Toyota's V-10 does exist!

Poised to become the No. 1 carmaker in the world, and producer of the Corolla and Camry, two of the most successful and recognized model ranges ever, when Toyota develops a car for the future, its definitely worth taking a second look. At the 2005 Aichi World Expo in Japan, Toyota showed off a number of interesting concept cars, but by far the most radical was the i-unit, a single-seater mobility pod. Powered by a lithium-ion battery and an electric motor, the design for the i-unit was inspired by a leaf. A development from the PM concept car that Toyota showed at the 2005 Tokyo Motorshow, the i-unit assumes an upright and compact stance in town, but gets lower and longer as it moves faster. The i-unit also features some radical ideas about driver interface, some including the recognition of the driver’s veins! Another interesting feature is that the i-unit’s body panels are made from kenaf the fiber from a quick growing and CO2 absorbing plant grown in South East Asia. If the i-unit was shown off by any other car maker, it would easily be dismissed as pure fantasy. But as the level-headed engineers at Toyota have developed it, it may very well be the Corolla of the future! Check it out at: http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/vision/emerging_tech/i-unit/about.html

The Toyota Corolla is one of the most successful and recognizable cars in the world, and to celebrate the 40th year of its launch, Toyota has set-up a microsite celebrating this popular model. It is interesting how simple things, like a floor mounted gearshift and reversing lamps, that we now take for granted, were considered important to make the original Corolla more accessible, and thus more popular. Another aspect that cannot be ignored is that the Corolla established the benchmark for production quality and fit-and-finish, which in turned caused the entire car industry to match, if not surpass, this standard. Check out the website, http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/vision/corolla/index.html and tell us why you think the Corolla has become such a worldwide success.

Toyota unveiled its new Auris at the Paris Motorshow last month, and earlier this month, the Corolla Axio was launched in Japan. From what information Oneshift.com was able to gather, the Corolla Axio comes with 1.5- and 1.8-litre VVTi engines coupled to a Continuously Variable Transmission. As for the Auris, it will replace the Corolla in European markets, but no details have been released about which engines power it. The European-styled Auris hatchback is sold in Japan with the same engines as the Corolla Axio. Both the Corolla Axio and Auris will definitely give us a good idea of what the next Corolla Altis, the 10th generation model to bear the Corolla badge, will look like. More importantly, will the next Corolla Altis be displayed at the Toyota stand at the forthcoming Singapore Motorshow? Remember, you read it first on this website! For sneak peeks of the Auris, check out: http://www.toyota-europe.com For the official press release for the Corolla Axio, check out: http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/news/06/1010.html