1998 Toyota Tacoma Dlx Standard Cab Pickup 2-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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Lexus NX will be produced in Canada

OTTAWA/MONTREAL — Toyota Motor Corp will build its Lexus NX luxury crossover vehicle at a Canadian plant starting in 2022, the company said on Monday, a decision that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said demonstrated the value of the country's international trade agreements. The plant will invest hundreds of millions of dollars to produce the Lexus NX and its hybrid version at the factory in Cambridge, Ontario, "supplying the entire North American market," Trudeau said in a presentation with Fred Volf, president of Toyota's Canadian unit. Citing Canada's trade agreements with Mexico, the United States, Europe and Asia, Trudeau said: "We have preferential trade access to two-thirds of the global economy. In fact, we're the only G7 country that has free trade deals with every other G7 country." Trudeau, who faces a tough re-election contest in October, said the plans by Toyota, one of the world's largest carmakers, will help guarantee 8,000 jobs and the factory. The announcement is a "counter narrative" for Canada's automaking industry following recent bad news from other automakers, said Flavio Volpe, president of the Toronto-based Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, especially in the province of Ontario. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said in March it would cut a shift at its Windsor assembly plant, leading to 1,500 job losses, and General Motors said last year it would shut its Oshawa factory by the end of 2019. Plans to assemble the NX in Canada "means that Toyota's Canadian manufacturing operations are here to stay," Volf said, adding that the cars are "the most technologically advanced and the most in-demand cars in the Toyota-Lexus global lineup." On Sunday, Trudeau hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Ottawa. Both touted the benefits of a Pacific trade deal that U.S. President Donald Trump walked away from. Trudeau said he had discussed the project to build the Lexus NX in Canada with Chief Executive Akio Toyoda on April 1. "When we last chatted just a few weeks ago, we discussed the potential of this new Lexus mandate," Trudeau said.

GM repairing 40,500 Pontiac Vibes as part of Toyota airbag recall

General Motors has confirmed to Autoblog that the Pontiac Vibe is included in Toyota's just-announced recall action. The Vibe and the Toyota Matrix share a large number of parts, including the affected cable to the airbag.
"About 40,500 Pontiac Vibes from the 2009-2010 model years are included in the Toyota recall. Toyota designed and engineered the Vibe for Pontiac. GM will service customers with these vehicles when Toyota makes the parts available," said GM recall spokesperson Alan Adler to Autoblog in an email.
The recall covers 1.3 million Toyota units in the US, including 2009-2010 Corolla, Matrix and Tacoma, the 2008-2010 Highlander, the 2006-2008 Rav4 and 2006-2010 Yaris, plus the addition of the 2009-2010 Vibe. The models all have their airbag module attached via a spiral electrical cable. The connections on this cable can be damaged when turning the steering wheel. Once broken, the airbag deactivates and the airbag warning light comes on. Toyota has an improved part, but it's still making preparations to begin repairs. It will begin notifying owners soon.

Toyota to offer sedan version of GT 86?

Sources in Australia are reporting that we'll be seeing a small, rear-drive sedan from Toyota, based on the GT 86/Scion FR-S. Yes, a convertible variant is still in limbo, but a four-door sedan is in the works. It's unclear if the rumored GT 86 sedan would spawn Scion and Subaru variants (it's hard to cross all ten fingers while you type, but we're having a go).
Working with remarks made by the car's chief engineer Tetsuya Tada in his blog and a rendering from Japanese magazine Holiday Auto, the Australian site Motoring is claiming that the new model's wheelbase will grow about four inches over the current GT 86's 101.2-inch wheelbase.
Besides the larger overall space between the axles, the sedan will offer a more potent engine option over the current 2.0-liter, flat-four. Promising 268 horsepower, which is a big jump over the current car's 200 ponies, the new powertrain will be derived from the Hybrid R setup, shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show. If, like us, you're reaching for the salt, and we don't blame you.