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August 14, 2008 - Torrance, CA - Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., announced today that the 2009 Highlander mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) will offer an all-new, powerful yet fuel-efficient 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine. When it arrives at dealerships in mid-to-late January, the new Highlander powerplant will be among the best mid-size SUVs in the areas of performance, fuel economy and value.
The new 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine will generate an impressive 187 horsepower at 5,800 RPM and 186 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,100 RPM on regular 87 octane fuel. A dual exhaust manifold will help achieve exceptional low-end torque and maximize its power output. In addition to its performance output, the Highlander equipped with the new four-cylinder will be EPA-rated as an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEVII) and is expected to be among the leaders in fuel efficiency in the gas mid-size SUV segment. Official EPA fuel efficiency ratings will be announced closer to launch.
The new four-cylinder engine will be mated to an all-new six-speed electronically-controlled automatic overdrive transmission with intelligence (ECT-i). The new transmission will help deliver quiet and smooth performance on par with a V6 and acceleration that is surprisingly quick for a four-cylinder. When equipped with a tow... [Read More]
Bucking the market trend, Toyota will be accelerating the production schedule of an SUV. Toyota announced today that production of the Highlander SUV will be moved up six months. "We need to get those people working. That’s the bottom line," said Steve St. Angelo, senior vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc.
The Highlander makes the most sense out of all of Toyota’s SUVs because it is the one currently offering a hybrid version that can attract sales. Slow sales has already caused Toyota to halt production until November of the large Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV at the plants Princeton, Indiana, and San Antonio, Texas. The new plant in Tupelo, Mississippi, that was originally slated to make the Highlander will now make the Prius instead.
Unlike most of the U.S. auto companies, Toyota is giving a more optimistic view for the future at its U.S. plants that currently produce trucks. "I don’t anticipate us laying off any people," St. Angelo said. "Hopefully – and I can’t predict the future — the bad stuff is behind us, and we can stabilize, train and pick up again in a month or so."
Toyota appears to have hit upon a novel way of unloading excess US truck and SUV supply: Send the vehicles overseas. While no firm decisions have been made, Steve St. Angelo, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, told a group of industry observers the company's full-size Tundra pickups and Sequoia SUVs could be attractive to buyers in other countries. We'd presume he's talking about African nations, Russia and Asia, places where large vehicles still command a strong following thanks to folks with lots of money to spend. Either way, it sounds like a win-win, since Toyota could take advantage of the weak dollar and keep its US factories humming while we could offload our junk on someone else for a change.
It looks like consumer demand for more fuel-efficient models is affecting the super number one greenest manufacturer from the land of the rising sun, too. According to the folks with the corporate Inside Line, the 2011 Lexus LF-A-based 2011 Lexus SC has been canned. Additionally, it looks like the 2011 Toyota Avalon may meet the same fate, replaced instead with a long-wheelbase 2012 Toyota Camry.
Originally, Lexus's plan was to develop a new SC based on the LF-A, but softened-up a bit for the colostomy-bag crowd at which the current model is targeted. However, sales of the so-ugly-it-hurts $67,120 hardtop convertible dropped 40% during the first half of 2008, necessitating a total rethink. We guess the market for a 288 HP 16-mpg city, non-performance luxury convertible isn't as big as was once thought.
After the withdrawal of the Camry from European markets in 2004 due to long-term poor sales, the Avensis became Toyota’s largest offering in the continent. The current, second-generation Avensis has been available in Europe since 2003 (having received a mild-facelift in 2006) competing against the likes of the Ford Mondeo, Peugeot 407 and VW Passat. In the face of new competition, Toyota is planning to reveal a successor to the Avensis II that will be offered in both sedan and station-wagon variants towards the end of 2008 or early 2009. Now, whether or not the new Avensis will look like the car featured in this scanned rendering that was sent to us by one of our readers, your guess is as good as ours…
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