News Toysport on the future of Toyota

Couldn't have put it better myself...... maybe someday in the future they'll come around back to their roots and make the thirsty for power out there happy once again, however for now we'll have to settle that true power and performance will not be in the play for quite a while on Toyotas part. In a way I'm glad Toyota is doing things the way they are because their sales are so successful that they won't be going nowhere or going under. I think Scion was a smart move, HOWEVER I think the power levels on the xA and xB vehicles should've came stock higher, more like towards the mid/high 100's just like the tC..... young people wanting to upgrade a car for performance won't be looking at a car with 108hp but I guess in the end even though the xA and xB are low powered it all depends on what you like to do wether is show or go, or maybe a mix of both.

I never called the xrs a performance car, I said it had a performance based engine. The G in the engine code refers to a high flow head that toyota uses in some engines, notice 1zzfe is the fuel saver engine while the 2zzge is the "performance" engine, same with the 4age and 4afe.

The xB and xA were just direct crossovers form the JDM counterparts (just switched over to lhd and other interiorshiz) which used the same 105 hp engine, would've been stupid economically to redo the vehicles for just the U.S market.

Toyota is still making fast cars, just not what you would call affordable sporty cars.

Compare it then It holds up well for being a na 1.8l four cyl

eh I'm happy with my vvt-i 1zz-fe

they say that the average car only needs about 70-80 HP (optimal) to efficiently run and any more than that is a waste. Wasted on gas mileage for quick acceleration and top speed. That why countries like Japan have low displacement engines like the 1.3 liter etc. Honestly, 0-60 in 12 sec. is plenty fast. And with the gas price going up to $4-$5 a gallon soon following the Iran sanction, I think Toyota is doing the right thing. I mean do we REALLY need 500 HP factory engines? I think it is a waste of gas and a contributor to global warming/pollution especially if you don't ever take it all the way out and redline it. A 500 HP 6.1 liter engine might waste more gas idle than our 1.8 liter engines do cruising at 25mph.

I was watching the 2006 auto show this morning and I think the domestic industry is setting up for themselves for bankrupcy with all the new high horsepower and big displacement engines coming out like the SRT10 Ram truck with the Viper engine, 7.0 liter Corvette z06, more cars to put the big ass SRT HEMIs in like the Challenger/Jeeps/Magnum, Ford's new Super Chief truck, etc. I mean come on, you guys need to play it safe and make smaller cars due to $4+ gas prices. Don't take chances now when you're on thin ice....

No.

Do we like having them?
Yes.

it's been shown in studies that no matter what the gas prices are americans will still pay them because they are so dependent on the automobile. A 2zz-ge is a gas-saving performer. It might not be 500hp, but in an elise, for example, gives it a 4.9 0-60 time. don't tell me that's not good. The trend of lower horsepower is being offset by lower weight in import cars these days. thats just what i'm seeing. and in reality, a car shouldn't have TV's, DVD's, navigation, or any of that other crap. An elise is a perfect car IMO because it doesnt have all that unnecessary bull. performace enthusiasts who strip out their interiors would agree.

Maybe so, but to me, stuffing a 2ZZ into a FWD economy sedan/hatch isn't true performance. Would I like to have an XRS? sure. Are 2ZZ powered cars pretty much the most performance oriented in Toyota's lineup at the moment? sure. I just don't think you can compare such cars to cars that were actually developed to be sportscars. I mean there are no performance oriented RWD/AWD cars in Toyota's lineup anymore. How many Toyota cars are RWD? How many have 2 doors? How many use Forced induction? When you look at it, toyota has bailed on what has for decades made them innovative, successful, and a step ahead of the competition. They can sell all the Corollas/Camry's you want and make billions, but it can be done without ignoring heritage.

Mazda is turning into what toyota used to be. All of their cars are sporty even in their base forms, not to mention you can just about get them all in Mazdaspeed form w/ a turbo.

Making bread and butter cars like the Camry, Highlander and base Corollas is way more profitable than making Supras, MR2's etc. that people don't find practical. A performance Toyota will be an oxymoron pretty soon.