1994 - Toyota Supra on 2040-cars

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Toyota to enter modern turbo four-cylinder era with Lexus crossover

Toyota has sat quietly on the sidelines as many of its competitors have armed themselves in recent years with lower-displacement turbocharged four-cylinder engines in an effort to gain better fuel efficiency numbers and flatter power curves. It's a strategy largely shared by fellow countryman Honda, who turned away from offering forced-induction four-cylinder models in North America after its first-generation Acura RDX failed to find buyers. Toyota itself has no lack of experience with turbo fours, having built some humdingers for cars like the MR2 and Celica All-Trac back in the 80s and 90s. It's also offered factory-warranted turbos through its TRD performance parts division more recently.
Now, Automotive News is reporting that the world's largest automaker is finally poised to rejoin the turbo-four production-car fray in North America, but it won't be a sports car that delivers the first force-fed punch, it will be a new small crossover model for Lexus. We first showed you spy shots of the NX last week in mule form, and Automotive News says the small softroader will carry a 2.0-liter turbo four in its engine bay when it rolls on to world markets in 2014 or early 2015. That model, the NX 200t, will be joined by the NX 300h, a hybrid variant. It isn't immediately clear when US buyers will see the turbo model, however, it's possible that the hybrid could bow first - the story quotes an anonymous company source suggesting that Americans might not see the engine offering until sometime in 2015.
AN further posits that the new 2.0-liter will likely supplant the company's 2.5-liter V6 in the IS sedan and the same-displacement four-cylinder in the Toyota RAV4, but does not indicate where the new engine will be built.

More head-up displays are coming to a dashboard near you

With the exception of Apple products — $1,000 for a freakin' smartphone? — one great thing about tech is you typically get more for your money with each passing year. This is particularly true with automotive tech: Features like driver assists and surround-view cameras that were once exclusively available in luxury vehicles now come standard even on some economy cars. The same thing is slowly happening with head-up displays (HUD). For example, the 10-inch HUD in the 2018 Toyota Camry is one of the largest and best HUDs I've seen in any car. And a big improvement on the much smaller HUD in the latest Toyota Prius. Mazda is another mainstream brand that offers HUDs in several of its vehicles. But instead of embedding expensive components in the dash and using a special windshield, the HUDs in the Mazda3 and Mazda6 use a thin plastic lens that folds down when not in use. MINI has a similar solution, but this low-cost approach has limits in terms of size and position of the images compared to traditional HUDs that use the windshield as a screen. We're also starting to see similar lens-based aftermarket options that can be added to any car. Last year I tested a portable HUD called Navdy that taps into a car's OBD-II port to provide info on speed and RPM and uses built-in GPS and Google Maps to show the surrounding area, display speed limits and route you to your destination. Navdy also connects to an Android or iOS smartphone via Bluetooth to display data from phone calls, texts and music playing on a connected device, and it's simple to use and easily visible in almost any lighting condition. While Navdy is still available online, late last year the company ran into financial difficulties, and product support has been halted. I recently tested a new portable HUD called Hudly that's not quite fully baked and falls short of Navdy because it doesn't tap into an OBD-II port. Since a companion smartphone app for Hudly isn't scheduled to launch until next month, for now it only mirrors what's on a smartphone. So it can be used for nav and other apps, and its features are very limited. Between automakers adding HUDs in more reasonably priced cars and the aftermarket filling in the gaps for existing vehicle owners with add-ons, the technology is becoming more prevalent and affordable. And it's also getting better.

Weekly Recap: Racing legend Jim Hall explains Chevy's futuristic Chaparral concept

"I said our cars are built to be winners." – Jim Hall Racing legend Jim Hall never thought he'd be a video game consultant, but when Chevrolet asked for his advice to create a futuristic Chaparral for the Vision Gran Turismo series, he was eager to help. He reviewed early sketches and suggested some changes that made it onto the concept, including the addition of a camera that's mounted onto a mast over the cabin to aid the driver. The Chevy Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept was revealed this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and will be part of a downloadable update for PlayStation 3's Gran Turismo 6 in December. Theoretically, at least, it uses a laser-beam propulsion system and an air-powered generator to produce 900 horsepower in the video game. It's capable of sprinting to 60 miles per hour in 1.5 seconds en route to a top speed of 240 mph. Those gaudy performance specs – even in the virtual world – came at Hall's urging. "I said our cars are built to be winners," Hall told Autoblog on the floor of the Los Angeles show. The 79-year-old drove Lotus racecars in Formula One before launching the successful Chaparral Cars in the 1960s. Like his innovative Can-Am racers, the Vision Gran Turismo project has an eye toward the future. It also introduces the iconic Chaparral name to a new generation of fans, and hopefully, Hall says, gets them excited about engineering and design. "It emulates what we did in the '60s," he said. And what they did back then still resonates. Chaparral Racing and Chevy partnered more than 45 years ago for development work on the composite monocoque chassis, lightweight alloy powertrains, automatic gearboxes and active aerodynamics. "He [Hall] walked right back into this and was able to apply thinkings and learnings," said Clay Dean, General Motors executive director of advanced design. The Chevy Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept was created at GM's North Hollywood advanced design studio, and it will be on display at the show through November. Other News and Views Sebastian Vettel joins Ferrari team in 2015 Ferrari confirmed that four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel will join the Scuderia for the 2015 season, jettisoning Ferrari's current ace, two-time champ Fernando Alonso. Vettel has been F1's most successful driver since Michael Schumacher, though he's struggled to match his previous accomplishments in 2014.