2003 Toyota Tacoma Base on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Coming Toyota Supra to forgo hybrid, get a BMW six-cylinder turbo?

For years, almost all of the talk about the Toyota FT-1 concept becoming a resurrected Supra envisioned a hybrid under the hood. And then the latest take on Future Toyota 1 showed up at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show and - although Toyota wouldn't say a word about any engine at all - horizons began to expand. Imaginary fancies were aided by the news that Toyota had partnered with BMW to develop a sports car on the next-generation BMW Z4 platform, which would necessarily mean an engine bay designed to accept an old-fashioned hunk of gas-burning iron-working solo. Car and Driver now turns the whole thing around, reporting that there will be an inline-six with forced induction provided by BMW under the hood. What about that hybrid, though? The report states, "there's currently no indication that the Silk Road cars will offer hybrid options" - 'Silk Road' being the codename for the jointly-developed vehicles. CD makes a point to note that said tidbit came from Germany, not Japan. However, designers at Toyota's Calty studio did tell Automotive News last year that they designed the body with an inline-six in mind, a nod to the Supra's history. Hybrid rumors aren't dead yet, though - remember, we were hearing about all-wheel drive and supercapacitors in May 2014. The coupe is predicted to be a 2018 model, making its appearance sometime in 2017, and be "about 10 percent" smaller than the FT-1 concept. Related Video:

VW was 2018's top-selling automaker — but

TOKYO — Volkswagen Group has held on to its position as the world's top-selling automaker for the fifth year in a row, although the German group was edged out again by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance in the light-duty vehicles segment. Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Motors Corp together sold 10.76 million passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2018, according to Reuters' calculations after new data released on Wednesday. The group doesn't sell heavy trucks. Nissan said on Wednesday it sold 5.65 million vehicles last year, down 2.8 percent on the year. Mitsubishi reported an 18 percent rise in sales to 1.22 million units while Renault sold 3.88 million units, up 3.2 percent on the year. Volkswagen's deliveries rose 0.9 percent to a record 10.83 million last year, including its MAN and Scania heavy trucks, the German company said earlier this month. Excluding heavy trucks, it sold 10.6 million units. Toyota Motor Corp retained its third spot, announcing on Wednesday that it had sold 10.59 million vehicles last year including its Toyota and Lexus brands, along with minicars made by subsidiary Daihatsu and light and heavy trucks produced by its truck division Hino Motors Ltd. Excluding Hino trucks, Toyota sold 10.39 million units last year. The automaker has said it expects to sell a total of 10.76 million vehicles in 2019. Many automakers are trying to boost sales volumes to achieve economies of scale and reduce costs amid soaring investments needed to develop next-generation technologies, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles. This has been a focus of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Motors group, which is looking to share more vehicle parts and consolidate production platforms to trim R&D and manufacturing costs, while raising profitability. The alliance, which brought Mitsubishi Motors into its fold in 2016, is currently in crisis with its former Chairman Carlos Ghosn arrested and indicted on charges of misconduct. Nissan has also been indicted, and Renault appointed new top management last week. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Mitsubishi Nissan Toyota Volkswagen

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla says it will adapt cars to China's charging standard, Toyota previews Mirai for NY officials

Tesla says it will adapt its cars to meet China's charging standards. As Tesla sales in China fail to meet targets, in part due to range anxiety, the company has been working to build chargers for its vehicles to allay concerns surrounding its unavailability and its incompatibility with the country's charging standard. While China says it won't support charging infrastructure incompatible with its own, Tesla says, "We will fully cooperate with the Chinese government in drafting the national charging standards as well as building public charging infrastructure." Cooperation stands to help Tesla meet its sales goals in China, and to help China meet its goal of promoting electric vehicles. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Abstract Ocean offers LED replacements for the Tesla Model S license plate bulbs. The folks at Teslarati purchased and installed a set to review and shared the results. At $21.99, the LED License Plate Bulb Kit offers a slightly more high-tech lighting solution to match the high-tech nature of the Model S, and is appropriately inexpensive for a decidedly minor upgrade. It is also very easy to install, requiring just a Phillips-head screwdriver and a few minutes. While you're not likely to see any significant energy savings from the LED bulbs, the reviewer likes the look and is happy with the customization experience. Read more at Teslarati. Toyota and Air Liquide hosted a ride-and-drive of the Toyota Mirai at the New York State Capitol. As the hydrogen fuel cell car gets closer to its US launch, Toyota has been hosting informational events to get the word out about the vehicle and hydrogen technology. At the event, which included an informational session on the hydrogen economy, elected officials got to get behind the wheel of the zero emissions vehicle. "After more than a century with the automobile, we are making decisions about socially significant technologies aimed at building a true hydrogen society over the next 100 years," says Toyota Group Vice President of Government Affairs Steve Ciccone. Air Liquide and Toyota are teaming up to develop hydrogen fueling infrastructure in the Northeast US. The Mirai goes on sale in the Northeast in 2016. Read more from Air Liquide.