2007 Toyota Camry Le Automatic 89k Miles on 2040-cars

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Sales incentive growth clustered around brands with few CUVs, trucks

While it's arguably been around the longest, the dominance of the four-door sedan has been under threat for many years. As a further sign of the hurtin' that SUVs and crossovers have put on today's four-doors, a new report from Automotive News points to the increasing use of incentives by brands reliant on cars and light on CUVs and pickups.
Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Kia have all been stung by double-digit increases in their incentives-to-transaction price ratio, according to AN, which cites data from TrueCar. Honda's ratio is up 14 percent, while Toyota, VW and Kia are up 18, 15 and 19 percent, respectively.
"Most of the incentive growth we have seen is in product segments with low demand - midsized or large sedans," TrueCar CEO John Krafcik told AN. "As this trend goes on, the brands with three-sedan strategies are going to be in worse shape on incentive spending than the crossover brands."

Oh, Kei Go: Toyota set to enter JDM minicar market?

Toyota is looking to get bigger... by going smaller. The Japanese automaker is looking to enter the kei car market, a popular segment in its homeland. Kei cars are small vehicles with restrictions on length (11.15 feet), width (4.86 feet), engine size (660 cubic centimeters) and power output (63 horsepower). Currently, Toyota is the only Japanese automaker not producing vehicles for this segment, but that is set to change, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Thanks to its relationship with Daihatsu, Toyota can jump right into the kei car game. Daihatsu is one of the largest producer of kei vehicles and it is currently owned by Toyota.
Although kei cars are restricted in terms of size and power, they are not restricted by technology. Automakers utilize different drive configurations, powertrains and amenities to keep their cars fresh. Daihatsu and Toyota plan to work together to produce Toyota-branded kei cars. The two companies will utilize Toyota's knowledge of electric and hybrid systems to produce efficient little vehicles for the Japanese market.

Porsche takes 2016 Le Mans win on last lap, Ford grabs class victory

So far, only one Japanese manufacturer has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. That carmaker was Mazda exactly 25 years ago with the legendary, rotary-engined 787B. This year, Toyota was amazingly close to winning with their TS 050 car, piloted by Kazuki Nakajima, and it all ended in tears on the last lap. The Toyota ran smoothly for almost 24 hours, but to lose power and stall on the pit straight with five minutes to go is nothing short of catastrophic. Still, the #5 car was able to be restarted and limped across the finish line for 45th place. Toyota's #6 car had its own set of issues, as the car gained bodywork damage and also veered off track in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi. Driven to second place, the Toyota #6 passed the finish line driven by Stephane Sarrazin. For Porsche, the win with the #2 919 Hybrid was the 18th constructor title at Le Mans 24 Hours. The car was driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, and it proved to be more reliable than the #1 919 with Timo Bernhard, Mark Webber and Brendon Hartley behind the wheel. The #2 Porsche and the #5 Toyota battled for the lead throughout the day. Had the Toyota not broken down, Audi would have missed a podium finish for the first time in 18 years - a great run was ruined this year by turbo trouble in the #7 R18 e-tron Quattro driven by Lotterer-Treluyer-Fassler, and the third place was taken by the #8 Audi with Lucas Di Grassi driving. Winners #LeMans24 #919Hybrid @Porsche_Team @neeljani @LiebMarc @RomainDumas but kudos to @Toyota_Hybrid team pic.twitter.com/TLRuwuSTzx — Porsche GB (@PorscheGB) June 19, 2016 ??? #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/zUkBbA65RK — Peter Leung (@BaronVonClutch) June 19, 2016 In the GTE Pro Class, Ford had reason to celebrate: the #68 Ford GT campaigned by Chip Ganassi Racing took a class win 50 years after Ford's 1-2-3 GT40 Le Mans win in 1966. 50 years to the day following the '66 Le Mans 1-2-3, the No. 68 #FordGT has won the GTE Pro Class at #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/jkMLuWlEYm — Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) June 19, 2016 For the full list of official results, click here.