2013 Toyota Corolla on 2040-cars

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Toyota FT-86 Open Concept leaves us feeling flushed

When last we checked in on our topless would-be hero, the Toyota FT-86 convertible had been reportedly placed on "indefinite hold." That was back in early October, not long after Toyota had trotted out the rear-wheel-drive canvasback to Scion dealers as a possible future product carrot if they decided not to turn in their franchises. And yet, we're here at the Tokyo Motor Show, where Toyota has taken the time to at least repaint the FT-86 Open Concept in "Flash Red," if not build a whole other car (the original Geneva showcar was white). It's enough to make our heads spin like a teenager on the verge of a breakup. Will they? Won't they?
At this point, we still don't know any more than you do - the last word we heard out of Toyota was not encouraging, although the story was that the program could still be fast-tracked if management had a change of heart. As the car has never been seen before in Japan, perhaps Toyota is merely extending its domestic audience a courtesy view before it lines this showcar in mothballs, or maybe they're still trying to make a decision on its fate and gauging public reaction on the homefront.
Interestingly, in a new story published today, Automotive News quotes Subaru brand boss Yasuyuki Yoshinaga downplaying the likelihood of a production model, saying flatly "We make the car, so if we don't make it, it can't happen." The executive went on to note, "Our engineering department told me that losing the entire roof requires a complete redesign of the structure. It would need a big change." Given that such a car would probably trade in rather small volumes, that sounds like a significant hurtle.

European car sales up 8% in February

Three weeks ago an analyst increased projections for European car sales this year, expecting them to climb three percent compared to last year instead of 2.7 percent. That number is a postive sign after years of hard times but it turns out February was especially good, overall European sales climbing eight percent on a wave of southern European recovery and discounts - and this comes after five months of gains including January's 7.2-percent jump over the year before.
The only country of Europe's five largest markets to post a decline was France, just as it did in January, Germany, the UK and Italy posting solid double-digit numbers, Spain rocking the charts with an 18-percent increase because of a government program to encourage trade-ins.
The only brand to miss the wave was Volkswagen, dropping 0.8 percent as it watched the double-digit growth at sister brands Audi, Seat and Skoda lift the Volkswagen Group sales up by seven-percent. Peugeot overcame flat sales at Citroën to improve the group by 3.5 percent, BMW and the Mercedes-Benz/Smart combo rose by four percent, the Fiat group jumped 5.8 percent, Ford was up 11 percent, the Renault Group 11.5 percent, General Motors 12 percent and the Toyota clan by 14 percent.

Toyota Harrier gets a whale of a facelift [w/video]

Historically, the Toyota Harrier has been a doppelgänger for North America's Lexus RX - at some points, it was little more than a badge-swap and a few options away, at least aesthetically. That appears to be changing with this just-revealed new generation at the Tokyo Motor Show.
That's because this two-row, five-seat Toyota is in possession of a bold new look, dominated by a jutting, baleen-like grille edged in chrome, along with new headlamps and fascia. The greenhouse has likewise been revamped and gotten more pointed at the rump, which has new taillights, a resurfaced tailgate and a faux rear diffuser. Were it to be ported over to North American Lexus dealers intact, the Harrier's look would be jarring in light of the brand's spindle-grille-based design language, so we suspect that if the RX gets any of these updates (it was just refreshed for 2013), it will strike out on a different path visually.
Unlike the US RX, the new Harrier will rely on smaller-displacement four-cylinder engines, namely a 2.0-liter paired with a continuously variable transmission or a 2.5-liter four backed up by an electric motor. We'd like to see a smaller-displacement option for the US RX (it presently runs with 3.5-liter V6 engines in both gas-only and hybrid guise), but suspect it won't arrive until the next all-new model.