Toyota Aurion News

WILL Power's IndyCar winning streak ended in Alabama when he was only fourth in the third round of the American open-wheel series. He still qualified on pole position and leads the IndyCar points table despite being beaten to the win by his Penske team mate Helio Castroneves, with fellow Aussie Ryan Briscoe coming home sixth at Barber Motorsport Park.STEVEN Johnson qualfies as a V8 Supercar veteran this weekend when he makes his 150th championship start in Hamilton, New Zealand. Junior Johnson has spent his whole career with his father Dick's Ford team, including several early starts in satellite operations, and is only the 13th driver to clock up 150 round starts.CHAD Reed returned to Supercross action in the USA last weekend, taking fourth place for Kawasaki in his comeback race in Houston. It was his first race since January and he just missed the podium despite battling a poor start and a troublesome shifter.MARCOS Ambrose got his best finish of the 2010 season when he came home 11th in Phoenix last weekend in the seventh round of the Nascar championship series. He qualified brilliantly in fourth but struggled through the race, although the result still boosts him five spots to 24th in the Sprint Cup standings.AMERICAN drag racing legend Larry Dixon has just hit a new career milestone, scoring his 50th top fuel race win. He did the job by beating Antron Brown in the final of the Spring Nationals at Houston in Texas last weekend.The search for new talent in the V8 Supercar world has given four newcomers a crack in a Kelly Racing Commodore at Winton.  Amber Anderson, best known as the V8 Supercar pace car driver in 2009, joined New Zealander Jonny Reid, kart start David Sera and veteran Mini racer Scott Bargwanna in a driver evaulation day which could provide a Kelly co-driver for the endurance races later in the year.JACK Perkins proved he can still win with victory in an Aussie Racing Cars event in Darwin last weekend. The V8 Supercar refugee also cracked the lap record in his Toyota Aurion, although he was fourth for the roundDANIEL Erickson began his racing season in the USA the right way with second place in the Formula Ford 2000 opener at Virginia Raceway last weekend. The 22-year-old qualified quickest but was jumped at the rolling start and followed Brazilian Victor Carbone to the flag.

Most makes and models did better than a year earlier, as customers snapped up everything from cheap Korean imports to value-priced local family cars.  Long-term price leader Hyundai did best of the best, lifting its sales by 67.7 per cent to hit an all-time high for the Korean carmaker.Hyundai has been in Australia since 1986 but has never had a better January, thanks partly to its $13,990 Getz but also the successful i30 and iLoad van.  The locally-made Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Toyota Camry-Aurion went up by 15.4 per cent, with the Falcon doing much better as sales lifted from 1630 to 2318.Only two of the top-10 brands went backwards, with Mitsubishi falling 50 sales short of its 2009 result and dropping to seventh in the rankings and Honda sliding all the way to ninth after losing more than 2000 sales for the month.  The overall sales improvement for January was 11.6 per cent over a year earlier, according to official VFacts sales numbers released yesterday, a hopeful reflection of the local economic recovery from the global financial crisis.The monthly total was also helped by carryover deliveries from the showroom rush in December, when business buyers raced to take advantage of the Federal government's investment allowance.The Holden Commodore was Australia's favourite car again in January with Toyota on top overall, followed by Holden, Ford, Mazda and Hyundai.  "This is a strong result. New-car affordability is better than ever and has been further enhanced by the tariff cut on many imported vehicles,” the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Andrew McKellar, said yesterday.“New car buyers have effectively been handed a ‘tax cut’ and many brands have moved quickly to reduce prices or increase vehicle specifications."AUSTRALIA'S FAVOURITE CARSJanuary, 20101. Holden Commodore 32412. Mazda3 32233. Toyota HiLux 29974. Toytoa Corolla 27115. Ford Falcon 23186. Holden Cruze 22187. Hyundai i30 21168. Hyundai Getz 17179. Mitsubishi Lancer 158810. Toyota Yaris 1562* Source: VFacts

A staggering 225 out of the 243 private-plated cars chosen by MPs and Senators have six or eight-cylinder engines, in contrast to the national trend towards smaller, more fuel efficient models. Only a handful of MPs drive low-emission hybrids.The list, published today on The Punch, shows the most popular car among federal politicians is the Ford Territory, Australia’s answer to the SUV and possibly the heaviest Aussie-built passenger car ever made. It was chosen by 81 MPs, including many who live in suburban electorates. The Federal Government’s own Green Vehicle Guide gives the Territory a woeful 2.5 stars out of five.The details, released under Freedom of Information laws and current as of March 1 this year, show only 10 MPs drive low-emission hybrids. All MPs and Senators are entitled to at least one private-plated vehicle for personal use as part of their salary package. They can choose from a list of 35 cars valued at up to $48,990 or with approval from the Special Minister of State, select a “non-standard vehicle”.Apart from the Territory, other popular vehicles include the Holden Berlina and Calais vehicles or the Toyota Aurion V6. Some of the Toyota Landcrusiers, preferred among some country-based MPs, are diesel or in the case of one or two six cylinder cars, dual fuel LPG operated. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was embarrassed into swapping his private-plate Territory for a hybrid Toyota Prius in 2007 when, as Opposition Leader, it was revealed he was calling for action on greenhouse while driving a Territory.Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig, a Territory driver, said the government was examining “cleaning up” the parliamentary entitlements framework, including the private-plated vehicle scheme. An independent committee would report to him next year with some recommendations intended to “reduce cost and increase transparency”.A more in-depth report and the full list is available at The Punch            

Ford is expected to decide by the end of next month on its future fuel-saving technologies for its six cylinder Falcon and Territory to go head-to-head against the Holden Commodore and Toyota Aurion.With GM-Holden tipped to show off new fuel economy tricks in the Commodore update due later this year, the pressure is on Ford to reply with its own strategies.Ford president and CEO, Marin Burela, says the company will make a decision on its technology within two months."We will get to a powertrain decision by the end of July," he says."If we go beyond that we will not be able to get the powertrain strategy deployed in time to meet the requirements that we need to meet internally as well as those we need to meet to satisfy the Australian market.“Burela says there is some fine tuning to be done but the importance of the decision cannot be under-estimated."Derrick Kuzak, the global product development head for Ford, is personally involved in working with us to help us get to the best solution," Burela says."That shows you the level of focus that Ford Motor Co is applying to make sure we get this right."With fleets and governments identifying fuel economy among the key drivers in purchasing decisions Burela is keen to make sure the Falcon keeps pace with consumer demands.More than 70 per cent of all Falcons and Commodores are bought by fleets.Burela says there is still room for fuel economy improvements in the Falcon's in-line six cylinder engine, which cracks 9.9 litres/100km combined for the optional six-speed automatic XT sedan and 10.5 litres/100km for the five-speed automatic model."We're continuing to work on that," he says.The I6 engine remains a part of the Falcon and Territory's future even though Ford is looking at turbo-diesel engines and a range of eco-saving technologies like stop-start and dual-clutch transmissions as well."The I6 it's part of our plans," Burela says.Burela says it will remain a part of the local landscape until the next-generation of fuel emission standards are identified "and we don't expect that to be clear for some time".Ford has not yet approached the Federal Government for access to its Green Car Fund to help fast-track these new technologies."We've been very quiet and the reason we've been quiet is that we take the view that we don't want to go to government every five minutes and asking for their support or engagement on things that we're not ready to make a statement on," Burela says."I want to make sure that once we're ready to move forward with our powertrain strategy that it's a very cohesive, very comprehensive and very thought-out plan."And how we then engage government in terms of the green car fund will be an important part of that overall strategic direction and discussion."

Australia's first hybrid, a petrol-electric Camry, is set for production in 2010 and work is nearly finished on the extra assembly stations at Altona. But, before the Camry hybrid, Toyota also has a minor tweak for the Camry and Aurion in the third quarter of this year. It's mostly about improved efficiency and value, but there will be changes to the front and rear bodywork. Toyota Thailand gave a hint on the new direction when it unveiled its version of the Camry hybrid last week, although the headlight and tail lamp treatments are sharper and more edgy than the Australian car. The local Camry will get new-style headlamps, most likely projector beams, and will have a new type of tail lamp cluster produced on an all-new production line at Hella Australia in Mentone. The facelift design work has been done at Toyota Style Australia under the direction of Paul Beranger and should be more acceptable to Australian tastes. But Toyota Australia refuses to make any comment on the upcoming updates, or the exact timing of the hybrid Camry. "Yes, there will be an update to the Camry and Aurion this year. But you will have to wait to see what we have," says Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen.

It's very early to be making the call, but a general upswing in consumer confidence is starting to bring some lookers back to the business.How that will be reflected in sales ... no-one really knows.New-car sales tanked badly in April but Toyota Australia is already predicting an upswing and its optimism is also reflected in a new survey of consumer confidence, as well as booming prices for quality secondhand cars.Toyota believes buyers will be drawn back by good deals, the government's investment allowance, a rush of new products, and the realisation that the recession will probably not cost most people their jobs.By the end of the year Dave Buttner, the sales and marketing chief who forecast the revival, will either be a prophet and a hero ... or not.Most other brands believe sales will bump along the bottom for a while yet, as people wait to see everything from the full impact of the Federal budget to the way prices settle to reflect the weaker Australian dollar.

Ripping around Albert Park last weekend in a couple of racing cars was rare old fun.There is something special about cutting loose in the 21st century with no restrictions and no speed cameras.It's the automotive equivalent of clearing your sinuses after a terrible head cold. You can breath again, your eyesight is better, your head is clear and things just seem to be crisper and sharper.I was lucky to be asked to sprint a BMW 135i in a three-way run-off against a V8 Supercar and a Formula One racer in the Ultimate Speed Challenge and even luckier to be given a miniature Toyota Aurion to run in the Aussie Racing Car contests at the AGP.Track time in the 135 convinced me I was right to rate it as a real-world alternative to an M3. The baby BMW is quick, balanced and real fun - particularly with the traction control switched off and all the space at Albert Park to throw it around.The track car was very mildly tweaked with a free-flow exhaust, but was lapping quicker than a Z4M I drove a year earlier. This time I managed a win over the real racing cars, although Greg Murphy scored the overall win with two victories in his Sprint Gas Commodore.The Aussie car was something else again.I was not sure what to expect from the scaled-down V8 Supercar, because lots of people joke that they should be carrying clowns from the circuit.But there is nothing silly when you strap inside and uncork the 1.2-litre motorcycle engine fitted to a race-bred chassis. Except, perhaps, your smile.The Aussie Aurion was of the most demanding and rewarding cars I have driven, with supercar punch and cornering grip that trumps a real V8 Supercar. The braking distances at Albert Park, after topping 220km/h down the straight, were stupidly short.I never got close to the front-runners in the Aussie class but my race on Saturday was the best I have had in more than 25 years of motorsport, with more passing between two cars than you often see in a whole V8 Supercar contest.

He is the man you definitely want on your side. Senator Carr is the most impressive politician I have met, at least on the car business, since the late Senator John Button in the early 1980s. Button set the original review agenda for the car business and now Carr is driving the motor industry into the 21st century with a clear picture, incredible energy, and a genuine understanding of what it's all about. His enthusiasm was obvious this week as he helped open a new production line at Hella in Mentone which will supply lamps for the update of the Toyota Camry and Aurion later this year. "I'm only here as eye candy today, and I'll let our hosts tell you about the plant and what it means for Hella, Toyota and Australia," Carr says, weaving humour into a serious message. "But I can't pass up this opportunity to re-affirm the government's central messages about manufacturing. "First, that we want Australia to be a country that makes things. And, second, that we want it to be a country that makes cars." That is great news for all the people in the motor industry, but also the Australians who share a common history that is wrapped around the ability of the automobile to conquer the vast distances in our country. Carr has found money and support for the industry but stresses that companies must also work together as part of his new Car Plan. "The success of any industry depends on what companies do together - how much they can rely on each other and how closely they collaborate. If anyone wants to know what a vigorous, creative and competitive Australian component sector would look like - well, it would look like this: "Hella delivers the inputs Toyota needs, at the right price, to the right standard and - as Toyota has taught every manufacturer in the world to say - "just in time". It took the German-owned lighting specialist just nine months to get its new Kaizen line operational and global boss Dr Juergen Behrend says the benefits will flow well beyond the two founding partners. "What we have learned with Toyota will also benefit our other customers, like Ford and Holden," Behrend says. So it's becoming more and more of a family affair, with the Godfather stressing the need for a shared commitment. "The industry is only as strong as its weakest link, so we have to ensure that every link is rock solid," says Carr.

It’s not the one at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, but the one played out under lights at dealerships across the country for almost every day of the year.When the sales top one million vehicles it has to be rated as a good year, even though there were plenty of tests, trials and tribulations on the way to the second-best result in motoring history.The eventual mark was 1,012,164, although that will not be matched in 2009 despite the excitement generated by the newcomers at this year’s Melbourne show.All forecasters are predicting a 10-15 per cent slide in new-car demand, as the global economic meltdown and rising unemployment take the edge off consumer confidence, with a likely result in the 850,000-900,000 range.But there is no questioning the million-car run through 2008, which followed a record in 2007, as Toyota stormed to its sixth straight year as sales leader while the Holden Commodore was Australia’s favourite car for the 13th consecutive year.“This is positive news for the Australian automotive industry,” says the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce’s Murray Collins.“There is little doubt that 2008 was a challenging year, so to achieve one million new vehicle sales is a very good effort.”There were plenty of highlights last year, as Maserati claimed “fastest growing car company” rights, Audi had another boom year, and Mazda, Subaru and Volkswagen also improved their results among the top-10 runners.But Holden and Ford went backwards again, as their big Aussie sixes suffered the worst results on record thanks to fuel prices.Mitsubishi, Nissan and Honda were also down from the highs of 2007. Their combined results were actually beaten by Toyota, which topped the charts with 238,983 sales — and also exported more than 100,000 Melbourne-made Camry and Aurion sedans.Brand T is almost certain to be No.1 again in 2009, thanks to its momentum and GM Holden’s decision to concentrate on profits ahead of outright showroom volume.“The next 12 months are expected to be tough for all concerned,” Collins says.“But the industry is looking ahead with confidence after receiving significant support towards the end of 2008.”The $6.2 billion New Car Plan showed the Rudd Government was committed to a sustainable automotive industry. And the Special Purpose Vehicle — the $2 billion floorplan rescue package — was a timely breakthrough by Treasurer Wayne Swan to end the dealer finance crisis.”The story of Australia’s new-car showrooms in 2008 was a win for buyers, as big dollar deals on everything from a $29,990 Holden Commodore to a $9990 Hyundai Getz helped prevent a total meltdown.Big stocks mean the analysts were predicting continued deals through to this month to clear ‘08 vehicles, followed by the arrival of the major newcomers of ‘09.But there will be a penalty, with prices rising off the back of the slide in the Australian dollar through the second half of last year. Greats ‘08 TOP MODELSHolden Commodore 51,093Toyota Corolla 47,901Toyota HiLux 42,956Mazda3 33,755Ford Falcon 31,936Toyota Yaris 26,097Toyota Camry 23,067Mitsubishi Lancer 19,688Toyota Aurion 19,562Nissan Navara 18,574TOP BRANDSToyota 238,983Holden 130,338Ford 104,715Mazda 79,826Mitsubishi 60,692Nissan 59,214Honda 52,571Hyundai 45,409Subaru 38,492Volkswagen 29,875 The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show... 

After just 888 sales and a range of setbacks, including a safety recall for an engine failure, Toyota Australia has killed its TRD division.The decision to close the go-faster shop has cost an estimated $20 million in research-and-development, dealer facilities and a production tie-up with Prodrive in Melbourne although the 17 staff at TRD will be moved to other jobs within Toyota Australia.The final TRD Aurion and HiLux models will be produced before the end of March and stocks are likely to be cleared early in 2009.Toyota denies any embarrassment over the TRD failure, its first since ending Daihatsu sales in Australia, but admits it was not making money and had little chance of a black-ink bottom line."It was costing us more than it was returning. Our forecast was that we would have had to continue to invest for a period of time, a number of years not a number of months," admits Peter McGregor, who was responsible for TRD."We're talking about an operational change to the total Toyota business. We've had to make some tough decisions."McGregor says the current economic situation has also put pressure on TRD, which is not making its projected sales results."It was working reasonably well. HiLux was selling 50 to 60 units a month, and we were doing about 34 Aurions, although that is slightly below what we originally thought we would do."The numbers are far below the results achieved by Holden Special Vehicles and Ford Performance Vehicles, and TRD critics are already claiming a success in the brand's failure.They say go-faster Toyotas were never going to succeed in Australia, despite the company's investment in supercharged V6 engines for the Aurion and HiLux.The TRD operation was planned as a way of winning new buyers to Toyota showrooms, as well as converting younger customers, by adding some spice to cars which are known for their vanilla flavour."Vanilla can be quite nice if you get the right brand. And we have the luxury brand in Lexus," says Mike Breen of Toyota Australia.The TRD operation will be closed after less than two years and the decision means there is no need to continue development of a third TRD model."There definitely won't be a third model. Although there were a number under consideration," says McGregor.All TRD vehicles will continue to be covered by Toyota's warranty.The failure of TRD has been offset this week by an upcoming record for Toyota Australia.It has hit an export milestone, shipping more than 100,000 vehicles overseas in a single year.The record car was part of a shipment of 2100 vehicles which left Melbourne on Christmas Eve.Toyota Australia is now forecasting total exports of 101,563 for 2008, an industry record, up from 96,688 in 2007.Its production at Altona is now overwhelmingly focussed on exports, with local sales of the Camry and Aurion only totalling around 40,000 cars."This is Australia's biggest automotive export program, generating$1.8 billion a year in export revenue," says Dave Buttner, Toyota Australia's senior executive director of sales and marketing.