Toyota

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com October 3, 2012 Besides hybrid powertrains, Toyota's powertrain line has been lacking some key features that competitors are now offering. Those features include direct-injection, Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVT), and turbochargers to balance performance and fuel economy. According to Autoweek, Toyota will be adding those features to their lineup over the next few weeks. At the moment, Toyota employs direct-injection in the Scion FR-S,

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com September 24, 2012 2012 was supposed to be the year that Toyota would begin selling the electric version of the iQ minicar called the eQ. When it introduced the vehicle back in 2010 expected, Toyota said it planned to sell several thousand of the vehicles per year. "Two years later, there are many difficulties," said Takeshi Uchiyamada, Toyota's vice chairman and the engineer who oversees vehicle development. Now, Toyota is planning to only se

William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 26, 2012 Toyota has revealed the powertrain details on the new 2013 Avalon. As expected, the new Avalon will still use the 3.5L V6 from the previous Avalon. The V6 is rated at 268 HP and 248 lb-ft. of torque and will go through a six-speed automatic. EPA rates the V6 at 21 City/31 Highway/25 Combined. Toyota has equipped the Avalon V6 with three different power modes (Eco, Normal, Sport) and certain models get paddle-shifters for a more “

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com April 16, 2012 Two words you wouldn’t think that would go together are Toyota and excitement. But there was time when Toyota meant excitement; cars like the Celica, Supra, and MR2 cemented the brand as building some of best sports cars before hanging it up and building appliances. However, the tide at Toyota seems to be changing. The RWD GT86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ coupes are beginning to roll out, and Toyota is introducing a new development

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 1, 2012 Tetsuya Tada, the chief engineer of the Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S said something very interesting to Germany's Autobild magazine. "The GT 86 was designed from the outset that we can build it as a convertible," said Tada. So what does that mean? We could be seeing a convertible version of Scion FR-S within a few years, most likely retaining the 2.0L boxer-four with 197 HP. Source: Autobild

William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com January 15, 2012 Riddle me this Batman; what future car is Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager, Bob Carter talking about. Will have “more room than a BMW X5, be faster than a (Volkswagen) TDI and have higher mpg than a Fiat 500.” The answer, well it could be one of two things; a new model Toyota is working on or the new Avalon. What? The Avalon? Yes, and here’s how. To have more room than a BMW X5, the vehicle would ne

Toyota has said that the primary focus of the GT 86 is handling, not horsepower. However, some recent comments from the chief engineer, Tetsuo Tada show Toyota could be making horsepower a bigger focus. Tada told Autocar that test versions of a hotter GT 86 using superchargers have already been made and are currently being “evaluated” by Toyota Racing Development. Tada said the reason why they’re evaluating superchargers due to the simplicity of it than enlarging the engine and provides better

A couple of days ago, Toyota unveiled pictures of the production Toyota 86 ahead of the Tokyo Auto Show. Today, a bunch of Toyota 86 test drive videos have surfaced. This car will be sold in Japan as the Toyota 86, in Europe as the Toyota GT-86, and in the US as the Scion FRS. Subaru will get a version called the BRZ that will be Subaru's first car offered without AWD in over a decade. The JDM Toyota 86 features a new 2.0 litre flat four producing 197 horsepower and 151 ft-lb of torque while

After two years and countless number of concepts, Toyota will show off the production version of the FT-86 sports car. Toyota's UK office released pictures and some tidbits about the vehicle. In Europe, the coupe will be called GT 86. Here's the specs of the GT 86: 2.0L boxer with D4-S injection (direct and port injected) 197 hp @ 7,000 rpm and 151 lb-ft (205 Nm) @6,600 rpm 6-speed manual or automatic transmissions 17-inch wheel/tire package standard 4,240mm (167 in.) long, 1285mm

Last year at the North American International Auto Show, Toyota showed a trio of Prius models; the Prius Plug-In, Prius V, and Prius C Concept. So far two out of three have began rolling out. Now, car number three is being shown in production form. The Toyota Prius C is coming to Detroit next January. The car is about the size of a Yaris but is packing a hybrid drivetrain that is a 1.5L gasoline engine coupled with an undisclosed "high-output" electric motor. The Prius C is expected to get the