2003 Toyota Camry on 2040-cars

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Toyota reveals new versions of FT-1 concept at Pebble Beach [w/video]

Toyota certainly caught our attention when it unveiled the FT-1 concept at the Detroit Auto Show last January. Coming from the same people who gave us the Lexus LFA, Scion FR-S and Toyota Supra, the FT-1 concept looked striking in its bright red livery. But the Japanese automaker isn't quite done with it yet.
No, we're afraid we don't have a production announcement to share at the moment, but Toyota has revealed two new versions of the FT-1 concept that cast it in different light. Most notable is the graphite version pictured above. Replacing the bright red paintjob and two-tone red and black interior of the original concept, this second iteration - presented in the metal at McCall's Motorworks Revival in Monterey, California - goes for a more upscale and refined graphite exterior and a tan leather interior with exposed metal elements.
Both versions of the virtually road-going FT-1 concept will be playable in GT6, but at the same time Toyota also revealed (in digital form, at least) a virtual racing version of the concept called the FT-1 Vision Gran Turismo. Looking like the original concept was prepared for Japan's Super GT series, the FT-1 Vision GT is retuned for racing, with wider fenders, more extreme aero, competition-spec alloys on slicks and the like.

Toyota turning landfill gas into hybrid vehicles, indirectly

Chamillionaire certainly wasn't referring to the Toyota Avalon or Camry when he rapped about "ridin' dirty" but maybe he'll change his tune soon. That's because some of the future energy sources for the Kentucky factory that makes those two models will come from gas created from the breakdown of solid waste. So the power behind some of the production at Toyota's largest North American factory will indeed be funky. Toyota is working with Waste Services of the Bluegrass to build a network of wells at a nearby landfill in order to collect the gases. Construction of the system starts next month and will be finished by early next year. The upshot is that the system will produce one megawatt of electricity per hour, which is the equivalent to the power used by 800 houses. Last spring, Toyota said it would start producing the Lexus ES at the Kentucky plant after getting almost a $150 million offer from the state. That's because that model is expected to add 50,000 vehicles to the existing production numbers at the plant. And those production numbers are already large, as Toyota makes both the standard and hybrid versions of both the Camry and Avalon there. Mind you, Toyota's not the first to go this route for factory-energy production. In 2011, General Motors' Orion Assembly Plant started getting about 40 percent of its energy for production of models such as the Chevy Sonic and Buick Verano from methane captured from a landfill nearby. The General estimated at the time that the process would cut the company's energy costs by about $1.1 million a year. Check out Toyota's press release about the Kentucky plant and its future landfill gas below. Landfill Gas to Build Cars and a Greener Community Partnership between Toyota and local landfill turns garbage into good March 24, 2014 GEORGETOWN, Ky. (MARCH, 24 2014) – Can a car company be a vehicle for change? Toyota thinks so. The Kentucky plant that manufactures some of the greenest cars on the road, including two hybrid models, will soon be powered in part by green electricity. Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. has teamed up with Waste Services of the Bluegrass to generate power from local landfill waste, marking the region's first business to business landfill gas to energy initiative. Toyota estimates the locally-generated landfill gas will supply enough power each year for the production of 10,000 vehicles. How it Works As solid waste naturally breaks down in a landfill, it creates gas.

Scion reveals iM concept ahead of LA debut

After dropping a teaser image on us a few weeks ago, Scion has revealed in full the new iM Concept it's bringing to the Los Angeles Auto Show next week. As expected, the concept is clearly a rebadged version of the Euro-market Toyota Auris, only with some "European Racing Circuit Styling" upgrades to make it look more aggressive.
Along with the Scion logos, the five-door hatch is treated to a deeper air dam flanked by angular vents with stacked fog lamps, beefed-up wheel arches linked by widened side sills and filled with 19-inch, anthracite-finish alloys on low-profile rubber. Vented brake discs and four-piston calipers join an adjustable suspension as show-worthy equipment upgrades.
The sporty treatment continues around back with a similarly aggressive rear bumper and roof spoiler. Even the wing mirrors are replaced with narrower units. Little wonder it's all done up in a shade Scion calls "incrediblue" that looks rather similar to what sister-brand Lexus would put on one of its F-branded performance models - or for that matter what corporate ally Subaru would put on an STI hot hatches like the WRX.