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2014 Toyota Corolla debuts with more power, interior space

Depending on who you ask, the best-selling car in the world is either the Ford Focus or Toyota Corolla. Not surprisingly, Toyota claims it's the Corolla. Either way, we're talking around a million individual units per year, and over 40 million over the car's lifetime on the market, so the redesign of Toyota's compact sedan is big-time news for the Japanese automaker that it needs to get right.
The Toyota Corolla was last redesigned way back in 2008, meaning the 2014 model is a long-overdue update to the C-segment sedan. Its age shows when compared to newer rivals like the Honda Civic, Chevy Cruze, Hyundai Elantra and the aforementioned Ford Focus when comparing technology features, fuel mileage and interior roominess. In an effort to solve those demerits, Toyota has added nearly four inches to the 2014 Corolla's wheelbase and will offer a new continuously variable transmission with seven simulated gear ratios.
Engine choices consist of two available 1.8-liter four-cylinder units, one with 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque, and another more efficient version that uses Toyota's new Valvematic technology to offer 140 horses and 126 lb-ft of torque. Eco and Sport modes will be selectable by the driver.

Toyota FT-1 Concept presents a future we want to live in [w/videos]

Toyota has brought its A game to the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, showing off the striking FT-1 Concept. Short for "Future Toyota," the FT-1 is, we're imagining, the supposed Supra Concept we reported on early in December.
Penned by the Calty Design Research team, the FT-1 draws inspirations from the FT-HS and the Lexus LF-LC concepts from 2007 and 2012, respectively. We certainly see a bit of Lexus LF-A in the design, while there's more than a hint of Formula One in the FT-1's pointed nose.
"Our team was heavily influenced by Toyota's sports car past, especially Celica and Supra, and we sought to capture some of that history. It is an aggressive, track-focused sports car concept with a presence that has been amplified for shock and awe," said Alex Shen, Calty's Studio Chief Designer.

Toyota Prius sets a different kind of Nurburgring lap record [w/video]

Scroll down the leaderboards of Nürburgring lap times and you'll see mostly racing cars, supercars and sports cars. Delve deep enough and you'll eventually get to hatchbacks and sedans, albeit the most performance-focused of their kind. But a hybrid? Sure, the Porsche 918 Spyder posted the top time for a street-legal series production car, and it's technically a hybrid, but we're talking about another kind of hybrid here. We're talking about a Toyota Prius.
That's right: the Prius just set a lap record around the Nordschleife. But it wasn't for the lap time. In fact, miles per hour barely factored in (except for staying above the minimum 37-mph average speed mandated on the vaunted racing circuit). No, this was about miles per gallon.
Toyota took one of its Prius Plug-In hybrids to the Nürburgring, topped up the battery, put on a set of low-rolling-resistance tires and put automotive journalist Joe Clifford behind the wheel with a mandate to use as little fuel as possible. After one second shy of 21 minutes, the Prius completed its lap having used just five tablespoons of fuel.