Pictures of the “production” version of the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder, which looks about the same as the “concept” version unveiled at Detroit in January. And along with the reveal, another body-on-frame SUV bites the dust.
Category: Toyota
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Toyota ReviewsToyota Motor Co., the world’s largest automaker, has been producing cars for more than 70 years. It wasn’t until after World War II, however, that production started to pick up. Toyota went from making 8,500 cars a year in 1955 to 600,000 in 1965. Models like the Toyopet and Land Cruiser hit the United States in 1957. Today Toyota is among the leaders when it comes to hybrid technology. |
Remember 1985? If you were paying attention to cars, then the then-new Civic Si and Mk2 Jetta GLI were on your radar. Which did you prefer? For the 2012 model year both cars are again new. One of them has changed surprisingly little. The other, though it retains some choice bits, has perhaps lost the plot.
With China being the world’s largest car market, and the largest market of many of our carmakers, getting good and timely data is essential for stock analysts and journalists alike. Bloomberg has an exasperated story that cries about the absolute mess in China when it comes to hard data. It also describes the great lengths analysts go to when gauging Chinese car sales. No wonder the analyst reports are often messier than even the messiest Chinese data: Read More >
Countering talk of an impending end to the new car party, augurs predict that July will be seasonally hot. TrueCar says that this July could be the best since the heydays of 2007. TrueCar, which bases its projections on real time transactions from its associated dealers, thinks that July sales could reach 1.17 million, up 10.6 percent from July 2011. Edmunds also sees 1.17 million new cars in its crystal ball. Kelley Blue Book basically agrees with 1.16 million on its tip sheet. Read More >
Minivans are indeed fewer in number.
Supposedly they should to able to hold six or seven.
But the truth is the buyers of these vehicles rarely have room for three these days.
See, I have dealt with hundreds of minivan buyers over the years as a small town car dealer and a writer here at TTAC. Nearly everyone I deal with considers no more than three minivans. To be frank, the majority won’t even consider two which is why Chrysler, Toyota and Honda minivans now control more than 88% of the North American minivan market.
What chance does the Nissan Quest have? Even after 20 years in the public eye?
It is a Japanese tradition. At this time of the month, all Japanese automakers provide their global results for the preceding month and the year. This month is no exception. Honda did set an all-time June record and raised its worldwide production by 66 percent for the first half. Nissan also reports an all-time June record and that global production is up 19 percent January through June. The most watched numbers come from Japanese juggernaut Toyota. Read More >
GM may not be announcing expanded production at Oshawa, but a few hundred miles down the 401, Toyota is ramping up production of the Lexus RX at their Cambridge, Ontario plant.
Car counters, pay attention: Sometime in June (nobody really knows when and where), Toyota made its 200 millionth car. Read More >
Yesterday, we talked about the odd occurrence of Toyota if not saving the hide of GM’s new partner PSA Peugeot Citroen, then at least keeping one of PSA’s plants from being closed. This by having vans made by PSA for the European market, instead of shipping them from Japan.
When we wrote that, TTAC correspondent th009 rightfully questioned why in the world does Toyota order a van from PSA if they have a Hiace. Correspondent felix offered the explanation that due to its “cab-over configuration, the Hiace won’t meet European frontal impact crash standards.” This sounded like a logical explanation, until from Finland, correspondent Perc offered a resounding “mitää???”, explaining that the Hiace has been a big success in Suomi. Finland has the same safety standards as all on Europe.
So, what is it then? Read More >
After wondering whether the Chevrolet Malibu nameplate is reborn last time, today I am taking you to Eastern Europe, and more precisely in Bulgaria.
2012 will stay in the history of automobile as the year the Chinese started manufacturing cars in Europe.
And yes by Europe I mean Bulgaria.
Not interested? That’s ok, because you can check out the best-selling cars in 167 additional countries and territories on my blog. They’re all there and they’re waiting for you so click away!
Back to Bulgaria.
Listening to demands for “compact cars with minivan-like features,” Toyota unleashed two truly mini minivans upon the Japanese public, with the aim of becoming the leader in that segment. But wait what they called the thing. Read More >
JCP writes:
So here’s the least sexy question of the year. For those of us with the need for six seats (and climbing over the middle row of an SUV is unacceptable) what is your take on the reasonable lifespan of the current minivan lineup? I’m curious what you can expect to be a reasonable number of miles on a Caravan, Oddessy or Sienna if you were to be traveling 900 miles on Christmas Eve or New Years Day? Breakdowns with a family of six in this situation can get very expensive fast, so replacing the vehicle before it breaks can make financial sense. How far would you recommend pushing it?
Assumptions; minivans are purchased new and all regular maintenance is done. Do you have any thoughts on the various models and do any of them have timebombs under the hood? Read More >
While France’s new leftist government mulls a new “drive French” plan and makes threatening gestures in the direction of French car makers that dare to do something about overcapacity, in an odd change of events it is a Japanese company that will prevent a much anticipated plant closure at PSA Peugeot Citroen. Read More >

As if the absurdly hyperbolic headline “The day the world changed” wasn’t enough of a tip-off , the hype machine for the Toyobaru twins has officially reached its zenith, with Wheels magazine’s Peter Robinson declaring the Japanese-spec Toyota 86 to be superior to the Porsche Cayman.
As dismissive as I tend to be of the internet product-planning brigade, their constant cries of “Bring rear-drive, V8 full-size Aussie sedans to America” may have some credibility – the market for these cars in Australia seems to be going teats up, with SUVs and small cars taking their place.












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