Lexus debuts $375,000 supercar at Tokyo Motor Show

A $375,000 Lexus? Toyota seems to think it's a good idea. The Lexus LFA, which debuted today at the Tokyo Motor Show, isn't, after all, one of their normal wares; it's their new supercar.

The low-slung, angular body design houses a 4.8-liter V-10 engine that distributes a meaty 552 hp and 354 pound-foot of torque to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox (don't hold your breath for a third pedal). It also clocks a 3.7-second 0-62 mph time at a top speed of 202 mph. Try racing your RX350 against that.

The price may be prohibitive, but exclusivity generally wins out; Lexus is only producing 500 units for worldwide distribution, and we have little doubt every last one will sell.

-- Alison Lakin

Alison Lakin is a staff writer for DriverSide.com.

Photo: Lexus LFA. Photo Credit: Toyota

NHTSA to investigate corrosion issue affecting 218,000 Toyota Tundras

Toyota can’t catch a break. In the last few weeks, positive announcements from the automaker have been overshadowed by reports of serious quality defects or recall notifications, and the tune doesn't appear to be changing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Assn. (NHTSA) is launching an investigation into a dangerous corrosion problem for 218,000 2000-01 Toyota Tundras after receiving 20 separate reports of brake system failures and spare tire separation due to critical rusting of the vehicle’s frame.

It is not the first corrosion problem Toyota has had with its pickup trucks.

Just last year, a similar issue emerged with 1995-2000 Tacomas. Because of the problem, Toyota has offered 1.5 times the Kelley Blue Book value for any truck located in 20 cold weather states whose frame had severely rusted. For 2001-04 Tacomas, Toyota is making available supplemental corrosion treatment and replacement frames if necessary, but not offering to buy back any vehicles.

There have been no reports of injuries as a result of the defect currently in question, but Toyota has admitted the 2000-01 Tundras under investigation have a similar frame design and were built by the same supplier as the affected Tacomas.

This news comes right on the heels of the biggest U.S. recall in the company's history. 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles are being recalled because the driver's side floor mats can potentially get caught in the pedals and cause a serious accident.

-- Alison Lakin

Alison Lakin is a staff writer at DriverSide.com.

Photo: 2000 Toyota Tundra. Credit: Toyota

Toyota FT-86 Concept to debut at Tokyo Auto Show

Take one look at Toyota's product lineup and you'll quickly realize that among a smattering of hybrids, sport utilities and frankly quite dull sedans, nothing exciting sticks out. After doing away with the Celica in 2006 and MR2 in 2007, few cars have attracted enthusiasts to Toyota for a few years now; hence the upcoming FT-86.

Conceived in 2008, the FT-86 Concept is a joint development project with Subaru. Eventually both companies will have variants, but for now all we've seen is this rear-drive concept from Toyota, which uses a Subaru 2.0-liter boxer four engine to help keep the center of gravity low in the chassis and give it that aggressive, low-profile hood.

Other than the fact that the concept utilizes a six-speed manual transmission and features a 2+2 seating arrangement, we don't know much about the upcoming "Toyobaru". We won't be seeing the car on roads until 2011, but it's already in video game Gran Turismo 5 if you fancy a sneak peek. Curiously, it doesn't appear to use a turbocharged engine, so outright speed may not be this car's selling point. At least it has something in common with the current Toyota lineup, then…

-- Brian Alexander

Brian Alexander is a staff writer for DriverSide.com

Photo: Toyota FT-86 Concept, Credit: AutoBlog

Prius flower power -- Eco-advertising takes to the freeways of California

No doubt you've seen the Toyota Prius television campaign of "human pixels" -- humans dressed as grass and flowers making a nice "wave" as the new 2010 Toyota Prius drives by. Our car critic and advertising columnist Dan Neil names it as his "favorite commercial of the year" in his column today and mentions how perfectly Toyota has expressed its tag line, "Harmony between man, nature and machine."

With California ranking as Prius' largest sales market, another leg of the new Prius campaign takes this theme a bit further and actually helps to put some money in the coffers of our ailing state. While promising to "brighten our commute" with 30-by-60-foot floral murals that depict a vaguely shaped Prius sitting on a hill with a green sunburst surrounding it.

Toyota's partnership with Greenroad Media of Santa Monica includes the upkeep of nine urban freeway sections, which basically consists of maintaining and repairing corresponding irrigation and landscape in exchange for using the ground as a floral billboard. Caltrans does not allow any product identification in the actual floral designs, but a nearby sign with the Prius name proudly displayed is installed nearby. “Through this innovative partnership with Toyota, we are able to improve the look of freeway landscape, make necessary upgrades to aging or damaged irrigation systems, and save tax dollars,” said Raja Mitwasi, Caltrans chief deputy district director.

Auto News roundup 6-4-09: Toyota claims hybrids will rule, Indiana challenges Chrysler bankruptcy, GM offers cash for dealer closings

-- Toyota, on the day Prius clinched the top sales spot for the first time (in May), makes the claim that hybrids will dominate for some time before battery technology catches up. USA Today

--The State of Indiana is temporarily stalling the sale of Chrysler to Fiat based on $42 million owed to retirees. Source: The Detroit Bureauvia Autoblog

-- GM is offering dealers up to $1 million to close their retail operations. Automotive News via Autoblog

-- 'Cash for Clunkers' legislation stalls in Senate. Car industry believes consumers are waiting for Congress to act before car-buying. Detroit News

-- Audi releases a new set of pictures of the redesigned, 340 horsepower 2010 Audi TT. Audi continues the claim that the TT is not scheduled for U.S. consumption. Autoblog

-- The Hyundai Accent has received a major face-lift and technical upgrade, and has been renamed the Verna Transform. Edmunds

-- Joni Gray

Insight vs. Prius battle heats up

 Head to the movies this summer and you’re going to see some battles.  Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort.  John Connor vs. angry motorcycles.  Mr. Spock vs. true fans.  But one more battle is shaping up to be a knock-down, drag-out slugfest:  the battle between Honda’s 2010 Insight and Toyota’s 2010 Prius.

Back in March, Honda struck first when it announced the pricing on its little eco-baby: $20,470.  It was a clear shot across the bow of Toyota, whose own green darling (the third-generation Prius) hits U.S. and Japanese dealers in a week or so, with a starting price of $22,750. 

Ostensibly, Honda’s bargain-bin pricing shook Toyota up a bit. 

A less-pricey Prius

 

Toyota, apparently spooked by the arrival of the budget-priced Honda Insight hybrid in showrooms last month, is shaving $1,000 off the sticker of the Prius.

Faced with a collapse of the hybrid market and the arrival of the Insight with its $19,800 base price, Toyota blinked and decided to cut the price of the 2010 Prius to $21,000, down from a base price of $22,000 for the 2009 model, according to Bloomberg News.

Toyota plans to announce the pricing on the new Prius on Tuesday, and the car — the first full redesign of the Prius since the ’04 model year — should start showing up in Southern California showrooms in late May.

How many Toyota will sell is another question. Hybrid sales have plummeted along with gas prices, and the Prius hasn’t been immune to the trend. Sales fell 56% in March compared with a year ago, and dealers were reporting 80 days' worth of inventory — a far cry from last summer when every Prius basically disappeared from dealer lots as fast as it showed up.

UPDATE: Toyota confirmed today that there will be a base 2010 Prius priced at $21,000, but that it won't go on sale until later this year. The Prius that arrives in dealer showrooms next month will start at $22,000, the same as the 2009 model.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photos: (Insight, left, and Prius, right) by Honda and Toyota

'Offset' crash tests find higher risk for smaller cars

There’s an old saying -- you can’t repeal the laws of physics. That may be the discussion right now at several small-car manufacturers today.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, known for its slow-motion car crash videos, sent the Honda Fit crashing into a Honda Accord, the Smart ForTwo into a Mercedes C-Class and a Toyota Yaris into a Toyota Camry -- each at 40 miles per hour. The results indicate what safety you may be trading for efficiency when your mode of transportation shrinks.

The tests are called "offset" crashes. The cars crash not quite head on, similar to what would result when a car strays over the center line, and the damage can easily intrude into the passenger compartment. Each of the small cars sustained damage the institute believes would lead to injuries for their occupants.

In a statement, Adrian Lund, president of the Arlington, Va.-based institute, said, "Though much safer than they were a few years ago, minicars as a group do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes, simply because they're smaller and lighter. In collisions with bigger vehicles, the forces acting on the smaller ones are higher, and there's less distance from the front of a small car to the occupant compartment to 'ride down' the impact. These and other factors increase injury likelihood."

The Smart ForTwo had “extensive” damage...

Back-to-back hybrid smack: Insight vs. Prius

 

In the handful of people who might actually enjoy seeing gasoline return to $4 a gallon, let's include marketing managers for the 2010 Honda Insight (shown left) and 2010 Toyota Prius (shown right), a pair of all-new hybrids set to do battle this spring. They'll be successful with gas at $2 a gallon, but they'd likely be smash hits if gasoline prices go back up.

Though both names are familiar, these are two new cars. The Honda Insight introduced gasoline-electric hybrids to the U.S. market in 1999, but that car was a little hot dog-shaped two-seater that never sold in big volume. Toyota was a little later to the hybrid party with the Prius, but it was a four-door with a usable rear seat, and it became a far bigger hit than the Insight. It still sells well - the Prius accounts for more than half the hybrid cars sold in the U.S.
  
For 2010, the Insight is back, but it's an entirely different car - in fact, the resemblance to the Prius is undeniable. It's a four-door hatchback with room for five, powered by a 1.3-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, aided by an electric motor.
  
The 2010 Prius is slightly larger than the 2009 model it replaces, and is classified by the EPA as a "midsize" car, while the Insight is a "compact." Really, the difference in interior space is not that noticeable. The Prius' 1.5-liter four-cylinder gas engine is now 1.8 liters, and while the basic hybrid battery pack is essentially the same as in 2009, the rest of the drive system is, Toyota says, 90 percent new.
 
Here are the dueling hybrids in a nutshell:

Countdown to new Prius -- 60 days and counting

 
Toyota announced today during a monthly sales call that its new 2010 Prius will be available in dealerships at the end of May.

The car, recently reviewed by L.A. Times auto critic Dan Neil, features much-lauded improvements and refinements in nearly every area. An increased wheelbase, improved aerodynamics, more legroom, a larger engine and the much talked about feature of three driving modes -- EV, Power and Eco.

Toyota said pricing would not be released until mid-April and also did not comment on whether pricing would be reduced to compete with the upcoming Honda Insight hybrid, which has been announced at less than $20,000.

-- Joni Gray

Photo: Toyota