All-New 2012 Toyota Camry and Camry Hybrid Coming this Fall

Toyota officially placed the arrival of the all-new 2012 Camry sedan and its hybrid sibling (2010/2011 Camry pictured above) in the U.S. market for this fall during the company’s annual national dealer meeting which took place on Wednesday in Las Vegas.

The Japanese company said that the next generation of its best-selling model will move away from the conservative designs of the past.

“Designed to meet the changing needs of the 21st Century driver, the new Camry will provide technologically advanced features, a contemporary design inside and out, improved performance and refined ride and handling,” Toyota said in a press statement.

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Scion Releases Pricing on 2012 xB, Unsurprisingly it gets New Audio Systems

When Scion announces a new model year change for one of its vehicles, more often than not, it concerns an upgraded audio system and nothing much else. That’s the case with the 2012MY xB which enters the new model year with a standard AM/FM/CD/HD/USB 160-watt maximum output Pioneer audio system, which includes HD Radio technology and Bluetooth connectivity allowing for both hands-free phone connection and streaming audio capability. Read more »

Scion Introduces Updated 2012 tC and New tC RS 7.0

It’s only been eight months in the market but Scion has already announced a 2012 model year version of its latest tC sports coupe. Leaving aside the equipment upgrades for the basic model, the most important news for the 2012MY is the launch of the first release series for the second-generation tC sports coupe. Read more »

Scion’s People Talk About the FR-S Concept Coupe

While Toyota’s European engineers are putting the final touches on the production version of the FT-86, here in North America, the Japanese company’s Scion brand is trying to keep the hype going around the FR-S concept car, which debuted at the New York International Auto Show in April.

Scion released two new videos on the its upcoming rear-wheel drive sports car hosted by Ken Gushi, a resident Scion Racing driver who currently pilots a 2009 tC in the Formula Drift series, and Jack Hollis, the Japanese firm’s Vice President.

The two men talk about the FR-S and how it came to be. You can watch the clips by following the jump below.

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Toyota Sees North American Production Returning to 100% in September

Toyota on Thursday revised an earlier forecast predicting that North American production would return to 100 percent towards the end of the year with the company now stating that it expects normal output levels to be achieved in September.

Following the problems that arose after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Toyota and its suppliers ramped up their efforts and as a result, eight of the company’s 12 North American-built models returned to 100 percent production on June 6.

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VIDEO: Toyota FT-86 Freshly Spied at the Nurburgring Race Track

If anything else, spy photographers have their work cut out with the new Toyota FT-86 sports coupe. As we are nearing closer to the launch of the production model, the Japanese automaker has increased its presence at the Nordschleife circuit in Germany to fine tune the chassis and mechanical hardware, with this latest scoop video showing a camouflaged prototype in action. Read more »

New Toyota FT-86 / Scion FR-S Sports Coupe Scooped on Video

By now, you have probably already seen our spy shots of the kitted-out Toyota FT-86 prototype with the Supra-like rear wing, which was snagged during testing in Germany, but one scoopster managed to film the sports car on the road as well.

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Blacked Out Scion tC RS 5.0 Priced from $17,000

Those of you that are planning to visit the 2009 Chicago Auto Show (February 13-22), will get the chance to see the latest limited edition version of Scion's tC compact coupe dubbed Release Series 5.0 before it goes on sale across the U.S. in March, 2009. Unlike most limited edition Scion models that are as unique as a grain of sand, the tC RS. 5.0 actually comes equipped with numerous accessories and performance upgrades from TRD (Toyota Racing Development).

Offered exclusively in a glossy black exterior paint finish with matching 18-inch alloy wheels, the Scion tC RS 5.0 is fitted with TRD lowering springs, rear sway bar and sport muffler while the company also offers a black rear lip spoiler priced at $285 (not including installation).

The exterior theme is continued inside with a black leather steering wheel featuring red stitching, black seats with red accents, floor mats with the TRD logo and a plaque with the car's individual number.

Overall, Scion will produce a total of 2,000 units of the tC Release Series 5.0 priced from $17,000 when combined with a manual transmission and $17,800 with an automatic transmission.

Toyota & Lexus U.S. January Sales Sink 34.9 Percent

The first month of 2009 also brought bad news for Toyota that saw its U.S. sales fall to 117,287 vehicles, a decrease of 34.4 percent from last January. The Toyota division that includes the Scion brand, posted sales of 102,565 units, a decrease of 34.9 percent, while Lexus recorded sales of 14,722 units, down of 30.3 percent from the year-ago month. Toyota's passenger car sales were led by the Camry and Camry Hybrid, which posted combined sales of 20,782 units. The Corolla recorded sales of 19,238 units while the Yaris reported sales of 4,440 units for the month. The Prius hybrid posted January sales of 8,121 units.

Toyota's light trucks division posted January sales of 42,548 units, down 40 percent from January 2008. Light truck sales were led by the RAV4 compact SUV with January sales of 8,034 units.

As for Lexus, it's best selling model for January 2009 was the RX with sales of 6,520 units followed by the ES luxury sedan with sales of 2,971 units.

Detroit Preview: 2009 Scion xB RS 6.0 Limited Edition

Another automobile show, another special edition model from Scion. For this year's Detroit gathering, Toyota's affiliate will present its first limited-production vehicle for 2009, the xB Release Series 6.0 or xB R.S. 6.0 for short. So what's so special about this xB? Well, nothing really unless you get a kick out of long names. Available exclusively in Absolutely Red exterior paint, the RS 6.0 gets a front grille with custom black finish while a color-keyed rear spoiler will be available as an option. And no, it doesn't even come equipped with alloy wheels. Instead it features 'Release Series' hub caps....

The red theme makes it mark in the interior as well with with color-tuned four-in-one interior lights, RS 6.0 illuminated door sills, and accented interior trim and color-tuned seat fabric. Other notable upgrades includes the standard touch screen Pioneer Audio Visual Navigation (AVN) headunit with flash memory, voice recognition, MSN Direct, and Bluetooth. The system is also satellite radio and HD Radio ready and will play DVDs and iPod videos when the vehicle is in park.

Scion plans on producing 2,500 units of the xB Release Series 6.0 that will be available in dealerships this February. The 'limited-edition' xB will carry a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $1,743 over the base price of the xB, meaning that the xB with a manual transmission will set you back at $15,750, while if you choose the automatic version, you'll pay $16,700. And as Scion points out, the delivery, processing and handling (DPH) fee for both models is $670.