In a leak on Twitter by Toyota’s PR rep Scott Brownlee, Dashboard has our first look at Toyota’s re-entry into LeMans competition. Yes, re-entry. Toyota has raced the 24hr long race before in the early 1990′s with modest success, but the program only lasted a few years. Last October, Toyota announced that they are planning to race at LeMans once again, but until now details have been slim.

For their second try at the race, Toyota is bringing a hybrid-equipped race car to fight against Audi’s incredibly successful, diesel powered R18. We can’t tell much from the leak other than that the car looks competition ready, but hard facts on power weight, and engine specs (the stuff that wins races) is yet to be released. The green flag has a whole new meaning now that two environmentally friendly challengers are in the race.

Toyota’s 2012 Camry comes out of the gate with a recommend from Consumer Reports. Just a few years ago this wouldn’t be news but the world certainly has changed in the last few years! Regardless the new Camry could be the car that gets Toyota back on track and if recent sales figures are any indication things are looking up for Toyota in 2012.

From AutoNews.com:

LOS ANGELES (Bloomberg) — Toyota Motor Corp.’s revamped Camry, the best-selling sedan in the U.S., won a “recommended” review from Consumer Reports magazine, which has been critical of some of the Japanese automaker’s models.

The 2012 Camry, which went on sale in October, was evaluated for the February 2012 issue of the magazine published by Consumers Union, a non-profit group.

“The Camry has a nicer interior, more responsive handling, and better fuel economy than before,” the review said. “In fact, the four-cylinder model’s 27 mpg overall ties with the Hyundai Sonata for the best fuel economy among conventional gasoline-powered family sedans.”

Carmakers seek favorable reviews from the magazine as they are considered among the most objective because of its policies of accepting no advertising and buying every vehicle it tests. While Toyota has historically fared well in Consumer Reports reviews, the magazine said in 2007 it would scrutinize the brand more closely due to problems it found in the Tundra pickup, Lexus GS luxury car and previous V-6 engine Camry sedan.

Read the full review.

Wanted to let everyone know that Toyota’s “More Prius. More Giving.” toy drive on Facebook is closing this Friday (12/23) and it’s your last chance to donate a toy on behalf of Toyota to Toys for Tots! And with participation as easy as a simple click and share on the Toyota Prius Facebook Page, there’s no excuse not to. If you haven’t already….

Donate A Toy With A Click.
Visit the “More Prius. More Giving.” tab on the Prius Facebook page (www.facebook.com/prius) and click to select one of five toys to donate on behalf of Toyota (completely free on your end!). The toy will then be virtually loaded into the Prius v and added to the total donation count. That’s it!

In a press conference by Toyota Motor Corp.’s president Akio Toyoda today, Toyoda announced that the strength of the Japanese yen may cause Toyota to shift production of compact cars to other countries. Toyota is not the first Japanese car company to come out against the yen. Nissan has also pleaded to the government to weaken the yen, or they would pull out of domestic production as well.

The yen has been incredibly strong against the U.S. dollar as of late, causing profit margins to erode for many of the domestic Japanese automotive manufacturers. Coupled with lagging demand in the U.S., and supply chain disruptions due to the earthquake, Japanese brands have had a difficult set of circumstances as they struggle for sales in a tough year.

Toyoda fielded a few questions on if moving production would hurt Toyota’s national image. Toyoda explained that Toyota is an international company, and that although strongly tied to its home country, Toyota must take actions to keep the company healthy in order to keep providing jobs for Japan.

One car whose production may be moved is the Toyota Corolla. This compact car has a low profit margin which makes it more vulnerable to the exchange rate crisis currently affecting Japan. this move would benefit the U.S., though, since Toyota’s new plant in Mississippi was noted as a possible new location for the car’s production.

Toyota is also asking for government assistance in the form of devaluing the yen and giving out tax incentives to stimulate demand in the increasingly car averse cities of Japan.

A safety recall disaster, strong competition in the marketplace, an earthquake, and now currency issues have all taken their toll on the once invincible Toyota. With a revamped product line, and maybe a way around a strong yen, Toyota is looking for a variety of ways to put those past issues aside and reclaim its former dominance.

This is a very nice change for Scion! Now the brand has some muscle. From Auto News.com:

OYAMA, Japan — Toyota President Akio Toyoda unveiled his company’s new 200-horsepower rear-wheel-drive sporty car before thousands of fans at a Formula One race track today in his bid to spice up a brand better known for bland but utilitarian offerings such as the Corolla and Camry.

The car, to be called the Toyota 86 in Japan and sold as the Scion FR-S in the United States, has been in the works for five years and received close scrutiny from Toyoda, who is banking on the car as an affordable halo model to burnish the company’s performance credentials.

The 86 hits a top speed of 142 mph and can do 0-62 in 6 seconds. But raw speed is not the goal, says chief engineer Tetsuya Tada. The model’s true mission is multifold:

Read the full article.

Normally, scans from an automaker’s internal parts catalog would not make headline news; unless they showed a hotly anticipated new car that is. Scans from Modellista, a Toyota parts magazine, seem to show the brand new Toyota FT-86. Like those of bigfoot, these grainy images show hope that the car is out there, and will not be bloated up and dumbed down for production. Toyota has not commented on the leak, but the production version of this car should be seen at the Tokyo International Auto Show next month.

Source: FT86club

From AutoGuide.com:

Toyota is taking product development authority away from Japanese bosses and putting it in the hands of North American executives as part of a larger change aimed at fixing quality control issues that hurt the automaker’s reputation last year.

Until now, vehicles produced and designed and developed in North America had to be approved by chief engineers in Japan. Vehicles unique to the North American market such as the Venza, Sienna, Avalon, Tacoma and Tundra will no longer require painstaking and frustrating sign-offs from Japan at each step of the development processes.

“We are going to implement the process from design to preparation for production to development, cost planning, and identifying and selecting suppliers,” said Inaba, CEO of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. “All these processes are going to be 100 percent done here, without going back to Japan for approval.”

The changes come too late to affect the development of the redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry due this fall, however upcoming models based in North America, such as the next Tundra pickup, will see the result of the new structure.

Check out more for AutoGuide.com.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Toyota will begin cranking up its North American factories faster than expected, returning to 70% of normal production in June as it rebounds from parts shortages caused by the earthquake in Japan.

The company cut production to about 30% of normal in May by idling factories for several days or reducing their hours. It warned dealers to expect shortages of some models well into the summer.

But Toyota said Wednesday that the parts situation is improving as supply companies take measures to counter the effects of the quake.

A March 11 earthquake and tsunami damaged auto parts plants in northeastern Japan, causing shortages that have affected nearly all automakers but have hit Toyota and Honda especially hard.

Toyota said in a statement that it would evaluate production for each model every month, and it may not return to fully normal production until late this year.

Next month, though, Toyota will move to 100% production of eight models in North America. They include the Avalon large car, Camry midsize car, Corolla compact, Highlander SUV, Matrix small car, Sequoia large SUV, Sienna minivan and Venza crossover vehicle, Toyota said in a statement.

Read the full article.

From AutoNews.com:

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Subaru suspended production at plants in Japan today and were assessing damage after an 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast, triggering a tsunami and shaking buildings as far away as Tokyo.

The shutdown could affect exports to the United States of such cars as the Toyota Yaris sedan, Scion XB and Scion XD, as well as the Honda Fit subcompact, Accord sedan and CR-V crossover. The temblor also affected production of the Acura and Infiniti lineups.

Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, said it evacuated workers from several factories in the quake zone. Toyota has two parts plants in northern Japan and two affiliates, Kanto Auto Works Ltd. and Central Motors Co., that assemble small cars in the region.

The status of those plants was being evaluated, Toyota spokesman Dion Corbett said. “We are still trying to get information from them,” he said.

Read the full article.

Toyota takes another one on the chin with a massive worldwide recall! These headlines keep opening the door wider for other auto companies to garner market share from a once Unstoppable Juggernaut. Times change fast and if your Toyota you can’t like what you see in the rearview mirror especially if they are new Chrysler’s, Ford’s, Nissan’s and BMW’s!!!

From AutoNews.com:

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp., struggling to restore its reputation for top quality, today recalled nearly 1.7 million vehicles globally for a variety of fuel system related problems, including 245,000 Lexus IS and Lexus GS sedans in the United States.

The North American vehicles are being called back to inspect for possibly faulty installation of fuel pressure sensors. In cases where the sensor is not fastened tightly enough, fuel can leak between the gasket that connects the sensor to the fuel delivery pipes, Toyota said.

Lexus dealers in the United States will inspect vehicles for fuel leaks. If none is found, they will tighten the sensor. If leaks are confirmed, the gasket will be replaced and the sensor tightened.

Read the full article.