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Toyota hangs on to title of world's largest automaker for first half of 2013

General Motors and Ford can have all the success they please, but it doesn't seem like America's two largest manufacturers are going to topple Toyota in the first half of 2013. According to Reuters, Toyota moved 4.91 million vehicles in the first six months of 2013, representing a 1.1-percent drop from the same period in 2012.
GM is on the rise, though, with a four-percent increase in global sales, to 4.85 million. Volkswagen, still sitting in third, saw a 5.5-percent jump to 4.7 million vehicles in the first half of 2013.
If this pace continues for Toyota, it'll finish 2013 in the top sales spot for the second year in a row. The manufacturer fell to third, behind GM and VW, in 2011 after earthquakes and tsunamis ravaged its production capacity.

Japan's government gives hydrogen vehicles a big boost

The Japanese government is really paving the way for hydrogen fuel cell technology on its roads. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is changing regulations on fuel tanks to make hydrogen cars more appealing to drivers, which should help put the country ahead of others in the race to develop a viable H2 fleet. Japan is raising the allowed pressure of hydrogen tanks from 700 atmospheres to 875, which has the effect of increasing driving range by 20 percent. This move puts the country in line with others with high-pressure fueling regulations. Japan is also in talks with the United Nations and the European Union to streamline inspection rules to make it easier to export Japan's fuel-cell vehicles. Toyota premiered its hydrogen-powered FCV Concept at the Tokyo Motor Show last year and plans to release a production version as early as next year. Honda also plans to build its own fuel-cell cars for 2015, and it debuted its FCEV Concept at last year's Los Angeles Auto Show. Nissan is sending mixed messages on hydrogen, both questioning the availability of a refueling infrastructure and working on developing the vehicles. In Japan, a relatively small country, increasing the range of fuel-cell vehicles makes creating a usable infrastructure a bit less daunting. Will hydrogen-fueled electric cars see the same sort of success as Toyota's Prius hybrid or battery-powered EVs? Only time will tell, but we can keep our fingers crossed that it will, and that the popularity spills over beyond Asia. Featured Gallery Toyota FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) Hydrogen Concept View 24 Photos News Source: Nikkei via Green Car Reports Government/Legal Green Honda Toyota Hydrogen Cars charging station infrastructure fcev fcv

Toyota GT86 convertible could debut in March

The dates are lining up, now we wait to see how the badges align. Just before the Toyota GT 86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ line-up was introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show last year, there was a report that Subaru was considering a convertible while Toyota wouldn't even comment on it. That got swapped around when earlier this year the chief engineer on Toyota's side said a convertible was coming, and then a Scion FR-S droptop was confirmed for early 2014.
Autocar now reports that the Toyota GT 86 convertible will make its first appearance at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show in March. In a car whose specs like weight, packaging, horsepower and center of gravity were all tightly controlled to get the most from the least, the changes necessitated by chopping the roof could make this a very different car. It's said to employ a fabric roof to keep a "small" weight gain check, and the suspension will be softened to work more harmoniously with the decreased body stiffness. And somewhere in all that the back seat and trunk space will need to take a hit.
In other news, Autocar says the hi-po GT 86 with some kind of capacitor system instead of batteries is being worked on for 2015.