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Toyota GT86 engineer Tada recounts how sports car came to be

Because the Toyota GT86, Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ coupes are now a reality, it's almost hard to imagine the struggle that had to happen within the large, conservative corporate structures at both automakers for the joint project to even get off of the ground.
Speaking to those struggles on Toyota UK's Toyota Blog, GT86 Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada enlightens us with a recap of the sports car's earliest origins. For Tada, the first stages of the project must have seemed almost as dreamlike as the final product is to drive.
Said the Chief, "I had been working in the minivan department engineering new product, but a month after the meeting I was summoned. 'Forget about minivans,' they said, 'you are now working on the sports-car project.'"

Toyota renews Supra trademark, we renew frothing at the mouth

Enthusiasts have been begging for a new Supra practically since Toyota stopped selling its fourth generation in the US way back in 1998. We've been hearing rumors about a successor for years, but the Toyota FT-1 Concept from the 2014 Detroit Auto Show is the first tangible sign from the automaker that a new generation may be on the table. To temp us even more, the Japanese company reportedly filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office last week to renew its 2010 trademark for the name "Supra."
Granted, these kinds of trademark updates aren't uncommon, as automakers don't want to lose their rights to nameplates (even if they have no immediate plans to use them). However, Toyota briefly abandoned its rights to the Supra name entirely. According to The Motor Report, the original trademark was continually renewed until 2006, but the Japanese automaker let it lapse in the US until applying for it again in 2010.
The FT-1 Concept in Detroit was created at Toyota's Calty Design Research center in California and carries cues from the 2000GT, Celica and Supra in an ultra-curvy body. Officials did not disclose anything about its powertrain. Toyota is also co-developing a future sports car platform with BMW that will underpin models from both companies, but few other details are konwn, and it isn't yet clear that the joint venture has anything to do with a future Supra. Hope springs eternal.

Stellantis and Toyota expand partnership with large commercial van

Stellantis said on Monday it would expand its partnership with Toyota Motor Europe (TME) with a new large commercial van, including an electric version. Stellantis will supply TME, a unit of Japan's Toyota Motor Corp, with the new vehicle for sale in Europe under the Toyota brand, it said. The van will be produced at Stellantis plants in Gliwice, Poland, and Atessa, Italy. "Planned for mid-2024, the new large-size commercial van marks TME's first entry into the large-size commercial vehicle segment," Stellantis added in a statement. The deal widens the partnership between the two companies and allows a better optimization of Stellantis' Atessa plant, which currently makes large vans sold under the Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat marques. "It represents an important addition and completes our light commercial line-up for Toyota's European customers," Stellantis said. Paris-listed shares in Stellantis were up 1.6% by 0941 GMT. Carmakers have increasingly been agreeing cross-manufacturing deals to reduce costs in vans, which due to a boom in parcel delivery are seeing large demand — and where electric vehicle versions are also seeing rising sales to carry out "last-mile" deliveries in city centers. Green Fiat Toyota Citroen Peugeot Minivan/Van Commercial Vehicles Electric