One thing about the Honda Civic is that it’s a quality sedan. Great for those in a budget looking for a car to ferry themselves and their family around. The improvements to the new Civic (particularly performance and fuel efficiency improvements) also makes it very attractive for potential buyers now that gas prices at the pump are ionosphere high.

For the US alone, Honda sold 53,299 Civics just in the months of May. This is in stark contrast to the previously popular SUV market that took a bitchslap in the mouth as Civic May sales threatened to break Hummer sales for the whole year in 2007 with 55,986. Hummer sales are down 60% in a 12-month cycle and will struggle to even reach 40k by the end of the year.

The Civic also outscored rivaling budget family sedan, the Toyota Corolla (52,826) and even the ever popular Toyota Camry (51,291). This trend also reflects the shift from big vehicles to smaller ones as these three four-door cars raced into the lead ahead of the traditional sales leader, the Ford F-150 (42,973).

Source: Motor Trend Blog

Inside Line has been gracious to share more information about the Toyota- Subaru tie-up on the rumored replacement to a line of Toyota RWDs (one of which would be the Corolla GT/AE 86). But you have to ask about the branding impact and direction this project is taking. Will it really be a Toyota - Subaru thing?

So far, the car is shaping up to be an Impreza that would go through Toyota’s process. The platform will be Subie. The engine will be Subie. The transmission will be Subie. And don’t those gold rims scream Impreza at yoy? So why not just get a WRX STi and slap on a Toyota badge? Not that it would matter since both companies will offer their own stylings on the car.

Uhm, okay. So the Impreza is a 4WD car and this one will definitely be a RWD. A slight modification on the powertrain will be done to accomplish that. A joint effort will be put into creating a modified version of the 2.0L boxer engine for it to generate 220 hps at 6,500 rpm.

The car is slated to be debuted in 2011 and will be priced at sub-$20,000. Still, it’s a tie-up between two of my favorite automakers. I might just have to save up for one. And I have 3 years to do it.

This buzz/news has been around for months now, with initial rumors about the resurrection of the famed AE86/Corolla GT and the news of co-development between Subaru and Toyota. Now, when two of my favorite auto makers tie-up, I’ll definitely be watching out for developments and the latest is that they’re confirming it. 1) Toyota upped its stakes in Subaru’s parent company and 2) Subaru and Toyota will be developing a sports car.

And it would be back to basics - a stripped-down two-seater with RWD. And since we have two great automakers merging technologies here, expect to have some amazing stuff here. The Impreza will be used as basis for this car with the boxer engine as probably the core of this car as it will be using the WRX’s turbocharged 2.5-litre motor.

What I’m not too sure about is whether this one they’re building will be the one dubbed as the resurrected GT. But by the looks of it, this could be highly likely.

Oh man, this is surely interesting news. Imagine what these companies could to build economical cars with performance that can shame what their European and American counterparts. How about Daihatsu (partly owned by Toyota) kei cars being slapped on with Subie technology.

Source: Top Speed

One of the dangers of mass production is the loss of quality. Compound this with the issue of joint manufacturing and you have not one but two companies potentially sharing the same problems. While I still am a strong Toyota fan, I am quite alarmed by the number of recalls they have to make due to defects. And this doesn’t effect just Toyota, it affects GM too.

Toyota and GM issued a recall of 660,000 vehicles - combined total of 2003-2004 Toyota Matrices (how do you pluralize the Matrix anyway), Corollas and Pontiac vibes due to faulty bolts that keep the glass on the two front doors intact. Just faulty bolts and 660,000 vehicles affected. Tsk.

So far, the company received 500 complaints with a few claiming injuries. Any time a faulty device causes injuries, car makers should be more than on their toes for addressing the problem.

Source: Autoblog

Ah, one of the great people cars of automotive history. The Toyota Corolla has surely some glory years in its history. But with all the new cars rolling out the factories nowadays, it sure has a lot of competition.

Toyota released their MSRPs for several vehicles including the Corolla. The 10th gen still is one of the most decent sedans in the market and its MSRP wouldn’t break the bank with the feature-rich one selling for just $15,250. It comes in five different trim levels - Standard, LE, XLE, S, and the XRS. The sporty S and the performance set-up XRS come with body kits designed to improve aerodynamics.

And don’t think that just because of the price, they won’t offer a lot in terms of the performance with a choice of two engines. The 1.8L 16-valve DOHC produces a 132hp at 6,000 rpm. It uses VVT-i. The 2.4L engine produces 26 more horeses and is redesigned for the use in the Corolla XRS. Both can be mated to either an automatic or manual transmission. As for comforts, features vary with every trim level but expect the common goodies.

The MSRPs are as follows - Standard: $15,250, LE: $16,050, XLE: $16,650, S: $16,320 and XRS: $19,950.

Source: Toyota

A while back, I shared my plans of working on a project car. After a couple of months of settling my finances, I’ve finally come up with the budget for it. Since this is going to be the first project car, I intend to keep it for myself and that means making it fit for my own uses.

I’m primarily looking into achieving three things - comfort, reliability, and fuel-efficiency. Given these goals, once can argue that it may not be truly a project car since usually project cars are all about restoration, tuning and aesthetics. Initially, I thought of creating a monster sleeper but since I won’t really be taking the car to the track, might as well make it a city cruiser.

But hey, let me lay out my plans first.

Read the rest of this entry »

Toyota will showcasing the 2009 Corolla and Matrix in the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show at the end of next month in Vegas. It will be the first time that the US will be seeing these two new cars showcased to the public.

The Corolla has endured the test of time as the top selling sedan. For many parts of the world, the Corolla has been the symbol of the badge’s reliability and dependability. Almost 40 years since first brought to America, the Corolla remained a favorite ride by many. However, with all of the different trends in the car market today, we could now ask whether or not the Corolla will stay on top of the sales rankings. Still, I do believe that the continued patronage to name will endure.

Together with the Corolla, the new Matrix will also be showcased in SEMA. This product of the collaboration between Toyota and GM, the compact hatch filled in the gap ever since Toyota stopped making wagon versions of the Corolla.

Source: Toyota