-
The Toyota concept in Tokyo is called the FT-86, with Future Toyota as the easy part.
The return of the Toyota Sprinter is looking like a foregone conclusion for 2011.
And it will be rear-wheel drive, just for fun.
The car was previewed at the Tokyo Motor Show and many people, including me, originally believed it would be the reincarnation of the Toyota Celica. But the name is the giveaway.
The Toyota concept in Tokyo is called the FT-86, with Future Toyota as the easy part. The back half, 86, is a historical link to the most popular Corolla of a generation, the 1980s AE-86 Sprinter.
It was quick, rear-wheel drive and is still the base for a lot of tuner and drift cars around the world. So the FT-86 is looking like the new-age Sprinter that Toyota needs desperately to bring Gen-X buyers to the brand.
The company's new chief, Akio Toyoda, is well aware of the problem and, as a racer and car nut himself, he wants to put some driving enjoyment and real appeal into the Toyota lineup. But it won't be easy, as the chief engineer of the then- new Camry once told me.
"My job is to make Camry the car people choose to buy. Not the one they buy when they have eliminated all others," he said.
With the Sprinter on track, the rear questions over the FT-86 concept concern Subaru. It is developing the mechanical package for the car, including its flat-four engine and rear-drive chassis, and will get its own version to body and badge as a Subaru.
But Subaru Australia is not convinced it has all the right DNA for local sales. It is most worried that it will be missing the company's signature all-wheel drive.
The switch to all-paw grip was crucial for the success of Subaru Australia and is reflected in a showroom milestone this week, as total sales down under of the iconic WRX reached 30,000 cars.
Cheap tyres 
Credit crunch 
Ford Fiesta 
Hyundai ix35
