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Next Lotus Elise to draw from its roots

Recently-appointed Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales told Autocar that work on the new Lotus Elise, which is coming in 2020, is already underway, and thanks to growing sales, the automaker is set to make a profit for the first time in 20 years. Gales also dropped some details about the new sports cars' design philosophy and underpinnings. According to the report, the new Elise will utilize the same aluminum chassis technology found in the original Elise and won't bear any resemblance to the 2010 Elise concept. Instead, the upcoming vehicle will uphold its roots with a lightweight design that emphasizes driver involvement at an affordable price. The new Elise is rumored to weigh in at roughly 1,984 pounds, almost 384 pounds more than the original Elise. In order to meet US crash ratings, the Elise will most likely be wider, but have the same length as the current model. Power will probably come from a Toyota unit producing between 134 horsepower and 245 horsepower. The Elise is expected to come to the US where it will be offered with a manual and automatic transmission, which will both come from Toyota as well. Gales claims Lotus has more orders now than in any year in the last 10 years, with the US being one of the automaker's most important markets. Related Video:

Question of the Day: Ever consider driving a minivan?

Since I'm supposed to know something about cars, it happens all the time: friends and relatives ask me advice about what kind of vehicle they should get. Very often, the only type of vehicle that can check every item on their wish list (e.g., hauls lots of people and stuff, gets good fuel economy, has great crash-test ratings, can take four Great Danes camping, and so on) is a modern minivan... and, of course, nobody wants to hear this. I'm not a minivan person, they will wail, and so they end up with a cramped, fuel-swilling SUV or a not-so-space-efficient minivan-in-disguise CUV. So, is it worth becoming one of those minivan people in order to get the incredible usefulness of these masterpieces of vehicle engineering, or do you hold your head high and drive something that doesn't quite meet your needs? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chrysler Honda Toyota Minivan/Van question of the day questions

Toyota outsells VW for global sales crown, apologizes with a vow to 'be honest'

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows in apology during a press conference Tuesday over the group companies' quality scandals. (Getty Images)   Every quarter, the stock market hangs on how much sales growth Tesla and other startups have experienced. There's growth, but then there's sheer output, and when it comes to deliveries dominance, one company can't be touched. Toyota on Tuesday announced that it remained the world's top-selling automaker for the fourth year running, with record sales of 11.2 million vehicles in 2023. Toyota's global group sales jumped 7.2% last year; the numbers include sales at Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors. Toyota's parent-only vehicles, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands, hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023. Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those. Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1%. Toyota's annual output handily beat runner-up Volkswagen Group, which this month reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.2 million cars. That growth was driven largely by demand for Audi, which sold 1.9 million vehicles. The auto industry in 2023 enjoyed a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased, though shipping problems through the Red Sea so far this year have stalled that progress by some automakers, causing some car plants in Europe to suspend production. Toyota's global group sales have now topped 10 million vehicles for nine of the past 10 years, except for 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a blow to the auto sector. Scandals and an apology Toyota's chairman apologized on Tuesday for scandals at the three group companies. Daihatsu, Hino and affiliate Toyota Industries have been beset by governance issues involving certification test procedures for cars and engines that could potentially hurt the brand's global reputation for quality and safety. "I would like to express my deepest apologies to our customers and stakeholders for the inconvenience and concern caused by the successive irregularities at Hino Motors, Daihatsu and Toyota Industries," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters. He was speaking at an event to announce a vision for the Toyota group, which was founded by his great-grandfather and now includes 17 companies.