If anybody harbored plans to kick Toyota in the shins and topple them from their top spot as the world’s largest automaker: Well, it didn’t work. Wags all over the world were predicting the worst for Toyota, but the numbers tell a totally different story. In the first five months of 2010, all units of Toyota produced 55.1 percent more cars worldwide than in the same period of 2009. The following table speaks for itself.

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Europe is a bit hybrid-adverse and far removed from Japan, where the Toyota Prius has been leading the charts for the 12^th month in a row. In a move to convert Europeans into hybrid-lovers, Toyota started production of their hybrid Auris in the UK. Read More >

As much as it pains me to admit it, Ford is a company to be admired. When bailouts were handed around like doobies in the Summer of Love, they didn’t partake (argue that point amongst yourselves, but you know what I mean). Their cars are interesting (to say the least) and their reliability is now being thought of in the same vein as Toyota, Honda and Hyundai. All of this is down to one man, Mr Alan “I bet you wish to made me CEO now! Eh, Boeing?!” Mulally. He put forward a vision of Ford divisions and subsidiaries working together to create a global product. He pared down the extraneous brands. He put the axe to Mercury and he didn’t need a bankruptcy to do it. In short, Mr Mulally has done well at Ford. The question is how well? Read More >

Toyota will supply small Subarus to Fuji Heavy, so that Fuji Heavy and Subaru can focus on midsize cars. According to information developed by The Nikkei [sub], “Toyota and Fuji Heavy intend to release a jointly developed sports car under their respective brands as early as the end of 2011.” If the Nikkei has its stuff together, then we might finally see the often delayed FT-86 next year. As a Toyota and a Subaru. Read More >

As we all know, those oblivious to history are bound to repeat its mistakes. Longtime readers also know I’ve gone down this road before, but the powers of my Twitter news feed shoved extra grist into this particular mill. Behold: Alain Raymond’s blog about the death of the V8 engine. Raymond’s weakest argument revolves around one fact: V8’s did lose mainstream appeal shortly after the demise of the Butterfly Collar. But Alain wishes to beat this dead horse for some misguided reason.

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According to a hot tip from Autocar, Toyota is using the delay of its FT-86 sportscar (top, right) to develop a larger “Supra” version, said to be hinted at by the FT-HS concept (bottom) and boasting a V6 hybrid drivetrain. A similar powerplant, based on the Highlander Hybrid system, was recently shown in a mid-engine MR2 evolution prototype (top, left). That model has apparently been approved for development, albeit with a 1.5 liter hybrid system, and aimed at Honda’s recently-released CR-Z. Which means that Toyota will go from offering nothing resembling a sportscar to selling two flavors of front-engine, rear-drive coupe and a mid-engine roadster. That’s what we call Moving Forward. Still, you have to wonder why these models weren’t released to take advantage of the LFA’s already-fading halo.

Hybrids are flying off the lots in Japan, with Toyota’s Prius leading the charts for the 12^th month in a row. Before, that spot was taken by another hybrid, the Honda Insight. In the Battle of the Hybrids, Honda introduces a fighter that hits below the belt, at the wallet: Honda will launch a hybrid in Japan that will cost around $17,000 in today’s dollars, “making it the most affordable hybrid in Japan,” The Nikkei [sub] says. The Nikkei sees a hybrid price war erupting in Japan. Read More >

Further to Ed Niedermeyer’s comments on local content of cars, Toyota announces changes to the most precious content of all: Who’s in the top slots of their presences abroad. In one fell swoop,  Toyota replaced leading positions in the U.S.A. and Europe with local content. Read More >

Toyota’s chief test driver, Hiromu Naruse, was killed today when the Lexus LFA “Nürburgring Edition” he was driving was hit head-on by a BMW on a rural road in the vicinity of the Nordschleife. And though this is hardly the time for levity (and so help me, I will ban the first person to crack an unintended acceleration joke), it must be noted that the ill-fated, $375k Toyota flagship supercar is referred to in this video as a “Nissan Lexus.” Sure, the Germans (local Wehrleiters in particular) have a natural contempt for non-European luxury brands, but that’s just embarrassing. Especially considering that this was not the kind of crazy legend-building crash that might have lent the LFA some man-eater mystique. What a tragedy.

At the start of the 21st century, Motor Sport, the UK racing magazine, looked back and asked an expert panel to rank the most important people in Formula One history. Behind F1 majordomo Bernie Ecclestone and Enzo Ferrari, third on the list of 99 was Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman, aka Chunky, founder of Lotus (that’s where the ACBC on the Lotus logo comes from – where the name Lotus comes from is somewhat shrouded in legend and myth).

Of the remaining 96 people, at least 7 were employees or close associates of Chapman. Graham Hill started out building transmissions at Lotus. Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth (i.e. Cosworth) were also early employees. Along with Hill, the drivers who raced for Chapman make up a veritable Hall of Fame: The aforementioned Hill, Jimmy Clark, Mario Andretti, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Petersen, and Nigel Mansell are just a few. Sir Jackie Stewart drove for him in Formula 2.

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The simplification of the automobile that’s set to take place with the transition to electric drivetrains is a troubling trend for the industry. As Bertel Schmitt has already explored, switching to electric drive could see component counts cut by as much as 90 percent, meaning the suppliers who build most of the components in modern cars are staring down a steep drop in their business. As Automotive News [sub] reports, even electric motors, which were once thought of as a growth area for suppliers looking to get in on the EV shift, are being largely built by OEMs, freezing suppliers out of potential growth. Toyota, Nissan and GM supply their own electric motors, leaving suppliers like Remy International behind in the dust. So how can suppliers stay competitive as EVs become more popular? Counter-intuitively, the answer may be gas-powered range extenders.

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You thought the strikes that affected Honda and Toyota in China are over, and both are happily churning out cars again? That makes two of us. But we are mistaken. Read More >

Don’t worry my fellow Americans, your supercharged Elises and Exiges are safe. In Europe, however, the introduction of the new 1.6 liter Elise means the old 1.8 supercharged cars are on their way out, victims of the new Euro 5 standard.

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It stands to reason that Japanese car makers would rejoice over rising wages in competing China and over an appreciating Chinese currency. Rising wages make production there more expensive, a rising Yuan makes exports more expensive. Both should give the Japanese more breathing room. That reasoning is falling by the wayside. The Nikkei [sub] reports that these developments pose ”serious threats to Toyota’s profitability in China, strategic challenges that other Japanese companies must also deal with.” Just goes to show that you need to be careful what you wish for. And wait who else should worry. Read More >

Give it a little while and the snickering about uninspired, or foreign-inspired Chinese car design can end. Carrozzeria Bertone has signed a partnership agreement with the Raffles CU International College, an affiliate of the Changchun University in northeastern China. Next to Shanghai, Changchun is the second-most important auto manufacturing center in China. It is dominated by FAW and its joint ventures with Volkswagen and Toyota. Read More >