2004 Toyota Camry Solara Sle Convertible Navigation Auto on 2040-cars

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Toyota getting into 3D printing with i-Road in Tokyo

Think of it as Pimp My Ride for the Japanese green concept car set. Toyota is further publicizing its funky, really skinny, leaning i-Road electric concept vehicle by putting on a contest that, among other things, encourages folks to customize parts of the car's surface via 3D printing. Hey, it is a really small car. Toyota's Open Road Project in Tokyo, which will last about a year and will let about 100 participants work with 10 vehicles, also includes a component that lets contestants find the most creative parking spots by seeking out "small unused spaces with access to plug sockets" (we're sure Tokyo is full of them). What grabbed us, though, was the possibility of printing out panels for a three-wheeled car that's less than eight feet long and less than three feet wide. Earlier this year, we reported that Toyota would add five i-Road vehicles to a Tokyo carsharing pilot project. Toyota's unusual promotions for the admittedly unusual concept two-seater date back to early 2013, when the Japanese automaker featured a video of four i-Roads dancing their way through a sun-kissed Mediterranean village. Meantime, take a look at Toyota's press release below, and get more information on the project here.

Toyota Camry, Lexus RX to get aluminum parts

Ah, aluminum. The lightweight, strong material has long held a following within the premium ranks, but as Ford prepares to launch an aluminum F-150, the material is gaining acceptance among more mainstream automakers. Toyota is one such brand, with a new report indicating that the Japanese giant will add aluminum bits and bobs to some of its upcoming vehicles.
These won't be full, aluminum-intensive treatments like the F-150, however. Automotive News reports that an aluminum hood and liftgate will be coming to the 2016 Lexus RX, and following that, the Camry will get a bonnet built from Element 13 for model year 2018.
As AN points out, Toyota is no stranger to aluminum, using it in Japanese-built models like the Prius and Scion FR-S. The RX and Camry, though, will mark the first time the company's North American factories will use the material, and they'll do so on a significantly larger scale, owing to the higher volumes that the Camry and RX represent.

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).