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Akio Toyoda pledges return to WRC in 2017 with a Yaris

There have been rumors of Toyota returning to the World Rally Championship since the end of 2013, and a Yaris prepped by Toyota Motorsport in Germany has been caught on The Continent several times last year in testing. Akio Toyoda visited Rally Finland while we were there with Hyundai to watch a race up close, and he said that the passion people still had for Toyota's past exploits encouraged him. He finally answered the question about when they planned to enter the series, announcing in Tokyo that they'd line up for the season in 2017. The Japanese company, a legend in rallying, got into the sport in 1979 and left in 1999 after winning seven titles in ten years through the nineties with Carlos Sainz and Juha Kankkunen. The 2017 return is likely due to the regulation changes that year to allow more power than the roughly 300-horsepower in today's challengers and the switch to a fuel-flow formula to let manufacturers use different kinds of engines. Toyota has been sitting in on the WRC rules meetings, and the final slate of changes will be announced at the end of this year. The Yaris that's been testing is powered by a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder that meets current regulations, but we can expect it to change somewhat before it's race-ready. TMG will test the car for the next two years, then it will go up against fellow manufacturers Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Citroen, as well as Fords run by M-Sport. There's video of the Yaris running solo through the Belgian countryside above, and a gallery of the coming car below.

Weekly Recap: Ford GT inspires guitar, foosball table, sailboat

Ford design vice president Moray Callum had just wrapped up a briefing on the interior of the Ford GT last month, but something seemed out of place. He grinned and pointed behind him, "You might be wondering why I have a boat behind me," he said mischievously. It was there because Ford set its designers on a mission to stretch and showcase their talents: design non-automotive objects inspired by the interior of the GT supercar. Callum received quite a response, too. His team produced a guitar, a foosball table (yeah bro!), a racing sailboat, a Wi-Fi speaker and some furniture. As the veteran design chief explained, "It's a really great exercise both to highlight our designers' talents, but also to really see how our design philosophy can work and how you can use it and get a common response back from a worldwide design team." Guitar View 25 Photos The objects have been on display this week at the Salone del Mobile furniture and fashion design fair in Milan, Italy, where Ford has had a presence for three years. There's also a light exhibition that apparently was inspired by the GT, as well. While this might seem a little far-fetched for the automaker, Ford said exhibitions like the Salone del Mobile give its designers another way to be creative and ultimately produce striking interior style. Ford wants this to be a differentiator, as research shows consumers are placing emphasis on the layout and features inside when they're making a decision about buying a new car. It's a little light hearted – but it's also potentially big business. Other News & Notes Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for Buick General Motors product chief Mark Reuss said the Cadillac CT6 platform could be used for a large Buick, though "not yet," Automotive News reported. The underpinnings can accommodate rear-wheel or all-wheel drive and would give Buick the large flagship it lacks. The report jibes with comments Reuss made at a roundtable with Autoblog and other reporters at the New York Auto Show. When asked if Buick had space for a large car on the CT6 chassis, he replied, "Yeah, I think it does. Yeah, I think we do." Buick has revamped its lineup in recent years with attractive crossovers and small and midsize sedans, but hasn't added the proverbial flagship that's yearned for by enthusiasts. Buick surprised industry observers with the stylish Avenir concept at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year that raised the possibility of a halo sedan.

Toyota investing $200M in Southern manufacturing

Over the past two years, Toyota has invested more than $2 billion at its North American production facilities, and it apparently doesn't plan on stopping there. To keep up with recent strong sales, Toyota is investing an additional $200 million at its engine plants in the Southern US to increase production capacity of its V6 engines.
The bulk of this money ($150 million) will go to expand Toyota's engine plant in Huntsville, AL, which is currently responsible for supplying engines - four-cylinder, V6 and V8 - to eight of Toyota's 12 domestically produced vehicles. That includes the best-selling Toyota Camry (shown above).
Toyota didn't say exactly what improvements are being made to the plant, but this follows last year's $80 million investment in the plant that is set to be completed by next year raising the engine capacity to 750,000 annual units including 362,000 V6s. The remaining $50 million will go to the casting plants of Toyota-owned Bodine Aluminum in Missouri and Tennessee, which supply engine blocks and cylinder heads to the Huntsville engine plant as well as others in Kentucky and West Virginia. Scroll down below for the official press release.