Autoblog

As with this year's American football season, weekly surprises in the car industry are now standard fare. VW recently overtook Ford for the number three spot in global sales, and now the home of the Beetle and the Veyron has overtaken Toyota as the industry's most valuable company based on dollar-converted market capitalization. Just as eyebrow raising is the reason for it: Toyota's stock has dropped 5% to its lowest point in four years due to the usual suspects, while VW's stock has climbed a stratospheric 87% due to the fact that Porsche is busy gobbling up the company. As far as we're concerned, that makes Porsche the real story: one of the industry's smallest players – it sold less than 100,000 cars around the world last year and still set a personal best – is about to be the world's third largest car maker and, for a while at least, its most valuable. What a difference a day a Cayenne makes. Thanks for the tip, bazzz!

[Source: Bloomberg]

Toyo has tapped a handful of tuners to produce six SEMA creations to highlight its range of track-ready and dirt-friendly tires. Unfortunately, we've already seen the 800 hp, Bentley Continental-based Tetsu GTR, but joining that rolling abomination to tasteless consumption are a handful of rides that better represent what SEMA is all about.

To begin with, Bulletproof Automotive is trotting out a customer-owned Nissan GT-R, wearing limited edition (and GT-R specific) BBS LM-DBK-P wheels wrapped in Toyo's 20-inch Proxes R888 tires. An Amuse Super Tough Titanium exhaust, Endless monoblock six-piston front and rear brakes and a smattering of carbon fiber aerodynamic parts round out this track- and show-friendly package.

Vivid Racing will be joined by several other firms bringing tuned Mitsubishi Evolution Xs to the show, but Vivid should stand out with its Porsche GT3 RS paint job, 18x10-inch AME Tracer 02 wheels and 650 hp on tap. We'll be on hand in a few weeks to find out how Vivid went about freeing those extra 350 ponies.

Additionally, an unnamed sixth vehicle will be accompanied by a 2009 Toyota Tundra CrewMax SR5 built by Two Brothers Custom Trucks, along with Choppin' Block Custom Fab's four-door 1931 Studebaker Model 54, riding on a custom air suspension, Centerline Smoothie wheels and powered by a Chevy 350 fed by a trio of two-barrel carburetors.

Hit the jump for all the details and stay tuned for our SEMA coverage beginning the first week of November.

It's been well documented that we Americans have been growing larger, and if the auto manufacturers thinking of bringing their small cars Stateside follow through, we're going to feel like giants. Toyota and Audi are the latest automakers discussing whether to bring smaller transportation for us portly Americans. Audi, who didn't design the A1 concept for US duty, now believes it's a good idea to rethink its original strategy. Audi marketing boss Peter Schwarzenbauer thinks US customers have made a real shift towards smaller cars and trucks, and that the movement has staying power. Audi brass has made no decisions regarding the A1 in the US, but the fact that they're genuinely looking into the matter is a good thing.

Toyota's cleverly packaged iQ is also being considered for sales in the US. A company insider told Automotive News that Toyota was looking into the viability of the iQ in the US. The sharp looking micro car goes on sale in Europe beginning in early 2009, and we wouldn't be surprised if it arrived Stateside some time after that.



[Source: Automotive News subs req'd]

Toyota's marketing team has released the first image of the next-gen Prius, and it's not what you think. The shot shows what appears to be the welcome screen that will appear on the car's in-dash screen upon startup, and the font looks curiously like the same one used by the new Knight Rider series on NBC. We doubt this means Prius v3.0 will have Turbo Boost built in, but it will have a larger four-cylinder gas engine and more powerful electric motor. Unfortunately, the new Prius is expected to carry over its nickel-metal hydride batteries rather than going with new lithium-ions, at least for now. The 2010 Toyota Prius will be making its first public appearance at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show in January, and we'll be there to greet the new green king in person. Thanks for the tip, Danny!

[Source: PriusChat.com]

The Euro-only Toyota Avensis is reminiscent of the Lexus IS350 in the same way that you'd tell someone, "You kind of look like someone I know, but not really." It's the rising linear sideline, somewhat high and compact profile, and squared-off rear that do it. But that's from a full-on side profile and around the back. Move around the front and it really just looks like a Toyota. The raked grille and molded lips in the front bumper are unexpected, as is the subtle sexiness of the wagon. Designed in France, the new Avensis grows a little over its predecessor by 5 cm in length and width. Under the hood, possibilities include three new Valvematic gasoline engines, and two diesels, while cogs can be swapped with a 6-speed manual or the dual-mode, Multidrive S automatic. Check out the exhaustive press release after the jump, and the high-res gallery of photos below.

Further proof that no automaker is immune to effects of the sales downturn in the U.S. comes as Toyota has just announced 0% financing on 11 of its models, including the hugely popular Camry and Corolla and a slew of SUVs and trucks. Last month, incentive-averse Toyota posted a drop in sales of over 30% compared to a year ago and the rest of the year isn't expected to look much better. General Motors, which still posted a decline in sales, fared better than most of its rivals, including Toyota, thanks to aggressive incentives including its employee pricing for everyone.

Toyota itself is calling the move to offer 0% financing "unprecedented," and indeed it is. Historically, the Japanese automaker has not needed to offer such sweeping deals to move its metal. It apparently has the cars, the means to finance them and just needs buyers. If you want in on the deal, it's available until November 3. See the full press release from Toyota for more details after the break.

[Source: Toyota]

Safety technology has improved by leaps and bounds over the last few decades, and just about every automaker now knows how to score a five star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Toyota is looking to keep the stars coming by developing a new rear window airbag that will be standard equipment on its upcoming iQ micro car. A quick glance at micro-vehicles like the iQ shows that there is very little space between the back seat and the rear window, which means there won't be as much metal to absorb the impact of a rear collision. With Toyota's new rear window airbag, the rear air bag is ejected from the roof lining during a fender bender. Toyota says it will help protect the heads and necks back seat passengers, which is all the more important in smaller vehicles like the iQ. In addition to this new bag, Toyota wants to improve its safety reputation by making side curtain and shield airbags standard for all of itsmodels.

[Source: Toyota]

When you think about the Toyota Venza, we doubt the first thing that comes to mind is customization. But that hasn't stopped Toyota from tapping Street Image, Inc. and long-time partner Five Axis to create a duo of Venza project cars for November's SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

The two low-slung crossovers (don't call them wagons) attempt to highlight and accentuate the active lifestyles of the Venza's core demographic, beginning with the Street Image variant (above) that boasts an upgraded engine and brakes, massive rollers, a lowered ride height, body kit, a black/burgundy interior and a sat-nav-equipped entertainment system. Toyota says the Street Image SportLux version attempts "to give the occupants the feel of a refined sports car while retaining the Venza's utility and functionality." We say, good luck.

Five Axis makes a slightly more compelling case for customizing the Venza with a stow-away rack system created by Magna Car Top Systems that can transport everything from bicycles to skis. New front and rear bumpers, wider fenders and pot-hole averse 20x10.5-inch wheels round out the exterior mods on the Venza AS V.

We'll be checking out both models in Vegas in a few weeks, but check the gallery below now for a preview.


[Source: Toyota Open Road Blog]

Hybrid vehicles are increasingly becoming mainstream, but so far all of the production units available on the market have used gasoline exclusively as the fuel for the internal combustion engine. Various manufacturers have also shown concept and one-off test hybrid vehicles with diesel and E85 capable flex-fuel engines. One combination we don't recall seeing is a CNG fueled hybrid. Toyota plans to address that oversight at the LA Auto Show in November with a CNG fueled Camry Hybrid. Vehicles running on compressed natural gas are nothing new, although the only one currently offered by a major automaker in the US right now is the Honda Civic GX. Since CNG vehicles have a shorter range, they have primarily been used by fleets with centralized filling stations. Toyota has built this vehicle as part of its wide ranging sustainable mobility strategy. With domestic supplies of CNG being comparatively plentiful, something like a CNG hybrid sedan could be a good option for someone who does most of their driving locally. Combine it with the Phill home fueling station and you'd never have to go to a gas station again. Press release after the break.

[Source: Toyota]

Clean diesel or hybrid drive? It's an intriguing question, and one that's not quite so easy to answer. There's the price of diesel fuel to consider, which runs a few dimes over that of regular gasoline. Then there is fuel mileage. Does the Volkswagen Jetta TDI have a shot at dethroning the Toyota Prius as the undisputed mileage champion of the U.S.? To get a preliminary answer to some of these questions, Popular Mechanics put almost 500 miles on both cars, dividing up their miles between the city and the highway. It's not a knock-out for either car, but it may offer some early answers to a few questions.

First, the mileage. In the city, there's just no beating a hybrid, which uses its electric motor to good effect and scores over ten mpg better in the stop-and-go traffic of Los Angeles. On the highway, though, the Jetta TDI is able to eke out a narrow victory, scoring less than one mile per gallon better. Once the price of crude is factored in, the Prius remains the overall cheaper car to keep filled up. Of course, there is more to the story than that, including which car is a better to drive -- according to PM, the Jetta. Finally, the TDI qualifies for a $1,300 tax credit that the Prius can't claim. It's too close to call. Expect a rematch soon enough.

Read our First Drive of the 2009 VW Jetta TDI and full review of the Toyota Prius to see what we think.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]