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Toyota CamRally is vanilla spiced

We weren't quite sure it was possible, but NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman and the other folks behind this Toyota Dream Build Challenge vehicle (check out the other cars in the challenge) have made the Camry, a versatile but vanilla family sedan, into a performance car to be reckoned with. And by stripping it (literally) of its versatility and injecting some spice into it, this rally-spec Camry does indeed appeal to the enthusiast crowd.
The appeal starts with the CamRally's vintage Toyota racing colors of red, orange and yellow painted on a widened body. Those wide fender flares and rocker panels, paired with the revised front and rear fascias (and massive rear spoiler), lend the car an aggressive look without being tacky, and enhance the aerodynamics. But peel back the skin and you'll find plenty of performance upgrades to back up the looks.
While Toyota doesn't say how much horsepower it makes, the CamRally's V6 is turbocharged, and we assume the car's brake upgrade is indicative of the engine's increased output. The stripped interior only contains what's needed for rally racing, including bucket seats, a motorsport steering wheel covered in Alcantara, a carbon-fiber dashboard and a roll cage.

Toyota plans $126M expansion of MI R&D facility

Toyota has just announced that it will be investing $126 million to expand its operations in and around Ann Arbor, MI. The move will add around 85 jobs. In addition to expanding its Ann Arbor powertrain research and development facility (shown above), Toyota will also establish a new facility for vehicle development at its York Township facility. The move will allow the company to centralize its operations, "increasing their scope, responsibility and decision-making ability," Toyota said in a statement. "Centralizing our vehicle development and powertrain functions here in Michigan is beneficial for our decision-making process and allows us to better respond to changes in the marketplace while improving the speed at which we can offer technology advances to customers," says Ed Mantey, the senior VP at the Toyota Tech Center. This is Toyota's second investment in the Ann Arbor area in barely a year, as it made a $28 million investment late in 2013. Scroll down for the official press release from Toyota. More Toyota in the Motor City Toyota Technical Center to consolidate development operations December 18, 2014 Ann Arbor, Mich. (Dec. 18, 2014) – Toyota announced today that it is planning another expansion of its Southeast Michigan R&D campuses. This marks the third time in just over a year that Toyota has announced plans to increase employment and investment in Michigan. Today's announcement features a total investment of $126 million for the expansion of Toyota's powertrain operations at its Ann Arbor campus and the consolidation of vehicle development operations at a new facility on its York Township campus. Both vehicle development and powertrain functions will become centralized in Michigan, increasing their scope, responsibility and decision-making ability while providing improved communication and access to the company's direct procurement division. Approximately 85 jobs will relocate to Michigan from California by the end of 2016 as a part of the move. In late 2013, Toyota announced a $28 million expansion of its Ann Arbor operations and earlier this year announced the addition of 250 direct procurement and supplier engineering development positions currently based in Erlanger, Ky. "The Technical Center continues to be a vital part of our growing North American operations that enables Toyota to package greater value for our customers," said Ed Mantey, senior vice president at the Toyota Technical Center.

Toyota, Honda, Nissan and more collaborating to increase fuel efficiency

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu have announced an alliance that will see a push to improve fuel economy from both gas-powered and diesel-powered engines by as much as 30 percent before the end of the decade.
The newly assembled Research Association of Automotive Internal Combustion Engines put the roughly $20-million project together, with the Japanese government committing to half the cost while the eight manufacturers will chip in the rest.
According to Automotive News, the automakers will team up and share basic research on internal-combustion engines in a bid to cut costs. Eventually, the results of the research will find its way into a production vehicle, although it's unclear just when we'll see the fruits of this partnership on the road.