Germans paying American workers less
December 27, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Hybrid , Europe , Technology , BMW , Lexus , Toyota , Diesel Automotive News reports Lexus won’t be getting any diesel engines from BMW as part of the new collaboration between parent company Toyota and the German automaker. BMW and Toyota are set to team up on next-generation green technology, though the two will apparently stick to crafting a new lithium-ion battery instead of swapping diesel tech. BMW will serve up a few small-displacement diesel engines for use in European Toyota models, but it won’t supply direct-competitor Lexus with any oil-burning lumps. Right now, European buyers can expect to see 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter BMW diesel engines to show up under the hoods of certain Toyota products soon. That should help Toyota immensely in a market where 52 percent of all vehicles sold are diesels. Lexus, meanwhile, will continue to focus on plug-in hybrid and hybrid models to position itself as a niche innovation company. Automotive News reports Lexus has nailed down a European market share of just 0.2 percent over the past 11 months. New BMW-Toyota deal doesn’t include diesels for Lexus originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
RL soon to be done with
December 15, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Japan , Plants/Manufacturing , Toyota 2011 has been a trying year for Toyota , as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the flooding in Thailand have conspired to slow vehicle production and cut into profits. Toyota lowered its profit forecast after the Japan disaster, and now Automotive News reports that the automaker is once again cutting expected profits by a significant margin. Toyota has cut its forecast by 54 percent to reflect manufacturing issues resulting from the Thailand floods. The company is now expecting to make $2.3 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31. In a down economy, a profit is a profit, but this is a far cry from the $10 billion or more Toyota had been earning annually for years. The revised profit forecast is reportedly less than half of what analysts have expected. The flooding alone will reportedly account for more than $1.5 billion in lost profits. Toyota has also cut vehicle production numbers from 7.6 million vehicles to 7.38 million. While this is all bad news for Toyota, it’s safe to say that the automaker remains in pretty good shape overall. After all, the Japanese automaker has suffered through two major natural disasters in a matter of six months, and it’s still expecting a profit.
New 2012 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive (Nov 1)
November 1, 2011 by Obrien Auto Group · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Japan , Scion , Toyota We may have a clearer picture of what the Toyota FT-86 / Scion FR-S will bring to the table when the production version finally arrives. A few scans of a purported Toyota training manual on the vehicle have made their way into the hands of the internet via the FT86Club.com forum. If the site’s translations are accurate, the vehicle will boast a 2.0-liter flat-four producing 197 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 150 pound-feet of torque at 6,600 rpm. While not overwhelming numbers, if the handling is as good as we’ve been hearing, the powertrain should be enough to hustle the 2,667-pound coupe around your favorite twisty road at a respectable pace. The sheet also reveals that the FR-S will come in two trims, at least in Japan. A higher-spec variant will come with a limited-slip rear differential in both manual and automatic-equipped vehicles, while the lower-spec model will only have the LSD when equipped with a third pedal (which is just fine by us). Topped-out JDM versions will also have a leather-wrapped steering wheel, LED accent lighting, a six-speaker audio system, sport pedals and white-faced gauges. Models will also be differentiated by wheel size, with higher-trims wearing modest 17-inch rollers and lower models rolling on 16-inch stock. Toyota FT-86 / Scion FR-S specs leaked via training manual originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .
