1993 Toyota Mr2 Turbo Coupe 2-door 2.0l No Reserve on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota and Suzuki are looking at an R&D partnership because they admit they're behind

The Chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Osamu Suzuki, and the President of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, have convened at Toyota's Tokyo offices to declare plans to join hands regarding research and development. According to Toyoda, Toyota "hasn't been good at creating alliances," and its partnership with the small carmaker Daihatsu has been the most well-known collaboration so far. Perhaps the comment has a tinge of regret from Toyota and GM's NUMMI days in Fremont, especially as the statement released by Toyota says that "Toyota is conscious of the fact that it may be behind competitors in North America and Europe when it comes to the establishment of standardizations and partnership with other companies." But as different technologies advance at breakneck speed and it is difficult for companies both big and small to stay competitive, let alone ahead of the game, Toyota is accepting the need for collaboration. Toyoda referred to passenger safety, environmental issues, automated driving, and hydrogen technology, all of which are key challenges for any carmaker looking to stay relevant, and all expensive to experiment with. Spreading the cost over more vehicles should help. "We received an offer from Suzuki regarding collaboration possibilities on advanced and future technologies such as in information technology. Suzuki made a frank proposal to us, and in understanding that Toyota is facing the challenges which I had mentioned earlier, we thought that with the relationship between both companies, there is an opportunity for a business partnership to help solve such challenges. As such, we decided to explore such possibilities together," said Toyoda. In the future, Daihatsu will still be Toyota's tool in emerging markets, but now Toyota could have access to Suzuki's small-car know-how. Osamu Suzuki acknowledges that "Suzuki's current business focuses on minivehicles in Japan and India," as Suzuki withdrew from the US and Canada in 2013. A joint effort will help Suzuki remain relevant, and as a manufacturer of predominantly small vehicles it has been focusing on competitive pricing more than cutting edge technology. Related Video:

2019 BMW Z5 shows off its soft top

BMW continues development work on the Z5, which will succeed the Z4 in its lineup for the 2019 model year. These latest spy shots again show off the Z5's classic sports-car proportions during testing on European roads. As expected, the roadster will switch to a cloth top instead of the retractable hardtop the Z4 uses. The much-anticipated Z5 will be based on a rear-wheel-drive platform that's jointly developed with Toyota. Rumors persist Toyota's version will mark the return of the Supra name, though the Japanese automaker has been silent on the matter. Reports say the cars could be assembled by Magna Steyr in Austria. We expect the Z5 will run four- and six-cylinder engines, and the soft top will help the roadster reduce weight and likely improve performance. It's also possible BMW will build a fixed-roof Z5. We predict the Z5 will appear on the auto show circuit within the next year. The long-running Z4 launched for 2009. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 BMW Z5 View 10 Photos Image Credit: CarPix Design/Style Spy Photos BMW Toyota Convertible Performance bmw z5

Toyota, Kaley Cuoco grant wishes in Super Bowl XLVII ad

For viewers who plan on watching the Super Bowl only for the commercials, here's one for you to enjoy ahead of time. As we saw in the teaser video that Toyota released last week, will be making the transition from Big Bang to The Big Game as a wish-granting genie in a commercial for the 2013 Toyota RAV4.
Though not as entertaining as the actual teaser for this commercial, it still garnered a couple chuckles from the Autoblog crew. We won't spoil it for you, but a word of advice: if Cuoco ever shows up in your driveway granting you wishes, we'd suggest you be very clear what you want... and enunciate.
If you want to see the commercial before this Sunday's game, we have the video (and an accompanying press release) posted after the jump.