2019 Toyota Avalon Touring on 2040-cars

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Toyota CamRally is vanilla spiced

We weren't quite sure it was possible, but NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman and the other folks behind this Toyota Dream Build Challenge vehicle (check out the other cars in the challenge) have made the Camry, a versatile but vanilla family sedan, into a performance car to be reckoned with. And by stripping it (literally) of its versatility and injecting some spice into it, this rally-spec Camry does indeed appeal to the enthusiast crowd.
The appeal starts with the CamRally's vintage Toyota racing colors of red, orange and yellow painted on a widened body. Those wide fender flares and rocker panels, paired with the revised front and rear fascias (and massive rear spoiler), lend the car an aggressive look without being tacky, and enhance the aerodynamics. But peel back the skin and you'll find plenty of performance upgrades to back up the looks.
While Toyota doesn't say how much horsepower it makes, the CamRally's V6 is turbocharged, and we assume the car's brake upgrade is indicative of the engine's increased output. The stripped interior only contains what's needed for rally racing, including bucket seats, a motorsport steering wheel covered in Alcantara, a carbon-fiber dashboard and a roll cage.

2015 24 Hours of Le Mans live race report

Check back regularly for more race updates every few hours. No, you don't need to stay up for the entire 24 Hours of Le Mans, but if you want to catch any of the action, Autoblog friend Reilly Brennan has a handy guide. And to keep you up to speed on the latest race events, we'll be posting live from Le Mans with regular race reports.Hour 1: Five laps in, Audi breaks up the three Porsches at the front, with the #19 919 Hybrid, driven by Nico Hulkenburg, passed by all three R18s. Hulkenburg eventually took back fifth position only to fall back again after the first pit stop. Meanwhile, clutch trouble kept the #23 Nissan GTR-LM in the pits until 15 minutes into the race. The other two Nissans were forced to start at the back of the grid after failing to the meet the 110 percent qualifying speed regulation. At the end of the first hour, just 7.5 seconds separated the first six cars. Then the factory team #92 Porsche GTE car caught fire, with the the #13 Rebellion P1 car taking frontal damage in the ensuing carnage. With the safety car out, the field is once again bunched up.Hour 2: The slugfest between Audi and Porsche continues, with neither side backing off. Halfway through the second hour the #7 R18 passes both leading Porsches for the top position. After another round of pits stops Porsche regains the lead until lap 30, when the Audi overtake once again and quickly pulls out a three-second gap. Nico Hulkenburg passes the other two Audis to join his Porsche teammates. At the beginning of the third hour it's Audi #7, Porsche #17, #18, and #19, followed by Audi #8 and #9. 33 seconds separates this group, with Toyota a minute back from the front car.Hour 3: On track the action refuses to stop. Although it's early, Audi is looking strong with the overall lead in the #7. What's more is that the Audis run four stints per set of tires, while the Porsche cars have to change rubber every third stop. But after a quick refueling, the lead R18 gets a tire puncture and comes back in 3 laps later, allowing Porsche to take over the top two spots. Then as the hour closes out a yellow flag causes traffic to bunch up and the #8 Audi gets stuck with nowhere to slow down. Driver Loic Duval dives for the side of the road but hits the guard rail and careens across the track, damaging the front and rear bodywork. The rest of the car is still intact, though, and once in the pits Audi replaces the entire front and rear of that in only three minutes.

Toyota outsells VW for global sales crown, apologizes with a vow to 'be honest'

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows in apology during a press conference Tuesday over the group companies' quality scandals. (Getty Images)   Every quarter, the stock market hangs on how much sales growth Tesla and other startups have experienced. There's growth, but then there's sheer output, and when it comes to deliveries dominance, one company can't be touched. Toyota on Tuesday announced that it remained the world's top-selling automaker for the fourth year running, with record sales of 11.2 million vehicles in 2023. Toyota's global group sales jumped 7.2% last year; the numbers include sales at Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors. Toyota's parent-only vehicles, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands, hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023. Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those. Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1%. Toyota's annual output handily beat runner-up Volkswagen Group, which this month reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.2 million cars. That growth was driven largely by demand for Audi, which sold 1.9 million vehicles. The auto industry in 2023 enjoyed a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased, though shipping problems through the Red Sea so far this year have stalled that progress by some automakers, causing some car plants in Europe to suspend production. Toyota's global group sales have now topped 10 million vehicles for nine of the past 10 years, except for 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a blow to the auto sector. Scandals and an apology Toyota's chairman apologized on Tuesday for scandals at the three group companies. Daihatsu, Hino and affiliate Toyota Industries have been beset by governance issues involving certification test procedures for cars and engines that could potentially hurt the brand's global reputation for quality and safety. "I would like to express my deepest apologies to our customers and stakeholders for the inconvenience and concern caused by the successive irregularities at Hino Motors, Daihatsu and Toyota Industries," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters. He was speaking at an event to announce a vision for the Toyota group, which was founded by his great-grandfather and now includes 17 companies.