2014 Toyota Avalon Xle Touring on 2040-cars

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Toyota to boost its Subaru stake to more than 20%

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp plans to raise its stake in Subaru Corp to more than 20% from around 17% now, a deal that would also see the smaller firm invest in Japan's top automaker, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday. The deal is due to be approved at a Toyota board meeting on Friday, the people said, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public. The investment would come a month after Toyota and another smaller Japanese automaker, Suzuki, said they would take small equity stakes in each other. Such tie-ups highlight how automakers are scrambling to chase scale, manage costs and boost development. Traditional car makers, especially smaller ones like Subaru and Suzuki, are struggling to meet the fast pace of change in an industry being transformed by the rise of electric vehicles, ride hailing and autonomous driving. Toyota's investment is likely to cost more than 70 billion yen ($650 million) based on Subaru's stock market value, said the Nikkei business daily, which first reported the news. Subaru is likely to reciprocate with a stake in Toyota that would roughly equal the value of Toyota's additional investment, one of the people told Reuters. The companies have long worked together on projects such as the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins. At one time, Subaru built Toyota Camrys in its Indiana plant. Representatives for both Toyota and Subaru said the news was not something that had been announced by their companies. "The plan appears to be to ultimately make Subaru a fully owned subsidiary, to help create a 'mega Toyota.' This is the first step towards that," said Takeshi Miyao, managing director of Carnorama, a consultancy. "It's all about building scale." Subaru is particularly strong in sport-utility vehicles (SUV) and all-wheel-drive technology. The two automakers in June said they planned to jointly develop an electric sport-utility vehicle on a platform produced together, to split costs. Car markers around the world have been joining forces to slash development and manufacturing costs of new technology. Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG have said they will spend billions of dollars to jointly develop electric and self-driving vehicles. Toyota seems to be particularly keen to build scale now by investing in smaller, domestic automakers, rather than forging cross-border tie-ups like some of its rivals.

This first-gen Toyota Celica is one mean mother

Brian Karasawa's gen-one Toyota Celica is, in a word, badass. As a long-standing fan of the marque, the doting owner has tried to both restore and improve his Celica keeping period-correct modifications in mind. The 20R/22R mashup engine is outputting roughly 185 horsepower and graced with a lot of JDM-specific parts and modifications. Clearly, the exhaust has been upgraded from stock, as clips of the orange Toyota in motion are accompanied by one hell of a nice sound.
Tastes clearly vary, and there's not as much love for the first-wave of Japanese metal as there is for similar era American-iron, but we're pleased to see these cars finally getting more time in the spotlight. Scroll down below to see why we're stoked, and consider cruising your local Craigslist for late 1970s and early 1980s Japanese coolness (before we get there first).

California to stop buying GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler vehicles over emissions fight

WASHINGTON — California said on Monday it will halt all purchases of new vehicles for state government fleets from GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler and other automakers backing President Donald Trump in a battle to strip the state of authority to regulate tailpipe emissions. Between 2016 and 2018, California purchased $58.6 million in vehicles from General Motors, $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, $10.6 million from Toyota Motor and $9 million from Nissan. Last month, GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and members of the Global Automakers trade association backed the Trump administration's effort to bar California from setting tailpipe standards, which are more rigid than Washington's proposed national standards. The automakers declined or did not immediately comment on California's announced ban on purchases of their vehicles. Starting in January, the state will only buy from automakers that recognize California's legal authority to set emissions standards. Those automakers include Ford, Honda, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG, which struck a deal with California in July to follow revised state vehicle emissions standards. "Car makers that have chosen to be on the wrong side of history will be on the losing end of CaliforniaÂ’s buying power," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. California purchased $69.2 million in vehicles from Ford over the three-year-period, $565,000 from Honda and none from the German automakers. The state also disclosed it will immediately no longer allow state agencies to buy sedans powered by an internal combustion engine, with exemptions for certain public safety vehicles. California's vehicle rules have been adopted by 13 other states. On Friday, California and 22 other U.S. states challenged the Trump administration's decision to revoke California's legal authority to set vehicle tailpipe emissions rules and require a rising number of zero emission vehicles (ZEV). The move follows a separate lawsuit filed in September by the states against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration seeking to undo a parallel determination. In August 2018, the Trump administration proposed freezing fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, reversing planned 5% annual increases. The Trump administrationÂ’s final requirements are expected in the coming months and are set to modestly boost fuel efficiency versus the initial proposal, with several automakers anticipating annual increases of about 1.5%.