Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Concept
January 19th, 2007
The Detroit auto show is held in a Las Vegas-like stage where carmakers do their best to amaze a world audience. Toyota will step up this year and show off its FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept, a futuristic looking sports car that would be powered by a 400-horsepower hybrid powertrain. The Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept is just that a concept, little more than a container for the overheated dreams of a bunch of designers at Calty Design Research. In fact, what you see here is only a two-dimensional animation, a computer-generated image of the show car that Toyota will be rolling out at the Detroit auto show.
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Toyota Makes Deal With Isuzu
January 10th, 2007
Toyota announced that it will spend $373 million on a deal with Isuzu that will transfer 5.9% of the truck- and diesel-maker to the giant Japanese automakers. Toyota’s goal in purchasing a stake in Isuzu is to raise its diesel portfolio, which apparently is behind other major automakers like cross-town rival Honda who announced in September it would have diesel-powered passenger cars for sale in the U.S. within three years.
We always expected that Toyota would rely on its own Hino Motors commercial truck subsidiary for a diesel engine to power a heavy-duty version of its new Tundra pickup, but Hino is not prepared to make smaller diesel engines for passenger cars and potentially diesel hybrids.
Toyota Corolla Delayed Till 2008
December 15th, 2006
If the all-new Yaris is too small and cramped for you and the current Corolla is too out of date then you’ll just have to keep waiting for your next Toyota economy car. The company has put plans for the next-generation Corolla on hold due to lack of engineers. It seems Toyota is focusing on other more important projects for now and can afford to let the aging Corolla age a bit more.