Drew Dowdell

Toyota announced today that they will be increasing their plan for a $10 billion investment in North America over 5 years to a $13 billion investment in the same time period. Part of that will be an additional $749 million investment in plants in 5 states that will add 600 jobs to the roles. The changes include adding the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus ES Hybrid to vehicle production in Georgetown, KY, adding engine and hybrid transmission capacity in Huntsville, AL and Buffalo, WV respectively, as well as adding casting capacity in Tennessee and Missouri. These additions are on top of a $1.6 billion investment into a new joint venture facility with Mazda in Huntsville AL that will add 4,000 jobs. Further details of Toyota's expansion can be read in their press release on page 2 Toyota Solidifies Its Substantial and Growing Investment in U.S. Company Throttles Up Investments from Original $10 Billion Commitment to nearly $13 Billion Over Five Years with Focus on Advancing Electrification, Creating Hundreds More American Jobs By 2021, Toyota will now invest nearly $13 Billion in its U.S. operations with plans to add nearly 600 new jobs at American manufacturing plants Hybrid versions of the popular RAV4 and Lexus ES to be produced in Kentucky for the first time Production capacity increases and building expansions at Toyota’s unit plants in Huntsville, Alabama, Buffalo, West Virginia, Troy, Missouri and Jackson, Tennessee March 14, 2019 WASHINGTON (March 14, 2019) – For over 60 years Toyota has been growing its manufacturing presence in the United States, and today the company announced it will exceed its 2017 pledge to invest $10 billion over five years with a new commitment to reach nearly $13 billion over the same period. Part of that commitment is seen today with an investment announcement of nearly $750 million in five different states, with more to come. The new investments include adding the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the best-selling SUV in the U.S., and Lexus ES 300h hybrid vehicle production at its Georgetown, Kentucky, manufacturing plant; expanding engine capacity at its Huntsville, Alabama, facility; doubling hybrid transaxle capacity at its plant in Buffalo, West Virginia; and a building expansion for additional castings at Bodine Aluminum’s Jackson, Tennessee, facility as well as additional castings at its Troy, Missouri, facility. “These latest investments represent even more examples of our long-term commitment to build where we sell,” said Jim Lentz, chief executive officer for Toyota Motor North America. “By boosting our U.S. manufacturing footprint, we can better serve our customers and dealers and position our manufacturing plants for future success with more domestic capacity.” A state-by-state look at the new investments totaling $749 million and 586 new jobs: Alabama Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama (TMMAL) - $288,000,000 In Alabama, Toyota’s investment will increase annual engine capacity from 670,000 to 900,000 by the end of 2021 to increase product flexibility and better accommodate market demand. New 4-cylinder and V6 engine lines will add 450 new jobs to its Huntsville, Alabama, facility, the largest hiring need in the plant’s history. The investment also includes a building expansion. Overall, the plant represents an investment of $1.2 billion. Kentucky Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) - $238,000,000 Toyota’s Kentucky vehicle plant, the company’s largest globally, will begin production of the Lexus ES 300h hybrid in May 2019 with annual capacity of 12,000 units while RAV4 Hybrid production will start January 2020 with an annual capacity of 100,000 units. TMMK’s 8,000 team members also build Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid and Lexus ES models with an annual capacity of 550,000 vehicles. Overall, the plant represents an investment of more than $7 billion. Missouri Bodine Aluminum Troy, Missouri - $62,000,000 Investments in Toyota’s Bodine Aluminum plant in Missouri will provide equipment to produce an additional 864,000 cylinder heads for Toyota’s New Global Architecture (TNGA). Bodine’s 900 Missouri team members currently produce more than 3 million cylinder heads a year, which are made for every Toyota and Lexus manufactured in North America. Overall, the plant represents an investment of $455 million. Tennessee Bodine Aluminum Jackson, Tennessee - $50,000,000 The Tennessee investment includes a building expansion and equipment to double the capacity of hybrid transaxle cases and housings to 240,000 annually. The investment will also provide equipment to produce an additional 288,000 engine blocks a year for TNGA. The plant’s 300 team members currently produce 1.7 million engine blocks a year, which supply every Toyota and Lexus manufactured in North America, and 580,000 transmission cases and housings. Bodine will add 13 new jobs to its facility in Tennessee. Overall, the plant represents an investment of $365 million. West Virginia Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia (TMMWV) - $111,000,000 The West Virginia investment includes a building expansion and equipment to double capacity of hybrid transaxles from 120,000 units (Start of Production-2020) to 240,000 units annually in 2021. To meet the production demands, TMMWV will add 123 new jobs to its facility in Buffalo, West Virginia. Overall, the plant represents a $1.4 billion investment. Ongoing Additional Investment Today’s news builds upon Toyota’s already expansive presence in the U.S., which includes 10 manufacturing facilities. This past year, Toyota announced a joint venture with Mazda to build an additional plant in the U.S. The $1.6 billion joint investment will create up to 4,000 new jobs in Huntsville, Alabama, with production slated for 2021. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana, plant is undergoing a $600 million transformation (previously announced) to incorporate TNGA and increase Highlander capacity by 40,000 units annually. With this, Toyota is adding 400-plus people to its team in Indiana. In Blue Springs, Mississippi, Toyota is launching the all-new 2020 Corolla on the TNGA line that included a $170 million investment and an increase of 400 jobs (previously announced). Currently, Toyota employs more than 37,000 Americans. View full article

850 > 65

Goal posts moving again I see...

Does it hold the setting after shutting the car off?

I've actually been contemplating an article about how Cadillacs have too much clutter on their trunk panels already.

Yeah, that's dumb..... I'd love a CT6 850.... totally pwn the Germans.

It also makes things confusing because in the CTS for example, the 2.0T and the 3.6 are both 400. But the 2.0T gets a T at the end.... so is it the better/more expensive engine? No, the buy up engine is the 3.6. But different 2.0Ts have different torque numbers. The XT4 is a 350 and the ATS is a 400.

How do you figure on that last bit?

Since they clearly didn't carry inventory, I wonder how long it took from order to delivery.

That's why they buy iPhones

Voice control is also bad in an open office setting. I don't want to talk to my phone to change tracks or if I need to check my Grindr messages.

horsepower

You have a hint on who it might be? Feel free to PM me.

A $40k A220 is still a $40k sub-compact that even I at 5'10" 170lbs have to squeeze into. Not worth it.

The saying goes there is no replacement for displacement, but at Cadillac that is no longer the case when it comes to the trunk badges. Starting in 2020 on the XT6, Cadillac will drop the engine displacement badge from their vehicles. Instead, they will use a number that represents torque in newton-meters and rounded up to the next number that ends in 00 or 50. Turbo models will get a T, while V-series models will retain their V in place of the number. For the XT6, that means its 271 lb-ft of torque converts to 373 newton-meters and then gets rounded up to 400. Once the scheme rolls out to other models it could look like this: XT4 2.0T - 350T XT5/XT6 3.6 - 400 Escalade 6.2 - 600 (current model, future model could be different) ATS/CTS/CT6 2.0T - 400T (current model, future CT4 and CT5 could be different) ATS/CTS/CT6 3.6 - 400 CTS 3.6TT - 600T CT6 3.0T - 550T If the V-series cars used the numbers, it would look like this: ATS 3.6 TT - 600T CTS-V 6.2 - 900(S?) CT6-V 4.2T - 850T Cadillac President Steve Carlisle said "We're not talking about displacements anymore. [The new badging's] purpose is to communicate power and performance, not just for internal combustion engines, but also for other propulsion." This is a nod to Cadillac's first all-electric model coming in 2022. Cadillac has not yet revealed what letter the electric vehicles will use. The CT6 PHEV still sold in China could potentially wear a 600 badge. This move by Cadillac resembles Audi's move to a horsepower based naming scheme used in Europe. The 2020 Cadillac XT6 will be built in Spring Hill TN and will go on sale later this year. Related: Detroit 2019: 2020 Cadillac XT6 Cadillac XT6 Gets $53,690 Starting Price View full article

The midsize classification of the CT6

They have made a mistake.

Proactive? On 2011 model year vehicles??

Last week, Hyundai released images of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata sedan, but was scant with the technical details. Today, Hyundai revealed that the 2020 Sonata will ride on a new Third-Generation platform designed to enhance safety, efficiency, and driving performance. The platform underpinning the 2020 Sonata will eventually find its way into other products. On the safety front, the platform uses super high tensile steel, hot stamping, and a multi-load path structure. The Multi-load path helps in a collision by increasing the amount of energy absorbed by the structure and reduces intrusions into the passenger cabin. In a small frontal overlap crash, the tires are designed to move outward to prevent spinning and possible secondary collisions. To make the Sonata more efficient, the platform directs the flow of air to optimize cooling and heat dissipation. Stability and performance is enhanced by lowering the position of the engine and transmission to lower the overall center of gravity. Dramatically increased lateral stiffness helps with handling agility. Noise reduction is improved via reinforced sound-absorbing systems. Additionally, Hyundai has teamed up with Bose to create a specially tuned premium sound system with 12 channels. The system will use Bose Centerpoint technology to take a stereo signal and convert it to multiple channels. Powertrain information still has not been released. The formal U.S. unveiling of the 2020 Hyundai Sonata is expected at the New York Auto Show next month. View full article

Yeah, but they don't have a place to build the Model-Y just yet.

Those numbers are from Chevrolet.com... but yes manufacturer numbers are often fudged. @mkaresh has done some stories on them.

erm... no it's not?