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Toyota launches Pixis Space; first kei cars are Daihatsus in drag

Toyota has announced that it will unveil its first-ever kei car to be sold under its recently launched Pixis sub-brand. The vehicle, called the Pixis Space, will make its official debut in late September. Based on the Daihatsu Move Conte, the Pixis Space will be sold at Toyota dealerships through what the automakers calls "Pixis stations." Yes, seriously.
After Toyota's version of the Daihatsu Move Conte makes its debut, the Japanese automaker will launch a Pixis-badged Daihatsu Hijet truck and microvan in December. By the end of 2012, Toyota says it will launch a Pixis version of the upcoming Daihatsu e:S - a vehicle that returns 70.6 miles per gallon (U.S.) as measured under Japan's JC08 test cycle.
In case you weren't aware, Daihatsu - Japan's oldest manufacturer of automobiles - operates under the control of Toyota. In other words, these Pixis machines are simply badge engineering at the kei level.

Cars we're thankful we drove in 2019

We drove a lot of cars in 2019, and there's still a month to go. We drove them in our home office in Michigan, at our remote offices in Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Columbus, Ohio, and throughout the globe on myriad press launches. We could count them, but hey, that seems boastful.  Instead, we want to be thankful. Not only for the opportunity to do this wonderful task some might describe as a "job," but for the new, shiny cars that brighten our days (and most hopefully yours). We asked our fellow editors which car they were most thankful to drive in 2019 ... here are our answers. 2019 Hyundai Veloster N Performance Senior Editor Alex Kierstein Every once in a while a car comes along that changes the narrative on a company or its segment, and everyone scrambles to experience it for themselves. This year, for me, that car’s the Veloster N Performance, perhaps the most transformative car the companyÂ’s ever built. Everyone whoÂ’s driven it, here and elsewhere, says it captures all those intangibles that make great driving hatchbacks great. And IÂ’m thankful that I got a go in it before all of them left the fleet, because it does. It upends the segment long dominated by the GTI, a car that nails its brief. The N is rowdy and loud, sure, but it also has some of the most deftly tuned suspension IÂ’ve come across in a front driver. My advice: if youÂ’re in the market for something fun and unique, go test drive a Veloster N. I think youÂ’ll be thankful you did. 2019 Hyundai Veloster N View 47 Photos 2019 Audi E-Tron Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder IÂ’m pleased that I got to drive the Audi E-Tron. ThatÂ’s high praise for a year in which I also drove the stellar Jaguar I-Pace. The E-Tron, while not as sporty as the Jaguar, is excellently executed, and feels like a more refined, polished offering. ItÂ’s quick, whisper-quiet, comfortable, stylish inside and out, and incredibly sturdy. Some may lament that it doesnÂ’t do much to stand out from ICE vehicles, but I donÂ’t think it needs to. What it does need to do is win over the electro-skeptical, and I think Audi put its best foot forward with a crossover that can do just that, and more. So, yeah, not only am I thankful that I got to drive it, IÂ’m glad that itÂ’s compelling enough that itÂ’ll hopefully make potential customers feel the same. 2020 Audi E-Tron View 13 Photos 2013 Peugeot 508 West Coast Editor James Riswick My choice totally sucks.

Toyota sees Camry share loss despite predicting increasing sales

Toyota may be set to lose share the midsize sedan market. While speaking with Automotive News, Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said that if his company kept pace with the current swell in the market for family four doors, Toyota would need to sell around 500,000 Camry models. "I'm not sure we can do much more than 400 [thousand] today," Lentz said.
But that doesn't mean Camry sales are shrinking - on the contrary, Lentz thinks Toyota will likely sell more Camry units in 2013 than it did in 2012, it's just that the company isn't keeping pace with segment's current explosion in popularity. Industry wide, midsized sedan sales have increased by 20 percent. "Are we going to lose [Camry] share? Probably so," Lentz said, "but we will continue to grow in raw volume."
Toyota sold 404,886 Camry units last year, and the company just revised its 2013 sales objective from 2.18 million units earlier this year to 2.2-million plus units, so while things are looking up for the brand and Camry sales may be on the rise, Toyota may not have the muscle to keep up its share in the sedan segment. Whether that's because of a production bottleneck or a predicted sales ceiling isn't clear. We've got a call in and will update this news item if/when we learn more.