Toyota is being as secretive about the NS4 as its premium Lexus sibling is about its own prototype that will be shown in Motor Town, with the only piece of information we get about the vehicle is that it will be "an advanced plug-in hybrid concept".
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But there's a small problem with this odd creation that's based on a 1991 Toyota Camry LE. It has a 'Buy it Now' price of...US$1.7 million or about €1.3 million if you live on the other side of the pond and it tickles your fancy instead of let's say, a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Ferrari FF, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, a Rolls Royce Phantom and then some for a condo.
At the time, many were wondering if Toyota's premium brand Lexus, which competes with BMW, would also receive diesel engines from the Bavarian firm. As it turns out, the answer is no.
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Advertising evaluation firm Ace Metrix, though, reveals in its latest report that the hype automakers wish to create with these kinds of ads doesn’t really materialize. In fact, they may have the exact opposite effect.
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Toyota said that it expects to bring in a net profit of 180 billion Yen [US$2.3 billion] for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, down 53.8 percent from the 390 billion yen [US$5.04 billion] it projected in August.
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And the worst thing is when you're driving in circles for hours and finally find a free space only to discover that you can't fit in.
Not surprisingly, some drivers are so desperate that they don't care if they have to bump their way to squeeze in, like this owner of an older generation Toyota Camry that just had to park no matter what. A time-lapse video is waiting for you just after the break.
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Pushing its suppliers hard to minimize their costs, or finding alternative partners, is one of the measures taken by the biggest Japanese carmaker. Moving more of its production out of Japan to more cost-efficient plants in other countries is t.
The weak dollar is making manufacturing in the U.S. increasingly more attractive, allowing for more competitive prices and higher profit margin – to the point that U.S.-made Camrys will be exported to South Korea.
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But don’t take it from us, read what Toyoda said:
"Today it is said that young people have little interest in cars as there are much more interesting things. As an automobile maker, I find this quite frustrating. It is for this reason that we are committed to making cars that will evoke this feeling of 'fun to drive, again' in as many people as possible. This is Toyota's declaration."
While the 86 is the only real sports car in Toyota's current range, we would like to think that Toyoda wouldn't make such a statement without standing behind it, which is why we found these official patent images of a sported up iQ (sold as a Scion in North America) very interesting.
The Australian Camry is produced in Melbourne with the factory being heavily dependent on exports, mainly to the Middle East region.
"Camry will be a significant contributor to the Australian and Victorian economies, and holds the key to a strong future for the local automotive sector," said Toyota Australia senior executive director sales and marketing, David Buttner.
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In fact, the Japanese carmaker was so determined to stay true to its promise that it even included drift tests in its development program. The production model is said to have an estimated 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph).
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"The export of thousands of Camry vehicles to South Korea is an important development that builds on the great work of our talented U.S. team members as well as our extensive investments across North America to help maintain a strong, stable base of U.S. jobs," said Yoshimi Inaba, president and COO of Toyota Motor North America, Inc.
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Luckily, no fatalities were reported though ten drivers suffered bruising and some minor injuries.
“The accident occurred when the driver of a red Ferrari was switching from the right lane to the left and skidded,” Mitsuyoshi Isejima, executive officer for Yamaguchi Prefecture’s Expressway Traffic Police unit told Bloomberg News. “It was a gathering of narcissists," said Isejima who added that the drivers were aged between 37 and 60 years old.
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When it looked like it might recover, the Thai floods hit its supply chain once again. Moreover, the strong yen makes things even harder for Toyota. Yet in November, sales of Toyota Division in the U.S., which includes the Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands were up by 7 percent compared to the same month in 2010.
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However, at the Tokyo Motor Show, the Japanese company came out of its shell introducing several bespoke models.
Aside from the Toyota Century-based FS Hybrid concept that we showed you earlier today, Kana Auto Works also displayed two prototypes of the newly presented Toyota Aqua hybrid, which will be marketed under the Prius C brand name outside of Japan.
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Being big, brawny and surprisingly powerful thanks to the ferocious 6.2-liter V8 with 411-ponies that's lurking under the hood, definitely helps.
Now there's a question of what to do once you get yourself in a F-150 Raptor SVT and while we can think of many things, for this particular owner, the answer was to climb over a Toyota (Corolla we believe). Whatever pops your cork...Watch the clip after the jump.
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And while the star of Toyota's booth is no doubt, the new 86 coupe (formerly known as the FT-86), Japan's top-brand has plenty more in store for us including the Fun Vii concept study.
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While we do, of course, remain somewhat skeptical, they do appear to be genuine. The opening picture shows the Land Cruiser 200 kitted out with original Toyota accessories, but it appears that the headlights and the chrome grille have been tweaked.
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KAW has several plants throughout Japan as well as in Thailand and Brazil. It has built several Toyota models while also helping the Japanese company in the engineering field with projects like the MR2-based GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II that was also on display in Tokyo.
On Thursday, the two companies announced that they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the mid-to-long development of environmental-friendly technologies.
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Besides the name, there's nothing else different about the Aqua that made its world premiere this week at the 42nd edition of the bi-annual Tokyo Motor Show in Japan.
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