The Cash for Clunkers program has been a blessing for the US auto industry. Not only have sales of vehicles picked up since the program opened its doors, but manufacturers – whether intentionally or not – have engaged in some sort of ‘race’ as to what car model comes out as the number one sold for the duration of the program.
Last week, we reported that the Ford Focus was leading the pack but now, it appears that we have a new pole-sitter in the form of the Toyota Corolla. It’s no surprise that the Corolla has been raking in strong numbers under the program - it’s only the best-selling car ever!
There’s no shame in second place for the Focus, especially if you’re going up against a car that’s sold once every 40 seconds(!) Third place goes the ever-popular Honda Civic while fourth and fifth places belong to the Corolla’s cousins, the Toyota Prius and the Toyota Camry, respectively.
Continued after the jump.
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Just when Toyota opened its doors to a new partner in Aston Martin, it closed another door on a 25-year partnership with General Motors.
With news circulating that the Japanese auto giant and Aston Martin have forged a partnership together to produce Toyota’s iQ car in the UK under the Aston Martin brand, it came as a surprise to a lot of people when General Motors announced that it would discontinue its relationship and forego its ownership stake in the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) partnership the Detroit-based automaker created with Toyota 25 years ago.
GM’s announcement came on the heels of its decision to completely drop the Pontiac brand from its roster of cars – a decision that has virtually made the Nummi plant in Fremont California, where the Pontiac Vibe was being produced, meaningless to GM.
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The Japanese automaker Toyota will bring a handful of their remarkable racing cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 3-5. The three day event is Europe’s answer to Monterey Historic Races that take place every year at Laguna Seca. The event allows racing enthusiasts to get an up close look at everything from classic competition cars to the racecars of tomorrow and allows these machines the opportunity to do what it is that they do best when they race against the clock and the hill.
The sombrero wearing import carmaker will be showing off a Lexus LF-A super car and a TF108, last year’s unrestricted F1 car complete with the German Timo Glock behind the controls. Making almost as much power as the F1 machine, Toyota will also bring a four wheel drive Celica GT4-X developed by English based tuners Fensport. The Celica makes 700 HP and can make consistent 10 second quarter mile passes all day long.
Rally enthusiasts will be happy to know that their will be a pair of classic Group B Celicas as well as the car that won them the Manufacturer’s Championship in 1999, a WRC Corolla. Alain Prost’s championship ice racing Toyota Auris will also be on hand, the car is built to look like the compact city car, except the racecar is built from carbon fiber and features a tuned 3.0 Liter V6. There will also be a couple of Can-Am and Le Mans racers on hand as well.
However, it will be Gazoo Racing’s V10-powered Lexus LF-A endurance racer, coming straight from competing in the Nurburgring 24, along with an IS-F that competed in the same race twice around the clock, that will be one of the main attractions on the hill climb course, making an appearance at the Earl of March’s annual gathering.
Press release after the jump.
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The Toyota Corolla is the best selling car of all time. It earned this honor by being economical and reliable. Both qualities are great for choosing a commuter car, but are rarely used to describe a performance vehicle.
Turns out Toyota does have a little bit of soul for its everyday car. Premiering at the Tokyo Auto Salon was the Super GT300’s, and this is not your grandmother’s car. It’s powered by a 3.5l V6 engine that delivers 300hp, and weights a light 1100 kg (2420 lbs). It will make its official launch in the 2009 Super GT racing series.
The Corolla is the car that made Toyota a household name. For over forty years, Corolla has meant reliable transportation at an affordable price. The current generation is not breaking this winning formula, and its trying to add a little luxury into the affordable car mix.
The Corolla was first introduced as a small rear-drive subcompact in the late 1960s. In the 1970s the second generation was introduced, and it was the best selling import in the country. Last year, the now front-wheel drive Corolla became the best selling model in the world, with over 30 million sold. Toyota has released a new generation of the Corolla every four or five years, which has now lead up to this new tenth-generation 2009 Toyota Corolla. The new Corolla is slightly longer, lower and wider than the previous generation. It is available in five trims, base, LE, S, XLE, and XRS. Our Corolla XLE is powered by a 1.8 Liter 4 cylinder DOHC engine matted to an automatic 4-speed transmission. The starting price for the Corolla XLE is $17, 550. Our test vehicle is priced at $18,600, because it has the optional goodies including 6-disc CD changer and satellite radio.
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Toyota announced manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRP) today for the all-new 2009 Corolla and Matrix, along with the 2008 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Special Edition. The Corolla base MSRP will range from $15,250 to $19,950 while the Matrix will range from $16,190 to $21,850. MSRPs do not include a delivery, processing and handling fee of $660. Both models will begin arriving at dealerships next month.
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In Japan.
But, it may be a sign of things to come elsewhere.
The
Honda Fit has passed the
Toyota Corolla as the best-seller in Japan, with Fit sales increasing by more than 100% in November over the previous year level. To this point, the Corolla had been the top-seller in Japan for over a year. But, its sales dropped 10% last month.
Despite that, the Fit was the only Honda that cracked the top ten in Japanese domestic sales, with 8 of the other top spots taken by (..
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Next to the 2009 Corolla and Corolla Matrix, Toyota also unveiled the Corolla S3 at SEMA, a tuned version of the standard sedan.
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Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., unveiled the all-new 10th generation Corolla sedan at a press conference today at the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.
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Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., unveiled the all-new second-generation Corolla Matrix at a press conference today at the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.
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