2010 Toyota Rav4-- "4wd" on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Final decision on Toyota/BMW sports car due by year end

BMW and Toyota signed a memorandum of understanding to share technology and build a sports car way back in 2012, and months later, they made that partnership official. This oft-rumored model from two auto industry titans still hasn't hit the road, and the time has come to make a final decision about its future. Thankfully, the model's fate is just a few months from being known. "By the end of the year we will approve whether or not we will make it," a Toyota spokesperson said about the sports car project, according to Automotive News Europe. "The whole study before that, on what kind of platform, on what kind of architecture, that's been progressing quite well. We haven't yet decided to give the green light to the project, but it's coming up." The collaboration is supposed to result in jointly developed fuel-cell tech, composites, and research into lithium-air batteries. Little is officially known about what Toyota and BMW are planning for the sports car project, but there are plenty of rumors about what's in store. Both automakers are supposed to get their own version of the vehicle. Some reports say the Japanese model will be the revival of the Supra, and the Bimmer-badged one might end up being a replacement for the Z4. The potential powertrains have been suggested as a German-sourced, turbocharged inline six with rear-wheel drive and a super-capacitor-powered plug-in hybrid with all-wheel drive.

Autoblog Podcast #394

Episode #394 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Michael Harley talk about the possibility of a supercharged Dodge Viper, the Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition, the newly released supercharger kit for the Honda CR-Z, and rumblings of an Alfa Romeo 6C. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #394: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Supercharged Viper Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition Honda CR-Z Supercharged Alfa Romeo 6C In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Ford Fiesta SE 2015 Cadillac Escalade 2015 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro 2015 Audi A8 L TDI Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Harley Runtime: 01:32:30 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Supercharged Viper - 44:25 Chevrolet Silverado Rally Edition - 55:19 Supercharged Honda CR-Z - 01:00:52 Alfa Romeo 6C - 01:07:29 Q&A - 01:13:41 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes

Ever wonder how to really pronounce Japanese automaker names?

People tend to get very set in their ways when it comes to the pronunciation of words. Just look at the endless debates over whether or not to say the final 'e' in Porsche (which you should in terms of correct German enunciation). Or the argument about whether to follow the British convention and give the 'u' in Jaguar a special delivery or to say the 'ua' diphthong as more of a 'w' sound, as usually happens in the US.
This short video doesn't answer either of those automotive questions, but it does allow a native Japanese speaker to demonstrate the accepted pronunciations for several, major automakers from the country. One benefit is that it clears up the occasional debate over whether Nissan should be said with a long or short 'i' sound. Also, listen closely to how the female host says Mazda as Matsuda, the way it's actually said in the language. Even if this doesn't change the way you enunciate these brands, at least now you know the accurate way in Japanese.