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Toyota's Euro Aygo spied in prototype form

The five-door version of the next-generation Toyota Aygo, a Euro offering cloned by the Peugeot 107 and Citroën C1, has been caught out on the town wearing all black. Facelifted early last year, predictions are that the next version of the city car will be slightly lower and wider than the current car, with improved ergonomics and materials. Based on what little can be seen for now, a new intake and headlight treatment should be on the menu in front, with taillights placed higher on its backside.
A three-door version is expected, but a gasoline-hybrid model is also rumored, along with power and fuel economy improvements to the three-cylinder engine that presently puts out 67 horsepower and 69 pound-feet of torque.
We should see it next year, along with the new Citroën C1 and Peugeot 108.

Why Toyota's fuel cell play is one big green gamble

Imagine going to the ballet on Saturday evening for an 8 pm performance. The orchestra begins warming up shortly before the show, but it turns out the star performer isn't ready at the appointed time. The orchestra keeps playing, doing its best to keep the audience engaged and, most importantly, in the building. It keeps this up until the star finally shows and is ready to dance ... which turns out to be ten years later. That's a Samuel Beckett play. It's also how many observers, analysts, alt-fuel fans and alt-fuel intenders feel about the arrival of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) – the few of them who are still in the building, that is. Toyota's hydrogen development timeline rivals that of the US space program. In fact, within the halls of Toyota alone, research on FCVs has been going on for nearly 22 years, meaning that one company's development timeline for FCVs rivals that of the US space program – it was 1945 when Werner von Braun's team began re-assembling Germany's World War II V2 rockets and figuring out how to launch them into space and it wasn't until 1969 when a man set landing gear down on that sunlit lunar quarry. The development of the atom bomb only took half as long, and that's if we go all the way back to when Leo Szilard patented the mere idea of it, in 1934. Carmakers didn't give up on hydrogen in spite of the public having given up on carmakers ever making something of it, so there was a good chance that hydrogen criers announcing the mass-market adoption of periodic chart element number two one would eventually be right. Now is that time. And Toyota, not alone in researching FCVs but arguably having done the most to keep FCVs in the news, isn't even going to be first to market. That honor will go to Hyundai, surprising just about everyone at the LA Auto Show with news of a hydrogen fuel cell Tucson going on sale in the spring. The other bit of thunder stolen: while Toyota's talking about trying to get the price of its offering down to something between $50,000 and $100,000, Hyundai is pitching its date with the future at a lease price of $499 per month ($250 more than the lease price of a conventional Tucson), free hydrogen and maintenance, and availability at Enterprise Rent-A-Car if you just want to try it out. We've seen and driven Toyota's offering and we all know its success doesn't depend on cross-shopping, showroom dealing and lease sweeteners.

West Coast labor dispute hampers Japanese automakers' US plants

The ongoing labor dispute between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and port owners along the West Coast is starting to affect more Japanese automakers building vehicles in the US. The issue already forced Honda and Subaru to take the expensive option of airlifting some parts into the US weeks ago, and according to USA Today, Toyota and Nissan have begun doing so, as well. The choice hasn't been cheap, though, and Subaru's chief financial officer estimated that the decision cost around $60 million more per month than sending components by cargo ship. The effects continue to radiate, according to USA Today, and shortages of some models are possible. Honda is slowing production at its factories in Ohio, Indiana and Canada because the automaker doesn't have enough transmissions and electronics for some vehicles. Toyota already cut back on overtime at some factories. Nissan has only seen a small effect from the issue, though, because of its local suppliers. Dock workers and port owners have been negotiating on a new contract since last year, and the union has organized work slowdowns in response. According to USA Today, the automakers could move shipments to Canada or Mexico, but it would take longer for parts to arrive. News Source: USA TodayImage Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Honda Nissan Subaru Toyota shipping port labor dispute