vehicle deliveries for months, with dealers potentially receiving no new vehicles until September. The best case scenario will be a resumption of production on May 9th, after Japan’s traditional holiday break. But manufacturers are still unable to...
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Hyundai and Kia remain unscathed by the parts crunch that is affecting Japanese auto makers, with both companies running their United States-based plants at full capacity and overtime shifts to help meet demand at certain plants. “We’ve been fortunate,” Robert Burns, a spokesman for the Hyundai plant in Alabama, told Left Lane News. “Our parts...
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Despite being written off as a failure in both critical acclaim and unit sales, the Honda Insight has seen sales explode as higher gas prices, a promotional blitz and a general upward trend in sales resulted in a 62.2 percent improvement in year-over-year sales numbers for Honda’s hybrid hatchback. The Insight was regarded by almost...
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Toyota is facing the potential for more recalls as the government’s safety agency has announced an investigation into the Corolla for airbags that failed to deploy. In total the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is examining 170,000 Corolla models after receiving a complaint from one driver who claimed the airbags in his 2008 Corolla did...
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Scion has just released a short teaser video of its FT-86 derived sports car ahead of its reveal at the New York Auto Show next week. The rumors appear to be quite true with the teaser showing a shape nearly identical to the FT-86 and the more recent FT-86 II Concept that debuted at the...
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Subaru will halt production at one of the four production lines at its Lafayette, Indiana plant due to a parts shortage resulting from the earthquake in Japan. Assembly of Subaru models will, however, go on as normal due to the fact that the affected line is actually used to assemble the Toyota Camry. According to...
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Labeled as perhaps the worst natural disaster to ever hit a nation, the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the nation of Japan last month, is still causing an effect on its people and industry. Many car companies have suffered and Toyota, the largest car company in Japan is no exception. Their production delays will have...
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Toyota is the latest automaker to adjust their North American production schedules, with plants idling on April 15, 18, 21, 22, and 25. Toyota’s engine and component factories will follow a similar schedule, while their Georgetown, Kentucky facility will remain open on April 21. Employees at the plants will have the option of report to work...
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At first glance, the pairing of Toyota and Microsoft might make some a little uneasy. The prospect of unintended acceleration and “the blue screen of death” that appears on Windows computers might be the most terrifying technological catastrophe known to man. Nevertheless, the two companies will be collaborating, but only as far as telematics. Ford...
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In case you were wondering, the plural term for Prius is “Prii.” You might want to remember that, because according to Toyota, the car is multiplying fast. Its supply may be limited in parts by last month’s Japanese earthquake and tsunami, but that hasn’t stopped it from setting sales records, the most recent one being...
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Lexus will debut their LF-Gh Hybrid concept at the New York Auto Show, a car that will preview the next generation Lexus GS. The teaser photos don’t show much, but the car does look like a pretty radical departure from the previous designs, which were understated to say the least. The concept is supposed to...
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After a brief announcement on March 23rd stating that the natural disasters in Japan may affect North American production, Toyota has announced that it is still “too early to predict” whether plants in Canada and the United States, which build both Toyota and Lexus cars, will face shutdowns due to a shortage of parts from...
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We’ve been following Toyota‘s Avensis BTCC Race Cars for quite some time now, and we’re happy to report that they’ve publicly debuted ahead of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship begins. Both Dynojet Racing’s and Hughes Motorsport/Speedworks’ Avensis were on display for the public and the media at Silverstone. Unfortunately for both teams, both...
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A court verdict from a federal jury has ruled that Toyota’s unintended-acceleration woes were not to blame for a 2005 crash in which a Scion accelerated into a tree. The jury deliberated for two hours in a court on Long Island before voting in Toyota’s favor. The court case, which began on Monday, is the first one...
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Despite higher gas prices and panic over Japan’s earthquake, and its subsequent effect on auto production, March 2011 was a positive month for the industry, with sales up 17 percent compared to the previous year. Among the Big 3, Ford managed to outsell General Motors for the first time in a year, with a 16...
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Hyundai‘s vice-chairman, Shin Jong-Woon unequivocally quashed rumors regarding a separate premium brand for Hyundai’s upscale vehicles, telling Automotive News “There are no plans for Hyundai to make a separate brand.” Hyundai spokesman Frank Ahrens elaborated on Jong-Woon’s comments, citing costs and branding difficulties as the main obstacles towards establishing a premium channel ala Lexus, Infiniti...
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The Toyota Prius, beloved of eco-conscious of buyers in California, is in short supply in the Sunshine State, as high gas prices and production disruptions due to Japan’s natural disasters have caused dealers to either run low on supply or be completely out of stock. Dealers, who report as little as a 14-day supply of the...
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A shortage of parts means that Subaru‘s Indiana plant will have its production cut in half through the end of the week, and the company will assess the situation on a day to day basis to examine whether a continuation is necessary. Each of the two shifts will have 4 hours cut from their length....
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Toyota has announced it will increase prices of its vehicles across the board by an average of 1.7 percent. The move comes not only in response to damages to it has sustained during the recent earthquake, but also due to the continued climb of the Yen. As a result, an entry level Yaris will see...
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Yesterday, we told you about the rising influence women of different ethnicities have when it comes to vehicle purchases. And now, R.L. Polk & Co. has released new information about the correlation between women and the Asian automakers. The Asian OEMs in question are Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, Hyundai, KIA, Nissan, Infiniti, Subaru and Mazda,...
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The Toyota plant which builds the Yaris subcompact for export markets will remain closed for another month, as the factory recovers from the massive earthquake which struck northern Japan. While the plant has had repairs completed and electricity has returned, the supply of natural gas has not been restored. Toyota’s other plants are expected to...
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With possibly just enough parts available to build two-thirds of its popular Prius hybrid, on Tuesday Toyota resumed production of that car, plus the Lexus HS250h, and CT 200h hybrids. The assembly lines had been shut down following the Mar. 11 Japan earthquake, and resulting tsunami that is still causing trouble for the industry. A...
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While we won’t have final March sales numbers until Thursday evening, but for the first time since February of 2010, Ford looks set to beat GM in sales figures, with 210,000 units sold. GM won’t fare so badly, with a projected 208,000 cars and trucks moved in March. GM’s slump – and Ford’s success –...
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