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Krafcik says US Gov. shutdown is slowing Oct. auto sales

The government shutdown is eroding consumer confidence in the auto market, says John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai's US sales unit, and could lower October sales by as much as 10 percent, Automotive News reports. "It's that anxiety that keeps customers, potential buyers, on the sidelines when making a big purchase like an automobile," Krafcik says, adding that industry sales could be off by five to 10 percent in October compared to September.
The fourth quarter, which started October 1, usually consists of increased auto sales as dealerships clear their lots to make room for the next year's models. Leading up to the fourth quarter this year, the auto industry was doing well in the fragile, recovering US economy, although September deliveries decreased by 4.2 percent, due in part to this year's Labor Day sales being recorded for August.
To help its customers, Hyundai announced it is deferring new-car loan and lease payments for furloughed federal workers until they're called back to work and also offering them a three-month payment deferral if they buy a new Hyundai in October. "We have already had requests from over a thousand people to have their payments deferred," Krafcik says.

Next Toyota Prius may get optional all-wheel drive

We've been hearing rumors about the next generation of the Toyota Prius for the last couple of years on a pretty regular basis. From the expectation of lithium-ion battery packs with more capacity for electric-only miles to wireless charging and more emotional styling, there's been no shortage of talking points for the car that's expected to see its first light of day at the very end of 2015 (we hope). But one thing we've yet to hear about, until now that is, is all-wheel drive. According to a report from Automotive News, Koei Saga, senior managing officer in charge of powertrain development of the Prius, said in an interview last week, "I think we will possibly do [all-wheel drive]" for the car's next generation. There isn't any further indication on how the AWD system would work, but we'd put our money on something similar, at least in principle, to the E-Four system that just debuted on the 2015 Lexus NX 300h, which uses an electric motor mounted at the rear to power the car's back wheels when the front wheels lose traction. The AN report also repeats a rumor we've heard before – that Toyota may offer two different battery pack options in its next Prius, one using lithium-ion chemistry and one using the nickel metal hydride technology that the Prius has featured from its very beginning. While the automaker has yet to talk efficiency, it's natural to expect more capacity for EV driving from newer lithium-based technology over that of nickel-based packs to go along with what we'd also expect would be a somewhat higher price. We're sure you're just as curious about the next Prius as much as we are, and so we'll leave you with these words, again from Saga: "The batteries will be renewed. Everything will be revised. And I think we will come up with a fuel economy that will surprise everyone."

Toyota reveals Tokyo Motor Show concepts

Toyota is getting ready for the Tokyo Motor Show later this month, and to tease us, the Japanese automaker has released photos and information about the concept vehicles it'll be bringing to the show. In all, there'll be five world premieres from Toyota (six if you split the Voxy and Noah minivan concepts), including some vehicles that'll be released in the near future, and others that need more time to incubate.
Let's get the world premieres out first. Toyota is a pioneer of gasoline-electric hybrids, but it's also pursuing hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. The clearest indication of this is the FCV concept, a hydrogen-powered sedan in the same vein as the the FCV-R that will bow at the auto show. (Read more about the FCV, here.)
Other world debuts include the FV2 concept (pictured), a unique, one-seat future vehicle that emphasizes the "Fun to Drive" philosophy; the JPN TAXI concept, a next-generation taxi concept designed with Japanese hospitality in mind; and the Voxy and Noah concepts, next-generation minivans that differ most in exterior design cues and are scheduled to launch in the Japanese market in early 2014.