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Toyota Supra and BMW Z5 coming in 2018 from Austria

A German automaker and a Japanese one get together to jointly develop a new sports car. So where do they build it? In Austria, of course! This according to a newspaper based in Graz, where contract manufacturer Magna Steyr is also based. BMW and Toyota have reportedly been working on a joint sports car program for a while. Toyota's version is expected to revive the Supra name and spirit, while BMW's is to replace the aging Z4 roadster and potentially wear a Z5 badge. Details are still up in the air – or on tight lockdown – but we can expect both to feature six cylinders mounted up front, driving the rear wheels through a proper manual transmission. Now Kleine Zeitung reports that both versions will be built on their behalf by Magna Steyr, and that they'll launch in 2018. The contract manufacturer already builds the Mini Countryman and Paceman for the BMW Group, but the Paceman is being discontinued, and the next-generation Countryman is slated to be moved in-house – following the lead of the Porsche Boxster/Cayman and Aston Martin Rapide. Though the Graz facility still builds the Mercedes G-Class and is soon slated to begin manufacturing for Jaguar Land Rover, the Mini crossovers' departure leaves Steyr with leftover capacity. BMW intends to fill some of that with assembly of the 5 Series sedan, but the joint sports car project ought to fill in the rest. This would mark the first time that Magna Steyr would build a car for Toyota – or any Asian manufacturer for that matter, after a previous contract with Infiniti fell through. It wouldn't be the first time the two have collaborated, though: the Kleine Zeitung report indicates that the FT86 Open concept (in the gallery below) was built by the Austrian workshop, which has expertise in crafting convertibles as well. Steyr has done the roof assemblies for the Mercedes SLK and Opel Astra TwinTop, as well as complete production of the Porsche Boxster and Saab 9-3 Convertible, to name just a few. Expect BMW's version to offer some sort of folding roof mechanism, but it's too early to speculate on the prospect of a convertible Supra. Related Video: Featured Gallery BMW Z5: Spy Shots Related Gallery Toyota FT-86 Open Concept: Geneva 2013 View 13 Photos News Source: Kleine Zeitung via Automotive News Europe - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2016 AOL BMW Toyota Convertible Coupe Performance bmw z5

GM might lose 90-year U.S. sales crown over chip shortage

Automotive News editor Nick Bunkley tweeted on October 1 that according to AutoNews data, General Motors "has been the largest seller of vehicles in the U.S. every year since passing Ford in 1931." With automakers having turned in light car and truck sales data for the first three quarters of 2021, GM's 90-year-run might not reach 91. According to AN figures, Toyota was 80,401 vehicles ahead when the October workday started. Worse, GM is so far behind its historic pace that it might only sell enough light vehicles in the U.S. to match its numbers from 1958.  Meanwhile, the New York Times put a few more salient numbers to the pain GM and Toyota are enduring alongside the the rest of the industry. GM sold 33% fewer cars in Q3 2021 than it did in Q3 2019 during the dark days of the pandemic, 446,997 units this year as opposed to 665,192 last year. GM's Q3 2020 was only down 13% on Q3 2019. Over at Toyota, the bottom line showed a 1% gain in Q3 2021 compared to 2020, with 566,005 units moved off dealer lots. The finer numbers show two steps forward and one step back, though; Toyota's September sales were down 22% compared to last year.  GM remains optimistic about what's ahead, GM's president of North American operations telling the NYT, "We look forward to a more stable operating environment through the fall." We'd like to see that happen, but we don't know how it happens. The chip shortage said to have been the inciting incident for the current woes isn't over, and not only can no one agree when it will be over, the automakers, chip producers, and U.S. government still can't get on the same page about who needs what and when. Looking away from that for a second shows articles about "No End In Sight" for supply chain disruptions in early September, before China had to start working through power supply constraints, global supply chain workers started warning of a "system collapse," and roughly 500,000 containers sat waiting to be unloaded at Southern California ports — a record number seemingly broken every week. And back to chips, we're told just a few days ago the chip shortage is "worse than we thought."   For now, the NYT wrote that GM dealer inventory is down 40% from June to roughly 129,000 vehicles, and down 84% from the days when dealers would cumulatively keep about 800,000 light vehicles in stock. However, GM just announced it would have almost all of its U.S. facilities back online next week, although some would run at partial capacity.

Toyota ready to get dirty with new TRD Pro Series

To the general public, Toyota is often thought of as a maker of bland but dependable cars, crossovers and SUVs that get their owners and a whole herd of whatever from Point A to Point B. Generally speaking, they're fuel efficient, comfortable and affordable. What the general public may not realize, however, is that Toyota enjoys a very strong history of going off road, too. The legendary Land Cruiser arguably established the trend, helping explore remote parts of the globe, while various guerilla warfare outfits and world military branches have unwittingly joined up with the boys from Top Gear to help cement the Hilux pickup's reputation for invincible performance. Now, though, Toyota is launching a new line of trucks and SUVs in the US that are even more explicitly targeted at hitting the trails. Meet the TRD Pro Series.
Featuring the 4Runner, Tacoma and Tundra, each Pro Series vehicle features TRD-tuned springs with Bilstein shocks, a TRD front skid plate, a TRD shifter, black wheels, branded floor mats and a "TOYOTA" grille badge, the latter of which harkens back to classic models. TRD Pro Series vehicles will be offered in the new Inferno paint color shown above, as well as Black and Super White.
The Tundra benefits from softer TRD springs that also provide a two-inch lift and a better ride in the rough, while the truck itself rides on 18-inch wheels with Michelin ORP tires. Each truck gains an extra two inches of wheel travel in front and 1.25 inches in back, while a TRD dual exhaust should generate a nicer sound than the trucks's standard V8 engine. Finally, a unique interior with red contrast stitching freshen up the cabin. We wouldn't go so far as to call this a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor fighter - far from it, in fact - but it's a bit more off-road oriented than your average pickup.