View Full Version : Toyota Turns to Subaru for Car Redesign
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=107935
Toyota Turns to Subaru for Car Redesign
Date Posted 11-09-2005
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. plans to outsource the full redesign of an existing model to Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars.
The vehicle to be remodeled has yet to be announced, but a sporty subcompact is a likely candidate.
The Subaru-developed vehicle would be built at a Toyota factory two or three years from now and be equipped with Subaru's four-wheel-drive system, the Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
Toyota, now Fuji Heavy's largest shareholder with an 8.7-percent stake, said last month it would begin assembling vehicles at a Subaru plant in Lafayette, Indiana, in about two years.
The move comes as Toyota faces personnel shortages amid the rapid expansion of its business.
What this means to you: We may be seeing all-wheel-drive Toyotas sooner than we think.
kungpaosamuraiii 11-11-2005, 07:23 AM Scion xR anyone?
A rally inspired Scion sure sounds like a Fuji Heavy Industries vehicle.
djct_watt 11-11-2005, 08:22 AM Screw that. . . bring back the Celica GT-Four.
kungpaosamuraiii 11-11-2005, 08:45 AM Between a WRX and a GT-4, I imagine the WRX has a better, more sophisticated AWD system, old-schooler! :D
dexter_5000 11-11-2005, 12:17 PM not reallly cause i've seen a gt four and the suspension design is insane. awd systems can only be done in so many ways.
mxyzptlk 11-11-2005, 02:34 PM yup methinks it's going to be the celica and all i can say is having subaru design a car will guarentee an ugly butt car
Nikatnite79 11-11-2005, 02:38 PM Screw that. . . bring back the Celica GT-Four.
Dude u read my mind... The celica's gotten boring and its mostly like a chick car... a Celica GTS 4WD would rock and steal the glory away from the civics that I see in everyone else's driveway...
bbcrud 11-11-2005, 04:06 PM Uh... The Celica is no more.
Mark
ElChupacabra 11-11-2005, 04:42 PM ^^^^^ Yeah the Charger was no more as well. They have a tendency these days of bringing back old models from the days of old. I would rather see them design an AWD Scion instead of bringing back the Celica which was overpriced anyway. I love Subaru as a former owner and enthusiast so merging that with Scion would be my dream car...
atodak 11-11-2005, 05:39 PM I think its gonna be a AWD turbo corolla type car
how about the supra! by far the best ever toyota in my opinion
twin turbo awd sounds enticing, they just better not make it a four door
bbcrud 11-11-2005, 06:24 PM ^^^^^ Yeah the Charger was no more as well. They have a tendency these days of bringing back old models from the days of old. I would rather see them design an AWD Scion instead of bringing back the Celica which was overpriced anyway. I love Subaru as a former owner and enthusiast so merging that with Scion would be my dream car...
True, what was old is new again.
But you're talking about cars with a legacy in the muscle world. The Celica was just discontinued, doubt they'd bring it back.
I'm with you on the new Scion idea though. And the Corolla model too.
Subaru is a great car company and having Toyota in their corner can do nothing but make them better.
stick_1NZ 11-11-2005, 06:42 PM AWD AE86 Baby.
zeorai 11-11-2005, 08:27 PM Toyota was the first to use a center torsen (torque sensor) instead of a viscous diff. That was in the...GT4/All Trac. If you don't know what that is, look it up, this is the Internet afterall. It played a part in why they won the WRC in 93 and 94 (I think those years are right). Well, having an oddly mounted turbo restrictor didn't hurt either. Hehe...
Anyway, Toyota's AWD system is quite advanced. Just no one was willing to pay the premium for it, so they stopped making it. Subaru is able to able to better use AWD in their marketing than Toyota ever did. But in Subaru's case it helps more since EVERY car has AWD.
As far as design is concerned...well, just look at the current Impreza. Sheesh that thing is ugly. Who in their right mind thought that nose would look good? They're going to try and badge every car with that thing. First big design decision I hope Toyota makes: Ditch the schnoz. Note to Toyota execs your design teams gave us the Supra, Celica, AE86 and the 2000 GT. I'm not saying get rid of Subaru designers, just don't have them design any Toyotas any time soon. Just some food for thought.
dexter_5000 11-11-2005, 10:30 PM i don't think it would be the celica what killed the corolla matrix awd is auto only option. what they need to do is send over the re-vamped 3sgte engine with all the new goodies with an awd package. heard of things like the xa maybe an option or something similar. when you make alot of power from a car easiest way to sell it is make it a 4 door cheaper insurance more of a family car in disguise. so you can classify it as a family car not a sports car. the issue with designing something so new is cost and if it does flop it could hurt quite a bit.
CatalepsicFox 11-11-2005, 11:03 PM Well this would be interesting in what design will they do and if it looks "Toyota" enough. Or they will drop everything and add another Division with one car model as a publicity stunt. I can't wait to see that new car in a Rally Championship.
JDMJim 11-12-2005, 02:45 AM Scion has to do something or everyone is gonne drop the tC for a Civic.
mxyzptlk 11-12-2005, 03:09 AM Scion has to do something or everyone is gonne drop the tC for a Civic.
Say what?! The tC is the hottest car on the market today, hellllooooooo!
gjpjr84 11-12-2005, 04:13 AM I am in now way dropping my tC for a civic!
you have an xB so you just dont understand!
:P
tC!!!!!!................BLUE!!!!!!!!!
:P
kungpaosamuraiii 11-12-2005, 07:48 AM I'm fairly sure we're not gonna get a Subaru rebadged as a Toyota. If anything, we're gonna see a car that is newly developed that will be a Subaru AND a Toyota at the same time (like the Vibe.) The nose on the Subbie is the trademark Subaru design now so that will not appear on a Toyota. I bet we're gonna see an Impreza with a tC nose.
Stu_Gotti 11-12-2005, 02:13 PM I just want a AWD car.. I dont care what they pick... just do it!
mfbenson 11-13-2005, 04:32 AM Even if any of the speculation in this thread is true, its mighty unlikely to have anything to do with Scion.
Scion is supposed to introduce new customers to TOYOTA, (and eventually Lexus). It is not supposed to create future Subaru owners.
gjpjr84 11-13-2005, 04:45 AM maybe it will be like freelance work.
djct_watt 11-13-2005, 11:56 AM Even if any of the speculation in this thread is true, its mighty unlikely to have anything to do with Scion.
Scion is supposed to introduce new customers to TOYOTA, (and eventually Lexus). It is not supposed to create future Subaru owners.
Not that I disagree with you, but there's the whole Geo Prism/Toyota Corolla thing to account for. . . and then there's the Matrix/Vibe. . .
I would believe it to be unlikely, but I wouldn't completely rule it out. What we'll most likely see is component sharing.
KingofScion 11-15-2005, 01:03 AM this car is 4-5 years away at best
BlKtC05 11-15-2005, 08:03 AM you figure they redesign a car model every 3-4 years, that puts the Tc up for a change. i think they're just tryin to make the Tc like the impreza. they got the crappy sedan, the turbo sedan, and the rediculiously fast sedan. i think Toyota's gonna do the same thing to the Tc.
mr2death 11-15-2005, 10:02 AM AWD MR2 baby that would kick ___ :pray:
apexjr 11-15-2005, 05:57 PM Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!
Subaru's car's all look like crap except the new Legacy GT.
TheScionicMan 11-15-2005, 10:59 PM Have them build the drivetrain and let Toyota do the sheetmetal.
gjpjr84 11-15-2005, 11:01 PM that could work.
MattMoore 11-16-2005, 12:56 AM how about the supra! by far the best ever toyota in my opinion
twin turbo awd sounds enticing, they just better not make it a four door
They actually made a very limited number of AWD 2JZ-GTE powered mkIV Supras (like 10 in existence). I think only one made it to the US.
atodak 11-16-2005, 12:37 PM ^^PROOF??LINKS?? Please
DibujoB 11-16-2005, 06:24 PM ^^PROOF??LINKS?? Please
Agreed....I don't buy it.
Hey, I'm guessing it's something like the Matrix. They said it'd be a re-design of a current model so that wipes the Celica out in my opinion. The Matrix is ready for a re-tooling. Then again, there may be some issues with Pontiac having partial rights because of the Vibe. I don't know how the deal is.
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