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2015 Toyota Auris freshens up in Geneva, prepares for New York debut

Toyota is preparing to bring its Auris hatchback to the US market as a Scion. That makes news of this refreshed Auris, debuting at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, a fairly noteworthy piece of news. Changes are decidedly light, befitting of a refresh. Toyota has tweaked the headlights, taillights and both bumpers for 2015, featuring a wider grille up front. In the cabin, changes are similarly limited, with updated connectivity equipment, particularly the area around the infotainment system, being the biggest change. A new instrument cluster looks to have been installed, as well. Aside from those changes, though, Toyota didn't do too much to the Auris. You can check out our full gallery of live images for Geneva, and you'll want to be sure to check back here next month, for the official coverage of the Auris-based Scion iM when it debuts at the 2015 New York Auto Show. NEW TOYOTA AURIS TO JOIN NEW AVENSIS ON STAGE AT GENEVA Motor show debut for British-built Auris hatchback and wagon Toyota will reveal its new Auris at the Geneva motor show (3 – 15 March), the British-built hatchback and Touring Sports wagon versions making their debut alongside new Avensis. New Auris enjoys a refreshed design that adds presence and prestige, together with an upgraded cabin and new comfort and safety equipment features. The hybrid remains at the heart of the range, having established itself as the leading powertrain in the line-up, accounting for around half of all Auris sales in Europe in 2014. Nonetheless, the new model heralds the arrival of new and improved petrol and diesel engines, developed with a focus on efficiency and performance. The simultaneous reveal of new Auris and Avensis follows on from last year's introduction of Aygo and Yaris to complete a full rejuvenation of Toyota's core European model range. Both Auris and Avensis will continue to be built side by side at Toyota Manufacturing UK's car plant at Burnaston, near Derby. Toyota will host its Geneva motor show press conference on its stand in Hall 4 at Palexpo, at 12.15pm on 3 March. Related Video:

Toyota develops new pre-collision system with steering assist

A number of automakers are working on developing fully autonomous cars, but it looks like the groundwork for such technologies will likely show up first as semi-autonomous systems for both safety and convenience. Following recent announcements from Nissan and Ford in this area, Toyota has now released information for some of its advanced semi-autonomous technologies that could be offered in production cars over the next few years.
On the safety front, Toyota's new pre-collision system with pedestrian-avoidance steering assist is aimed at protecting the folks who aren't in the car. This system combines visual and audible alerts with automatic brake assist and automatic steering. If warnings don't get the driver to slow down, the brake assist kicks in if a collision is very likely, but if that is still not able to avoid the impending collision (and if there is enough room to do so), the car can automatically steer itself around the pedestrian. This sounds most beneficial for last-second dangers such as a person accidently stepping out into the road in front of a car. Toyota hopes to have this technology available to customers by 2015.
The Japanese automaker is also testing a suite of technologies called Automated Highway Driving Assist (AHDA). The key part of this is a new adaptive cruise control system that uses vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications rather than a radar-based system. This cooperative-adaptive cruise control allows vehicles to communicate their acceleration and deceleration data with other cars, which Toyota says this helps to improve fuel efficiency and traffic flow. Also a part of AHDA is the Lane Trace Control feature, which sounds like a next-gen lane keep assist. This system uses cameras, radar and a computer to keep the vehicle in a "smooth driving line" by being able to change steering angle, engine torque and braking force. Toyota says this technology could be in place by the "mid-2010s."

Toyota GT86 convertible on 'indefinite hold'

Bad news, sportscar fans. According to a new report from What Car?, Toyota has cancelled plans to produce a GT86 convertible, a model based on the FT-86 Open Concept that debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. In truth, Toyota never actually confirmed it would produce the budget-friendly droptop in the first place, but rumors have been flying since last year and Toyota reportedly showed its embattled Scion dealers a FR-S version of the convertible in August. Presumably, this means that a lidless variant of the Subaru BRZ is not in the cards, either.
The reason for the move is unknown, though What Car? reports "one possible cause is weight; Toyota did say that further work would be required on rigidity before the convertible could be launched, and that could have added extra bulk that conflict with the regular GT86's ethos of light weight and agile handling." It doesn't look like that work will happen anytime soon, as "sources now say that the car has now been delayed indefinitely, with no place in Toyota's product plan in either 2014 or 2015." Still holding out hope? What Car? says the project could be "fast-tracked" if management decides it wants to reboot the program down the road.
one possible cause is weight; Toyota did say that further work would be required on rigidity before the convertible could be launched, and that could have added extra bulk that conflict with the regular GT86's ethos of light weight and agile handling. - See more at: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/toyota-gt86-cabriolet-cancelled/1214782#sthash.iStIkWnz.dpuf