2001 Toyota Solara Se - 2-door 3.0l - 1 Owner on 2040-cars

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Next Lotus Elise to draw from its roots

Recently-appointed Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales told Autocar that work on the new Lotus Elise, which is coming in 2020, is already underway, and thanks to growing sales, the automaker is set to make a profit for the first time in 20 years. Gales also dropped some details about the new sports cars' design philosophy and underpinnings. According to the report, the new Elise will utilize the same aluminum chassis technology found in the original Elise and won't bear any resemblance to the 2010 Elise concept. Instead, the upcoming vehicle will uphold its roots with a lightweight design that emphasizes driver involvement at an affordable price. The new Elise is rumored to weigh in at roughly 1,984 pounds, almost 384 pounds more than the original Elise. In order to meet US crash ratings, the Elise will most likely be wider, but have the same length as the current model. Power will probably come from a Toyota unit producing between 134 horsepower and 245 horsepower. The Elise is expected to come to the US where it will be offered with a manual and automatic transmission, which will both come from Toyota as well. Gales claims Lotus has more orders now than in any year in the last 10 years, with the US being one of the automaker's most important markets. Related Video:

2017 Toyota 86: The car so nice it's been rebadged twice

When the dust settles and the Scion brand is no more, the car we currently know as the Scion FR-S will be rebadged. Again. If you remember the excitement that surrounded the Toyobaru/Subota rear-drive sports coupes' introduction, you'll recall that Scion's Subaru BRZ twin landed in here as the FR-S. That car, along with the new iA and iM, will get a stay of execution next year when the brand bids adieu. We know it will wear a Toyota badge in dealers from then on, and there's a good chance it will get the 86 badge European models wear. Toyota's version of the car goes by several different names depending on the market. It's only a Scion in North America, while it's sold as the Toyota 86 (in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and South Africa), Toyota GT86 (in Europe and New Zealand again), and Toyota FT86 (in Nicaragua and Jamaica). The 86 part of the name is a nod to the rear-drive AE86 Corollas of the 1980s. That's a history lesson Toyota likely won't have to teach its core demographic. Then again, this car's core demographic probably already bought one. There's also a possibility that this car will get yet another name combination: Toyota FR-S. For the sake of simplicity, let's hope not. View 7 Photos So yes, the rebadged 86 will be re-rebadged back to a Toyota. Functionally this means almost nothing. Buyers who were ordering badge-swap kits from overseas will save some money. Some enthusiast forums might need to change their names. And people visiting from Japan or Europe will feel a little more at home when they see a rear-drive Toyota sports car on the street. Meanwhile, FR-S – a name that may or may not have stood for "front-engine, rear-drive, sport" – will be quickly forgotten. Related Video: Scion Toyota confirmed toyota 86

Toyota Camry could lose No. 1 sedan spot next year [w/video]

Eleven months after Toyota claimed the 2012 sales crown a couple of months early thanks to the Camry, the headlines this year have been quite a bit different to last. Even though the Camry remains the best selling car so far in 2013 and its volume has increased year-on-year, it has lost market share due to the 20-percent sales explosion in the midsize segment. That means people are buying more of the competitor offerings like the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion - the Altima, in fact, outsold the Camry by 100 units in March.
In July it was reported that Toyota was upping Camry incentives and fleet sales to keep its lead and that dealer inventory was climbing as, again, competitors got better at fighting the champion. In August Ford doubled down on production of the Fusion, adding a line in Flat Rock, MI to keep up with demand.
Bloomberg has a report looking at the numbers behind the Camry's dominance, as well as what appears to be a recorded group interview with Toyota USA CEO Jim Lentz, and wonders aloud whether the Camry will be able to hold its top spot in 2014. Barring catastrophe it has this year locked up, being more than 30,000 sales ahead of the next-best seller as of the end of August, but it has done so with higher incentives and lower transaction prices than its competitors. According to Strategic Vision the Camry's consideration rate among consumers has also declined by a percentage point, while the consideration rate for the Accord and Fusion has increased by one point and two points, respectively.