What's that? You can't imagine a Toyota that might consider offering a fun, affordable, two door with a modicum of sportiness and some seriously interesting style? Might we introduce you to the Toyota FT-86 concept — the first Toyota (barring the epic Lexus LFA) we've been genuinely excited about since the... um... Supra? Wow, that took entirely too long.

A Legacy In The Front Three-Quarters
The original Toyota AE86 is a legend, offering the fun of RWD in an extremely light-and-tossable platform. Despite having econo-car dimensions, the AE86 was able to incorporate a sports car look with its long, sloping hood and a line carrying itself through the A-pillar. Click through to see how this element transformed into the final concept.

Toyota's Design Evolves In Profile
The RWD is teased in the Hofmeister Kink, which goes through quite the metamorphosis before ending up with a look that combines the wild integrated kink of the first sketch and concept with the practical C-pillar on the original coupe and three-door.

A Sexy Swoop In Back
The new swoopy design language on the FT-86 has less to do with the AE-86 and more to do with where Toyota is going as a company. The two-box design coming to a point at the rear evolves from the LF-A Roadster concept to something more dramatic on the sketch and concept before ending up with a design incorporating the same rotary look into the trunkline.

Looking To The Future Up Front
Toyota has lacked a distinctive front fascia for years, with little similarity between a Camry, Corolla and Avalon, to give just one example. Though you don't quite see the emergence of one in these drawings, it's clear with the introduction of the 2010 4Runner that Toyota is attempted, at least, to create a more aggressive look with the use of a trapezoidal shape.

Conclusion
The FT-86 in name and purpose is the heir to the AE86 legacy but is far more important to the brand. Though still a concept, this near-production vehicle is perhaps Toyota's best answer to Aiko Toyoda's complaint that the company has become distant from its customers.

The Toyota FT-86 concept is the fruit of cooperation between Toyota Motor Company and Subaru, and as such will wear a common chassis and some degree of engine commonality, at the least a 2.0 liter, four cylinder boxer engine dubbed the "C-45 Boxer" and making between 200 and 250 HP will power the rear wheels through a manual six speed transmission, and get this — no hybrid system. Saints be praised.

Perhaps most telling are the car's overall dimensions. At 163.7 inches long, 69.3 inches, a wheelbase of 101.2 inches, and 49.6 inches high, it's thankfully compact, smaller in length, width and height than the Nissan 370Z, and slightly longer in wheelbase. It's also the first car to wear Toyota's new swoopy styling with some gusto. Dare we say it, we actually like the look of it. It's... exciting, we're so confused here. The interior is obviously all show-car glam and may serve as direction, but we'll be shocked if there are many zippers on the production car's dash.

We're men enough to admit that combined with the recently unveiled 2010 Toyota 4Runner, we're about to shed a tear over what looks to be the return of the old, fun AE86 sports coupe-building Toyota.

We have one thing to ask - Can we play the part of the passenger seat belt next time?

[didntyouhear via Sports Illustrated]

When I first caught sight of this thing from a block or so away, I thought I'd found a Triumph. Hooray! I wasn't disappointed when I saw it came from an island nation other than the UK, because we've only seen one of these before in this series. I can't figure out the exact year on this machine, but the side marker lights make it a '68, '69, or '70. Note: It appears that the non-teardrop-shape side marker lights indicate that this is a 1970 model year car.


There's always the name problem with these cars; Nissan marketed this car as the Datsun Sports 1600 in North America, but I've yet to hear anyone use that name. In Japan, it was sold as the Fairlady, the official company designation was SPL311, and most Americans call it the Datsun Roadster. When you see Keith Maney's GM V6-powered Datsun at LeMons South, you'll call it madness!


Look, it's the DOTS 1975 Celica, with the Evil Primer Chevelle parked right in front of it! The '71 510 lives nearby as well. Great neighborhood for old iron.

The price has been revised from the original $80,000 upwards to around $87,900 but along with the price we get specs. The Karma will get not one, but two electric motors as part of its "Q-drive" powertain system, and they augment a 265 HP GM Ecotec turbocharged four cylinder for a grand total of 408 HP and 959 lb-ft of torque. In full sport mode that car will scoot from zero to 60 MPH in only 5.8 seconds, top speed is pegged at 125 MPH. Switch it down to miser mode and you can go 50 miles in all electric mode, drawing power from the lithium-ion battery pack. Production is planned for 15,000 cars a year when the line gets rolling, but don't get too excited, it's already sold out until mid-2010. We'll bring you more details as they emerge, but keep it tuned here for the latest. [Road And Track]

Considering this preview image looks pretty much exactly like the original concept right down to the solar panel roof, it's going to be tough for the decidedly less sexy Prius and Insight to keep up. The car will be debuting at the Detroit Auto Show just one year after it rocked the boat with its debut and ambitious production timeline. We can already see where this is going.

Looking deeper into that crystal ball, we can already hear the sensationalist articles spouting off about how the Karma is proof of the ineptitude of the Not-So-Big Three — look what they were able to do in only one year after all! That'll be fun, but those headlines will probably also ignore the GM sourced Ecotec inline 4-cylinder under the hood, the outsourced assembly happening at Valmet Automotive, the asking price many times higher than other hybrids and the low volume production plan. It'll all be there, and the mainstream media will eat it up with a spoon. Click here for a full resolution image and bask in the glory of the hybrid sports cruiser that'll be displacing the Porsche Panamera, the Aston Martin Rapide, and the Maserati Quattroporte on all of Hollywood's most self-satisfied red carpets. [Fisker via Autoblog]

Cardinals manager charged with suspicion of DUI [SI.com]

Related:
Athletics Pitcher Esteban Loaiza's Ferrari Goes Faster Than His Pitches! [internal]

[OC Chopper Yankees Edition Gallery]

Related:
Whistlin' Wynn-Dixie: Chevy Shows Off It's Threesome Of Silverado Customs; The EcoJet: Jay Leno's New GM-Outsourced Supercar [internal]

Lions assistant arrested for nude driving and drunken driving [Freep]

Related:
Should Have Seen The Signs: Mel Gibson's DUI Has Two New Ironic Twists [internal]

Chevy, continuing with the whole gameplan of making people wish their dad would have played ball with them more rather than beating them with a baseball bat — has a new, yet old, ad out touting Chevrolet's connection to baseball. Deutsch/LA spliced footage from the old Campbell-Ewald ad "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet", which aired way back in 1974. They've thrown in a new twist or two — and it ends up being a fairly entertaining ad — once you forget what hot dogs were made from back in '74. [Hat tip to the folks at Adfreak!]

Chevy takes selective view of modern baseball [AdFreak]

Related:
Ad Watch: GM's Still Not Sold On FM — Then Again, Now Again [internal]

The flag, which can be seen from 1000ft in the air and from miles around and bosses at the plant were 100% behind the idea, not only juggling teams and shifts to make sure the flag was ready but also so that their workers can watch the big game. Well that's good — cause it must have been a tough job getting 400 cars parked in straight lines next to each other — unless of course, you're a yard driver and it's your job!

Toyota factory workers in England made giant flag from cars [AutoMotoPortal]

Related:
16 World Cup Players Stop Playing With Their Balls For A Moment; Show Off Their Cars [internal]

World Cup in pictures [globeandmail]

Related:
Blag It Like Beckham [internal]

[UPDATE: One of us saw it on TV...it was a cream colored Escalade.]

Ryder Cup captain's car shot at [BBC News]

Related:
More Ads/Promotions [internal]