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2017 Toyota 86 brings new name and fresh face to New York

The Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ seem unable to get away from their negative reputation online. The Mazda MX-5 Miata has no problem gaining fans that want an affordable sports car. However, the Toyobaru twins, which also offer attainable performance, can't seem to find a similar footing. The 2017 Toyota 86 has a new name, a fresh face, and a little more power. Even with the latest upgrades, the 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder's 205 horsepower and 156 pound-feet of torque doesn't make it a powerhouse by modern standards. However, a naturally aspirated engine with over 100 horsepower per liter is still rather impressive in this price range. Toyota doesn't have details yet, but the company claims that new ratios for the six-speed manual transmission also offer increase the coupe's performance. Updated shock tuning and spring rates should sharpen the handling a little, too. View 12 Photos The 2017 86's aesthetics are very similar to the outgoing FR-S, but Toyota uses this opportunity to keep things modern. The coupe now has LED headlights and taillights. The new central intake that stretches along the front also looks more aggressive. If you're still not happy with the 86 or BRZ, which also has a facelift on the way, the good news is that a replacement is coming eventually. Fuji Heavy Industries P\president Yasuyuki Yoshinaga has confirmed twice that Subaru and Toyota have a deal to create a second generation model. They haven't set an introduction date, though. Related Video:

Toyota to ramp up Tacoma production in Mexico by 41%

The Toyota Tacoma may be getting on in age, but that isn't stopping the Japanese manufacturer from ramping up production at the pickup's Baja California factory. The Mexican plant will soon be home to another 300 jobs as it increases total capacity by 41 percent. The increase is slated for April 2015.
The move is a curious one, considering the Tacoma's age and the fact that General Motors is preparing what, on the surface, appear to be two very competent challengers. The factory increase could be in preparation for the 2016 Taco (spy photos shown above), which is expected to represent a significant overhaul of the long-serving truck.
Toyota's decision to increase capacity could also be due to the factory building freeze implemented by President Akio Toyoda, according to Automotive News. Toyoda put a hold on new factories until 2016, asking executives to squeeze as much production as possible out of remaining factories before bringing any additional facilities online.

Autoblog fan favorite car ads from Super Bowl XLIX

Super Bowl XLIX is in the books, and the New England Patriots emerged victorious. Of course, if you're like us, the big game wasn't so much about the battle between the east coast and west, so much as a fight between the world's automotive advertisers. We collected and collated all of last night's new ads and put them together for you to vote on. And yes, we're limiting this year's contest to last night's new features. That's why you aren't seeing Dodge's epic Wisdom among our collection of commercials, and it's a similar story with Chevrolet's Truck Guy Focus Group series, which highlights the new Colorado. You can still vote for your favorites. We won't be closing the voting on our Super Bowl page, so while the winners and losers are correct as of this writing, it's entirely possible that there could be some changes in the rankings as time goes on. So, without any further ado, here are the winning ads based on your voting. Nissan: With Dad Fiat: Ready For Action Jeep: Beautiful Lands BMW: Newfangled Idea Mercedes-Benz: Fable NASCAR: America Start Your Engines As for those ads that failed to impact you, loyal readers, Toyota was the absolute, undisputed loser. The Japanese brand ran four ads in total – two for Toyota and two for Lexus – and all of them have negative tallies as of this writing. Lexus' Make Some Noise and Lets Play and Toyota's One Bold Choice and My Bold Dad both had very weak showings among the commercials that aired, although they weren't alone. Neither Mazda nor Kia scored particularly well, despite featuring celebrity magic act Penn and Teller and former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, respectively. Chevrolet was the winner of the losers, as of our writing, recording the fewest downvotes for its audience-punking The Big Game ad. If you want to take a second look at the losing ads, you can head back to our Super Bowl page for the complete collection. But for now, head into Comments and let us know what you think of the results.