8 • JULY 30, 2012 JAPAN

Toyota, Honda betting on performance, stylingoyota and Honda are striving to get

people excited about their productlineups, with more adventurous styling

and new performance models, while alsoplaying a bit of catch-up.

The demands of the unintended-acceler-ation crisis put Toyota’s engineers behind insome key technical areas. Meanwhile, Hon-da is eager to reassert its standing as a pow-

erhouse of powertrains. Honda is launchingits Earth Dreams engine family, and Toyotais focusing on direct injection, turbocharg-ing and advanced transmissions.

In the luxury sphere, Lexus aims to im-prove its sedan offerings to match up bet-ter with Mercedes-Benz and BMW, whileAcura targets premium rivals Audi, Buick,Infiniti and Volvo with a new compact

sedan and a series of key redesigns.Both Lexus and Acura have halo sports

cars in the works. Acura is preparing a Fer-rari-fighting NSX, and Lexus is likely tobring a high-performance coupe based onthe wild and well received LF-LC concept.

Here are the plans for the 2013-2016model years for Toyota, Lexus, Scion, Hon-da and Acura.c

>futureP R O D U C T S >

Model year 2013 2014 2015 2016

JAPAN PRODUCT PLAN

Acura ILX debut TL redesign NSX debutRL redesign MDX redesignRDX redesign

Honda Fit EV launch Ridgeline replaced Fit redesign Civic redesignCivic freshen Insight redesign Fit-based crossover?Accord redesign Pilot replacedCR-V redesign

Lexus ES re-engineer IS re-engineer GS coupe debut? CT redesignGS re-engineer CX debut LF-LC debut LX redesignLS redesign LFA roadster

RX redesign

Scion FR-S debut xB replaced tC redesignxD replaced

Toyota Avalon redesign Corolla redesign Prius redesign Sienna redesignRAV4 redesign Highlander redesign Tacoma redesignRAV4 EV debut Sequoia re-engineer Venza re-engineer

Tundra re-engineer

Toyotaplayscatch-upCompany focuses ondrivetrain technology

Mark Rechtinmrechtin@crain.com

oyota has slipped behind com-petitors in drivetrain technolo-

gy and now must play catch-upagainst the likes of Ford, Hyundai

and Mazda.Much of Toyota’s lag stems from engi-

neering resources being diverted by theunintended acceleration crisis and oth-er quality miscues in the past two years.Now expect Toyota to focus more onturbocharging and direct injection, andit may even bring a couple of diesels tothe United States as part of midcyclechanges.

Also, because Honda and Nissan areinstalling continuously variable trans-missions in their mainstream vehicles,expect Toyota to follow suit.

Across the lineup, President Akio Toy-oda’s call for more expressive stylingand weight reduction will become ap-parent.

Here is a look at Toyota’s productplan through the 2016 model year:

Yaris: It was redesigned in fall 2011.iQ EV: Toyota Division will get an

electric version of the Scion iQ in late2012. But with a projected range ofabout 50 miles, it will only be sold tocommercial fleets that have a shortroute and centralized charging system.

Corolla: The redesign is set for fall2013. Expect livelier design above therocker panels and a more stylish interi-or layout. But the chassis — and thecar’s numb suspension — will remainmostly the same. A new transmissionfamily is in the works, with gearing de-signed to stretch fuel economy. But theexisting engine will carry over, with thepossibility of more advanced enginescoming with the midcycle changeplanned for the 2016 model year.Weight-saving is a priority.

Matrix: The Corolla offshoot likely willbe killed after the current generation. Itmay carry on for a year after the currentCorolla is redesigned, but no successoris planned.

Celica: A convertible or turbocharged

CVTs, new engine familywill reshape Honda line

Mark Rechtinmrechtin@crain.com

onda’s new Earth Dreams engine fami-ly will debut in the redesigned Accordthis fall and then trickle through therest of the lineup.

The new engines have direct injec-tion and double-overhead cams. They will pro-duce at least a 10 percent fuel economy advan-tage over Honda’s current four-cylinders.

Earth Dreams engines will be added as eachvehicle is redesigned, and in some cases will beavailable for mid-cycle revisions. Even the basefour-cylinder will have a twin-cam profile set-up, variable valve timing and direct injection.And there also is talk of bringing a 1.6-literdiesel with 220 pounds-feet of torque to theUnited States.

Honda also is putting heavy emphasis on con-

tinuously variable transmissions. While perfor-mance models and off-road vehicles will retaingeared transmissions, mainstream cars will haveCVTs.

With the introduction of Honda’s large-car hy-

The ToyotaAvalonconceptshown at the New Yorkauto showpreviewed theredesignedsedan withswoopy,fastbackstyling that arrivesthis fall.

see HONDA, Page 11

T

T

see TOYOTA, Page 11

HHonda’s Fit EV went on sale this summer.

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