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180,000 new vehicles are sitting, derailed by lack of transport trains

If you're planning on buying a new car in the next month or so, you might want to pick from what's on the lot, because there could be a long wait for new vehicles from the factory. Locomotives continue to be in short supply in North America, and that's causing major delays for automakers trying to move assembled cars.
According to The Detroit News, there are about 180,000 new vehicles waiting to be transported by rail in North America at the moment. In a normal year, it would be about 69,000. The complications have been industry-wide. Toyota, General Motors, Honda and Ford all reported experiencing some delays, and Chrysler recently had hundreds of minivans sitting on the Detroit waterfront waiting to be shipped out.
The problem is twofold for automakers. First, the fracking boom in the Bakken oil field in the Plains and Canada is monopolizing many locomotives. Second, the long, harsh winter is still causing major delays in freight train travel. The bad weather forced trains to slow down and carry less weight, which caused a backup of goods to transport. The auto companies resorted to moving some vehicles by truck, which was a less efficient but necessary option.

Toyota Camry, Honda Civic inventories mounting as US automakers make inroads

Two of the hottest-selling cars in America aren't quite as hot as they used to be. The Toyota Camry and Honda Civic are both seeing dealer supplies increase in the face of renewed competition from the much-improved Detroit Three.
According to a report from The Detroit News, the Camry's dealer inventory is 15 days higher than its seasonal average, while the Civic is 25 days above average. Things aren't expected to get better for Toyota and Honda, as RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak marked the two Japanese offerings as "at risk for reduced output."
The Detroit Three, meanwhile, are seeing supplies dwindle as demand increases, especially for the Ford Fusion, which has seen an 18-percent increase in 2013 sales, and the Chevrolet Cruze, which was second only to the Camry in June 2013 sales.

Toyota discontinuing FJ Cruiser after 2014 model year

The Toyota FJ Cruiser is not long for this world. According to the manufacturer's own fleet website, the rugged FJ will be discontinued after the 2014 model year, with the companies final orders due in June of next year.
Toyota first launched the FJ Cruiser in 2006 as a 2007 model, and aside from minor year-over-year changes, it has not been substantially updated. The FJ is the modern successor to the original FJ40 Land Cruiser that Toyota produced from the 1960s all the way up through 1984, when the automaker decided to better focus on its larger, four-door Land Cruiser line. Currently, it uses a 4.0-liter V6 engine with either rear- or four-wheel drive, and is available with either a five-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission. Interestingly, word of the FJ's demise comes not long after Toyota's US boss, Bill Fay, reaffirmed his company's commitment to body-on-frame trucks in late July.
Also of interest, Toyota's fleet website states that the 2014 model year Prius range will have "minor updates," though it's unclear what those are as of this writing. When Autoblog reached out to confirm these developments with Toyota, spokesman Curt McCallister reminded us, "As is our corporate policy, we don't discuss future products beyond the present or upcoming model year."