Hyundai and Kia PHOTO GALLERY

For a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with a number of different taxes and tariffs on imports, South Korea is dominated by local makers such as Hyundai and Kia, but recently, foreign companies have made attempts to slowly penetrate the country's tightly controlled car market.

Today, Toyota announced plans to begin exports of its U.S.-built Sienna minivan to distributors in South Korea with first shipments scheduled to arrive later this month.

Toyota entered the South Korean market for the first time in 2010, though the firm's Lexus luxury brand has been active in the country since 2001.

This is the first time that the Sienna, which is produced at Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Princeton, Indiana, will be exported outside of North America. Toyota said that the initial plan calls for the export of approximately 600 units annually.

The Japanese brand began exporting U.S.-built vehicles in 1988 and in the 2010 calendar year, it shipped around 100,000 vehicles to 18 countries around the world.

“Toyota’s North American operations are constantly working to identify and expand new export opportunities for the vehicles we produce here, building on our extensive investments in auto production, research and development in the U.S. and helping to maintain a strong, stable base of jobs,” said Yoshimi Inaba, president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

“With this development and other possible achievements in the future, we hope to continue boosting exports from our North American operations.”

PHOTO GALLERY

Personal with the Toyota FT-86 by Gazoo Racing

We are still a couple of months away from the world premiere of the series production Toyota FT-86 at the Tokyo Motor Show in December, but on Saturday, October 15, the rear-wheel drive coupe will make its racing debut at the VLN endurance racing championship on the Nürburgring track.

The race-prepped FT-86 has been developed by Toyota's motorsports partner Gazoo Racing and it is based on the actual production model that goes on sale next year.

After the first crop of pictures that we showed you on Thursday, our crafty spies were able to get very close to the racecar during testing at the pits and on the track, and even shot some photos if the FT-86's interior.

Leaving the safety- and motorsport-related goods on the side

Toyota Camry Pictures

Toyota's sudden-acceleration woes are far from over as the company will have to face three trials in federal court in Santa Ana, California.

The first case is the one concerning the death of two people in Utah, which was dismissed 10 days ago due to a lack of jurisdiction. US District Judge James V. Selna reinstated the lawsuit today after the victims’ families re-filled their claims against Toyota. The trial is set for February 19, 2013.

The second case, for claims of economic loss due to unintended acceleration, is scheduled for July 2013 and the third, a wrongful death incident, will take place in November 2013.

All three cases will test evidence and liability issues and are expected to set a precedent for both sides, since many more lawsuits against Toyota are sure to follow.

The Japanese automaker says that there is no ground for common treatment of economic loss class-action lawsuits. Toyota spokeswoman Celeste Migliore stated: “We are confident that no common class of litigants exists and that plaintiffs are not entitled to individual or class-wide relief.”

Migliore added that, “the plaintiffs still have not identified any supposed defect in Toyota’s electronic control system and they have advanced no reliable scientific theory or proof to support any such defect claim in any Toyota vehicle, much less in all of them. With no defect, there can be no class.”

Story References: Bloomberg News

First Sudden Acceleration Case Against Toyota Over Technicality PHOTO GALLERY

The sudden acceleration issue is still troubling Toyota, which has already paid $50 million in fines and recalled almost 8 million vehicles in the US alone in 2009 and 2010. The Japanese carmaker still has to face the lawsuits brought about by citizens and their families affected by the issue which, according to estimates, could cost the company as much as $10 billion.

However, the first sudden acceleration lawsuit lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge who ruled that it should have been filed in Utah instead of California. The case is about Paul Van Alfen and passenger Charlene Lloyd, who were killed in 2010 when a 2008 Camry driven by Van Alfen hit a wall in Utah.

The judge ruled that the warranty claim didn’t meet the required $50,000 USD threshold for damages as the plaintiffs couldn’t count potential personal injury or punitive damages in this case.

“Plaintiffs are unable to reach the jurisdictional threshold of $50,000 in damages,” said U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna. “The case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.”

“We are pleased this jurisdictional issue has been resolved and that the court agrees with Toyota that the proper forum for this case is the Utah state court”, said the company's spokeswoman Celeste Migliore.

The dismissal due to the lack of jurisdiction does not mean it's the end of the case. Mark Robinson, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said: “I am drafting a new complaint right now in which the dealer will not be named as a defendant and everything will be cured and the suit will go forward seeking punitive damages and everything else.”

Story References: Bloomberg

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"Pump That Up," But the Company's Ads Say, "It’s a Car"

As we reported earlier this week, raffish-haired Akihiro Dezi Nagaya, Toyota’s global design chief, plans to implement a more aggressive design theme for the brand. “We have eliminated emotion. We need to pump that up” he said in an interview at the Frankfurt Auto Show.

Changing Toyota’s “quiet and non-offensive” image won’t be easy. Nagaya will be faced with challenges both from within Toyota, a company known for consensus-driven conservatism, and with the brand's consumer base. Nagaya recognizes that Camry buyers, for example, “don't want something too aggressive.”

There’s no question about that. My quietly moderate in-laws have driven Camrys for decades. I can firmly assure you, aggressive styling is not what they’re after.

But Nagaya goes on to say, “[the model] has the responsibility of being the highlight of the lineup.” Looking at the 2012 Camry, it’s clear the Camry Conundrum (to coin a phrase) has yet to be addressed.

As for the future, I think one of our readers, Jackson L., hit the nail on the head when he commented that conservatism has served Toyota well, suggesting they continue to apply it selectively (i.e. to the Camry) while dedicating the more aggressive styling to their sport models.

One model that will more readily reflect Nagaya’s vision is the new Yaris. The video below shows Dezi himself singing its praises while sexing it up in skinny jeans. Alas, as we’ve come to expect from Toyota, there’s an element of sad irony to the story.

As Nagaya attempts to move Toyota away from “having too friendly an image while lacking emotion” Toyota advertisers have begun feverishly promoting, you guessed it: a too friendly image completely lacking emotion.

After watching Dezi cooing over the Yaris’ lines, take a peek at Michael Showalter’s straight-faced pitch for the same model: It’s a Car… with wheels that go forward… and backward…

1974 Toyota Celica GT, Now a Faux Ferrari

The first generation if the Toyota Celica is somewhat of a cult hero here in Australia. Affordable, sporty-looking and well equipped at the time of its launch in the early 1970s, it proved a popular alternative to the heavier, thirstier American and Australian built offerings of the time.

Let’s put that aside for one moment and focus on our eBay entrant for today. It’s a 1974 Celica GT model that’s been the victim of one of the shoddier-looking Ferrari conversions featured on this site. It’s supposed to look like a 308 GTB, though at best it looks like a 400 that’s been severely shortened.

So, let’s see what the seller has to say about this thing, eh? Firstly, there’s this: “This is one of the first and original ferrinos. Not many around. Was built in Queensland and the body was supplied from Adelaide by creative body's. I have all paper work on the build and photos. Anything In the paper or magazines on the ferrino is also in the folder”. The latter scarily implies that someone at one of the major magazines or newspapers wasted perfectly good ink and paper writing about it.

Then there’s the usual, “Everyone will notice you but not for the reason’s you’re probably thinking off” stick that we’ve heard a hundred times before: “This is a rare chance to own a ferrari [sic] replica. If you want attention while you drive this is the car for you! Turns heads like nothing I've even driven”.

Unfortunately for all you would-be buyers (all six or seven of you, I suspect), this particular car has already been sold for the you-can’t-be-serious price of AU$4,050 (about the same in USD or €3,002).

Yes, someone actually paid money for the Celicarrari. You can check out our full gallery below and leave a comment if you wish.

By Tristan Hankins

Story sources: eBay

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Land Rover Scores 54% of the Vote in MSN Cars’ Poll of Best 4x4 Brands

In a recent online poll, MSN Cars asked its readers a simple question: “Which firm makes the best '4x4' type cars?” The winner, with an astonishing 54% of the 39,663 votes is Indian British automaker Land Rover.

The brand’s winning combination of aggressive yet attractive styling, “go anywhere” off-road ability, ruggedness and comfort have made Land Rover the powerhouse brand it is today – and a deserved winner. Land Rover UK managing director Colin Green is understandably over the moon:

“We are thrilled that MSN users have voted Land Rover their favourite 4x4 brand. We know that Land Rover has some of the best brand loyalty figures in the industry and this poll is testament to that. Taking over half the votes is a great achievement and goes to prove that Land Rover really does make the world's most authentic 4x4s. Thank you to everyone who voted for us!”

Second place was snatched by Toyota (9%) and Audi took a surprising third (8%). Jeep claimed an equally surprising sixth (3%), bested by the likes of BMW (6%), Mitsubishi (5%) and Subaru (4%). Mercedes-Benz shared 7th place with Jeep while Lexus, Volkswagen and Volvo scored 2% a piece.

With a history stretching back 63 years, there have been many noteworthy Land Rovers. It seems every model the company has released – from the Range Rover of the 1970s to the Discovery and Freelander models of the ‘90s – has ignited the public’s imagination and fuelled much debate.

So tell us, readers: what is your favourite Land Rover? Do you go with the traditionalist Series I of the ‘40s, the radical Evoque or the flawed yet brilliant Range Rover? You tell us.

By Tristan Hankins

Story source: MSN Cars

Electric Vehicles, Hybrids, New Cars, Reports, Toyota, Toyota Prius, UK

After Toyota's U.S. arm came out with pricing details on the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the firm's British division is next in line to inform buyers what they're going to pay for the car when it goes on sale in Britain in the first half of 2012.

However, instead of giving a exact price tag, Toyota UK said the plug-in version of the Prius will "cost less than £31,000" before any government incentives, which can reduce the price to customer by up to £5,000, or under £26,000.

Toyota says that while official consumption numbers are still pending, it predicts the Prius Plug-in Hybrid will emit 49g/km of carbon dioxide and achieve 134.5mpg UK (equal to 112mpg US or 2.1lt/100km) combined cycle fuel economy (apparently when working in both pure electric and hybrid modes).

Ewan Shepherd, General Manager Toyota/Lexus Fleet Services commented: “Prius Plug-in Hybrid will be an exciting and valuable addition to what is already an industry-leading Toyota range that delivers significant financial benefits to companies and company car drivers with advanced and highly efficient models such as Prius and the British-built Auris Hybrid.”

Toyota added that it has entered a partnership with LeasePlan to support a corporate sales programme for Prius Plug-in Hybrid not only in the UK but also across the rest of Europe.

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Toyota Retools Old Assembly Machines to Lower 2012

Toyota is the company that applied the (since copied by everyone) kaizen philosophy in car manufacturing to improve both on quality and efficiency. Now it has done something different: instead of installing new robots on the new Camry assembly line in Kentucky, it retooled the old units from its former plant in California.

The decision played an important role in Toyota's successful attempt to reduce the new 2012 Camry’s price by 2% compared to its predecessor.

“A lot of the tooling is new, however the equipment isn’t”, said Toyota’s executive vice president for manufacturing and engineering in North America. “We used a lot of equipment from the now-closed New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (Nummi) plant” he added.

Nummi was a joint venture in California between Toyota and General Motors that went belly-up when the latter went bankrupt to emerge as the New GM. Nummi is now owned by Tesla, which will use it to manufacture the Model S.

Despite Camry retaining the number one spot in US sales so far this year, its sales have decreased by 7% compared to 2010.

Toyota’s mid-size saloon is also feeling the heat from competitors: over the same period, sales of two of its direct competitors, the Hyundai Sonata and the Ford Fusion, have increased by 22% and 16% respectively.

Story source: Bloomberg

2012 Avensis Facelift Prior to the Frankfurt Show

In early August, a reader of Dutch car magazine Autoweek snagged some revealing photos of the facelifted 2012 Avensis sedan and its estate sibling parked at an undisclosed location with no camouflage whatsoever.

Now, only a week before the grand opening of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Toyota has released the first official picture of its updated mid-size model.

The scoop pictures reveals that both body styles of the Avensis gain a new frontal treatment with a different grille and reshaped headlamps and bumper that collectively follow Toyota’s new design language, along with newly styled tail lamps and rear bumper.

Toyota says that aside from the refreshed exterior design, the 2012 Avensis also benefits from improved quality and feel of the interior, and "strategic changes" to the powertrains and driving dynamics of the mid-size model.

According to the company's own words, "together, these changes represent the largest mid-life investment Toyota has made for any model".

2012 Toyota Tacoma Facelift Uncovered [Photos + Vide

After an early, unwanted reveal through a leaked video, Toyota has officially released the updated Tacoma pickup truck, which enters the 2012 model year with a fresh face, a subtly refined interior and equipment improvements.

Toyota's designers started on the outside by adding a new front grille on all grades that led to restyling of the headlamps, while the hood and the front bumper are also new.

Inside, the new model year brings a revised instrument gauge panel and controls on the center console along with a new steering wheel and a fresh choice of audio systems for certain models including Toyota's new Entune infotainment and navigation systems on the higher-grade versions.

There are no mechanical changes for 2012, with the Tacoma line offering buyers three options, a 2.7-liter four-pot with 159-hp and 180 lb-ft. of torque, a 4.0-liter V6 that generates 236-horsepower with 266 lb-ft. of torque, and a TRD-prepped 4.0-liter supercharger V6 capable of delivering 304 horsepower and 334 lbs.-ft. of torque.

Pricing has not yet been announced.