2003 Tacoma Prerunner 5-speed Double Cab on 2040-cars

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Toyota to show Camry and Corolla Special Editions, updated Avalon in Chicago

Toyota has quite the party ready for the upcoming Chicago Auto Show with the unveiling of some colorful Special Edition versions the Camry and Corolla to go along with the biggest piece of news, a refresh for the Avalon. The company didn't announce any specific info about the updated sedan but did release this dark teaser image, which we lightened (pictured right) to show off more detail. The stylists seemingly tweaked the higher portion of the grille, while giving the lower section a wide-open mouth. After the Camry's 2015 refresh, the popular sedan now has sharper, somewhat more aggressive styling, and this Special Edition based on the SE trim leans into that demeanor even more. Limited to 12,000 units starting in August, power still comes from a 2.5-liter four-cylinder rated at 178 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque with a six-speed automatic, but Toyota tries make it look a meaner, including 18-inch wheels with black highlights, smoked taillights and a choice of either Blizzard Pearl or Blue Streak Metallic paint. The interior changes are more thorough, with black bolsters and blue centers for the seats, plus matching cerulean highlights for the instruments and trim. Buyers also get a few luxuries inside with an Entune Audio Plus stereo, push-button start and moonroof. Navigation is optional. Where the Camry has a blue theme, the Corolla Special Edition goes crimson for its limit of 8,000 units beginning in August. Based on the S Plus trim, exterior upgrades are limited to a set of gloss black 17-inch wheels and a choice of Absolutely Red, Black Sand Pearl or Super White paint. There are a few more updates inside, with red stitching and accents for the seats, dashboard and door trim. These models also get push-button start, but an improved audio system with navigation and power moonroof are optional. View 8 Photos TOYOTA TO CREATE TURBULANCE IN WINDY CITY WITH SPORTY CAMRY AND COROLLA SPECIAL EDITIONS Camry and Corolla to Create Excitement With Special Edition Debuts Limited Production Models Equipped With Unique Sport-Themed Features Refreshed Avalon to be Unveiled at Chicago Auto Show CHICAGO, Feb. 5, 2015 - - Winds of change will be blowing into the Chicago Auto Show. Toyota's Camry mid-size sedan, the best-selling car in America for the past 13 years, and Corolla compact sedan, the world's best-selling car of all time, will debut special edition models at next week's Chicago Auto Show.

BMW tops Consumer Reports 2023 Brand Report Card

Feels like we wrote about Consumer Reports' 2022 Brand Report Car and 10 Top Picks a few weeks ago, but it was last April. So the mag is back with a ranked roster of 32 brands and 10 vehicles in four categories for your debating pleasure. Starting with the brands, last year's top three were Subaru, Mazda and BMW. This year, the Munich crew climbed two spots to win the prize thanks to "Superb road test scores and solid results in CR’s reliability and owner satisfaction surveys." Subaru narrowly fell to second, maintaining its four-year run in the top three. Mini, eighth last year, jumped five spots to get the last step on the podium. The rest of the top 10 were Lexus (up one spot from last year), Honda (down one spot from last year), Toyota (up three), Genesis (up 12), Mazda (down six), Audi (down three) and Kia (up eight). The magazine and testing outfit says its Brand Report Card "[reveals] which automakers are producing the most well-performing, safe, and reliable vehicles based on CRÂ’s independent testing and member surveys," and that "Brands that rise to the top tend to have the most consistent performance across their model lineups." Last year's top 10 had six automakers from Japan, three from Germany (giving Mini credit for England), none from the U.S. or South Korea, and five luxury brands. This year's list counts five makes from Japan, two from Germany because Porsche fell out of the top ten, two from South Korea, still none from the U.S., and four luxury brands. Buick again ranked as the best domestic, dropping to 12th after being 11th last year. The big mover was Lincoln, its 10-place jump up to 16th attributed to better reliability from the Corsair and Nautilus. Tesla's improved overall reliability saw it climb six spots to 17th. Dodge climbed one spot to 15th. Jeep got out of the penalty box in last to come second-to-last. Land Rover fell three places into the penalty spot.  CR's top 10 vehicle models The 10 Top Picks list is practically a new list. Only two holdovers made it to 2023, those being the Subaru Forester and Kia Telluride.

BMW-Toyota joint sports car project is on like Donkey Kong

It's official - there will be a jointly developed sports car from BMW and Toyota. While the two auto giants signed a Memorandum of Understanding that pledged to pursue "joint development of architecture and components for a future sports vehicle" back in June of 2012, in the interim, it has remained unclear how those plans had been progressing. BMW has finally officially confirmed that the German and Japanese manufacturers will be codeveloping a pair of sports cars in addition to pursuing other disciplines including fuel cell systems and lightweight technologies.
"We have agreed on a joint architecture for a sports car. What is important is that there will be two different vehicles that are authentic to the two brands," BMW Development Chief Herbert Diess told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Reuters is reporting. This is a very, very big step for both brands, but now the speculation can officially begin as to what the products of this agreement will look like.
There's ample reason to believe that the BMW-Toyota tie up will result in a Supra successor based on comments made by the chief engineer of the GT86/FR-S program, Tatsuya Tada, back in August. Follow that with a rumor from earlier this month that Toyota could debut a Supra concept car at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show later this month, and we could be seeing the fruits of this partnership sooner rather than later.