Filed under: Economy, Japan, Hatchbacks, Subaru, Toyota
Last week’s announcement that Toyota wants to raise its stake in Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries looked to have no down side. Subaru gets $300 million with which to build a new factory, Toyota gets greater access to FHI’s high tech batteries for hybrids, and both get to build the affordable RWD/AWD coupe that we’re all waiting for.
But the bean counters in Toyota City have noticed that Subaru’s kei car division spends a fortune on developing quirky micro cars such as the supercharged Vivio that Colin McRae campaigned in his first rally (above), the worlds smallest four-seat convertible (below) and the fabulous R2D2. The trouble is, profit margins on such marvels of engineering are wafer thin, and that is not the Toyota way. So, come the next decade, Subaru will only sell OEM kei cars made by another member of the Toyota family, Daihatsu.
Most analysts think this this is a good idea, but this one ain’t so sure. Eighteen years ago I bought a rear-engined rear-wheel-drive Subaru Sambar. It was such a hoot to drive that I traded up to a Rex, then an RX-R, then a WRX and I now drive a Forester STI. In all likelyhood, my next car will be an Impreza STI.
Will rebadged Daihatsus garner such brand loyalty from young buyers in 2010?
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Filed under: Etc., Japan
All you vintage Japanese automotive fans, we may have found your show. It’s called “Top Sales” and is being broadcast in Japan by the government-funded NHK media giant. Apparently (we don’t speak Japanese, so we are taking someone’s word on this), the plot has to do with a young woman’s journey through the male-dominated automotive sales industry at a fictional company called “Omiyake Motors.” As success often happens so readily on television shows, she starts out on the car lot in sales and quickly works her way up to president of the company. We’ll admit that doesn’t sound overly exciting, but the show is set three decades ago - this means a lot of thinly-disguised 70’s-era Toyotas, Nissans and Hondas zooming around. See if you can name some of the classics in the screen shots… Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!
[Source: Auto-Otaku]
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Filed under: Green, Ford, Toyota
Hybrid vehicles may hold most of the headlines right now, but both analysts and industry insiders agree that oil burners will comprise a far greater slice of the automotive propulsion market by 2020. BorgWarner CEO Tim Manganello told the SAE Automotive World Congress in Detroit that diesels would account for 20% of vehicles by 2020, and both Ford product chief Derrick Kuzak and Toyota engineering vice president Ed Mantey agreed with the assessment. Manganello based his prediction on powertrain trends in Europe, which already feature diesel engines in about half of its vehicles.
Hybrids were predicted to account for about 10% of the market by that time, which doesn’t quite match up with the technology’s considerable hype. We’re all for more diesel and hybrids on America’s streets, and with new oil-burners from Ford, GM, Honda and more already on the way, 20% sounds like a very attainable goal for 2020.
[Source: AutoWeek]
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Filed under: Aftermarket, Trucks/Pickups, Toyota
High horsepower trucks have come and gone. The SVT Lightning and Ram SRT10 are but two examples, but we miss the GMC Syclone something fierce, as well. Toyota is readying its TRD supercharger for the Tundra, which should help sate those who hunger for extra horsepower in their truck. An employee of Toyota of El Monte, California and member of TundraSolutions.com revealed on his forum that TRD reps brought a Sequoia to his dealership equipped with the TRD supercharger mounted on the large SUV’s 5.7-liter V8 - the same V8 in the Tundra. Not only did he say that TRD claimed a rating of 504 horsepower, an increase of 123 over the stock engine, but he also got the opportunity to ride shotgun while one of his fellow employees took it for a road test. He even brought back the above picture as proof. Visit the Tundra Solutions forum to see the details of the kit and read about the test drive.
[Source: Tundra Solutions via PickupTruck.com]
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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Recalls/TSBs, Hatchbacks, GM, Pontiac, Toyota
Joint manufacturing ventures allow both automakers to share resources and platforms, but unfortunately, it also means they share problems. Such is the case with GM and Toyota, whose NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, put out 540,000 Toyota Matrixes, Corollas and 123,00 Pontiac Vibes with faulty bolts that hold in the glass on the two front doors. The 660,000 2003-2004 vehicles equipped with power windows are being recalled after 500 complaints, 36 claimed injuries and one crash (?!) were reported. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is calling for both automakers to recall the affected vehicles and replace the faulty bolts at no charge.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Filed under: Coupes, Japan, Subaru, Toyota
AutoCar procured a sketch of the oft-rumored and all-but-confirmed lightweight coupe that’s being jointly developed between Subaru and Toyota, and their sources confirm that the final design will be signed off in July. According to the Brit pub, both automakers will have their own version of the rear-wheel-drive, two-door, powered by Subaru’s own 175 hp, 2.0-liter boxer engine. A 2.5-liter, turbocharged version is also being considered, which might send power to all four wheels in a nod to the historic Celica GT4. Sales are expected to begin in Japan, the UK and North America in 2010. Here’s hoping they can keep it under the $20k mark when it hits U.S.shores.
[Source: Autocar]
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Filed under: Wagons/Estates, Etc., Scion, Toyota
Click above for more pics of the Scion xB post-fire damage
An auto dealer service center is a lot like a doctor’s office for your car. When something is wrong or your ride needs a check-up, a technician can set things right. Of course sometimes doctors make mistakes like taking off your left foot when they’re supposed to amputate the right one, and things don’t always go as planned in the hands of a trained tech. One Scion xB owner took his modified baby to the dealer for a Technical Service Bulletin, and it ended up engulfed in flames. The fire completely destroyed the little xB, but the good news is that the dealer has taken full responsibility for the problem and is giving the owner a new ride for his troubles.
We had auto shop in high school, but we can’t seem to remember any reason a car should blow up when being worked on. We don’t know what Scion xB TSB was being done, but if trying to fix it could blow up your car, that’s probably not good. Check out the gruesome pics in the gallery below
[Source: Scion Life via Motive Mag]
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Toyota
Jim Press worked for Toyota in the U.S. a total of 37 years, so the Japanese automaker was no doubt shocked when the current co-captain of Chrysler LLC dropped a bit of untruthiness about his former employer in a recent Business Week article. Press claimed that the Japanese government paid for 100% of the development of battery and hybrid system of the Prius, an advantage that U.S. automakers don’t receive from their government. Today, Toyota came out and said Press was just plain wrong. A Toyota spokesman claims that Toyota received absolutely no money from the Japanese government for developing the Prius. Who is telling the truth? We have no idea, but until Press parted his lips in this Business Week report, we had never heard of allegations that Toyota received funding for the Prius from the Japanese government, let alone that the vehicle’s hybrid powertrain development was entirely paid for by the government.
[Source: The Detroit News, Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty]
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Filed under: Motorsports, Tech
Click above for high-res gallery of the DARPA Urban Grand Challenge
It was the GM-powered Carnegie Mellon team that took first prize at the DARPA Urban Grand Challenge last year. Now the team will be sending its entrant, nicknamed “Boss,” to the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on the weekend of April 19 - 20. There, in front of cheering race fans, the autonomous vehicle will strut its stuff on the track and at speed against competitors “Junior” from Standford, and “Ben” from the University of Pennsylvania and Lehigh University.
It’s a demonstration, not a race, so don’t expect these vehicles to put up a fight against the ultra-fast Champ Cars (no worries - they won’t be sharing the track at the same time). In all honesty, with running speeds estimated at about 15 mph, these four-wheelers will err on the slow side of caution if given the chance. Nobody can predict, however, how well the driverless vehicles will complete the 1.97-mile Grand Prix course, but we’re willing to bet that the DARPA entrants hit fewer walls than the “stars” participating in Saturday’s Celebrity Race.
[Source: engadget]
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Filed under: Subaru, Toyota
Emerging reports indicate that Toyota is preparing to nearly double its stake in Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries. Toyota initially bought into Fuji when that other automotive giant, General Motors, sold its 8.7% stake to its Japanese rival. The new share-grab, the door to which was opened by revised Japanese laws, would bring Toyota’s partial ownership of Fuji up to 17%, just short of double its current stake.
Since Toyota’s buy-in of Fuji, cooperation between the two companies has only increased, ranging from new product development to manufacturing. Insiders predict that with the increased stake will come even more integrated collaboration between the two Japanese automakers, which, considering Toyota’s enormous success worldwide, can only mean good things for Subaru’s operations.
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that with Toyota reportedly considering following Honda into the sky, Fuji’s other core business in aerospace could prove an invaluable asset.
[Source: Indianapolis Business Journal via Straightline]
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