The Sexy Driver 

Toyota cars: selling like hotcakes

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According to national sales activity tracked through the first eight weeks of 2006 by J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network, the Lexus IS, Toyota Prius and Scion tC spend fewer than 15 days on dealer lots before being sold. Power also reports that the Pontiac Solstice has a 16-day turnover, while the Honda Civic has a 13-day turnover.

In contrast, the Crossfire, Mitsubishi Endeavor and Hyundai Santa Fe can languish for weeks or months before being sold.

Apparently, fuel efficiency still plays a key role in how long a vehicle sits. Full-size SUVs, such as the Ford Expedition and Chevrolet Suburban, now take 94 days to sell on average. Gas-saving models, including the Toyota Matrix, Nissan Sentra and Pontiac Vibe, are now being bought off the dealerships twice as fast today as a year ago.

Even as cars like the Lexus IS, Toyota Prius and Scion tC fly off dealership lots, owners can also expect not to worry about where to get reliable auto parts like Toyota wheels, Toyota Prius bumpers or Scion tC spoilers. Reliable online auto parts stores are just a click away, Auto Parts Corner, just in case you need them.

911 GT3 debuts in Geneva

The enthusiasts who constantly visit popular online auto parts stores like Auto Parts Corner for spoilers, bumpers, engine parts, hubcaps, and other accessories have cars like these as inspiration for making their own cars racier, sportier and faster.

This is Porsche’s hotly anticipated 911 GT3 making its debut, along with the Turbo, at the ongoing Geneva Auto Show.

While the Turbo is all about power in a luxurious package, the GT3 is all about raw power. The 3.6-liter flat-six engine boasts of 415 horsepower. The power plant revs 7,600 times per minutes to reach this figure, and its limit has been raised to 8,400 rpm. To cope with the increased stress, Porsche engineers had various engine parts enlarged, replaced or tweaked. The engine is coupled with a revised six-speed transmission.

Intended mainly for the racetrack, the GT3 is a strict two-seater, with the possibility of adding a roll cage. Its exterior also highlights racing intent with its huge spoilers, fat 19-inch wheels and hood scoop. It also has Porsche's Active Suspension Management System and a traction control system lifted from the exotic Carrera GT super sports car.

Wow. (picks jaw from the floor)

This machine is a beauty – so beautiful it’s mean.

Set to make its public debut at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, Lamborghini’s Murcielago LP640 harkens back to some of the Italian supercar maker's most celebrated performance models, including the iconic Countach LP500 QV launched in 1982, and is planned to go on sale in North America by the middle of the year.

This 640 hp beast is the great automaker’s sinister looking 6.5-liter V12-powered LP640 version of the Murcielago, its range topping model that’s capable of blasting from 0-62 mph in just 3.4 seconds. I’ll leave the detailed discussion to AutoWeek, but here are a couple more pictures to drool on:

The first North American deliveries of the LP640 are due this summer. The price, expected to hit $360,000, will be confirmed at the Geneva show – as will the new car’s final specification. That price will likely leave most of us just drooling away. Well, but at least there is still Auto Parts Corner if we suddenly get the inspiration to give our rather average-joe vehicles a slightly more exciting appearance with new spoilers, wheels, grilles or bumpers.

MotorWeek’s 2006 Drivers’ Choice Award for Best of the Year

Here are the awardees as revealed at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show:

Best Small Car - Honda Civic
Best Family Sedan - Hyundai Sonata
Best Minivan - Honda Odyssey*
Best Convertible - Pontiac Solstice
Best Luxury Sedan - Infiniti M
Best Sport Sedan - BMW 3-Series
Best Performance Car - Ford Mustang*
Best Small Sport-Utility Vehicle - Toyota RAV4
Best Family Sport-Utility Vehicle - Ford Explorer/ Mercury Mountaineer
Best Pickup Truck - Ford F-150*
Best Eco-Friendly - Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Best Dream Machines - Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe, Ferrari F430
Special category: Most Jane Car - BMW 3-Series

So far, it’s becoming a really great year for the Civic -- fast becoming the most decorated car of the year, snagging awards like Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award and the North American COTY award.

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For your Honda auto parts needs, just check out Auto Parts Corner, your source of top of the line Honda Civic Hubcaps, Honda Accord Coupe radiator fan, Honda Oddysey Wheels, Honda Element grille and more.

Fusion leads the way for Ford

I always thought that the Ford Fusion was a handsome and quite promising car when Ford first launched it. That's why I was quite pleased to find out that it - along with the Mercury Milan and the Lincoln Zephyr – is leading the way for Ford’s car division by posting sales numbers in January that were a combined 25 percent better than in December.

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At this rate, all three cars can achieve 220,000 sales in 2006, which is well above Ford’s estimates. In total the trio accounted for 14,714 units of Ford’s total car sales of 82,710, which is up a full 18 percent over last year.

Despite being dragged down by low SUV sales, Ford’s F-150 also registered increased sales over the same month last year by 7 percent. Overall the Ford brand sold 3.5 percent more vehicles than it did in January of 2005.

If Ford really would invest serious money on making models like the Fusion even better than its competitors I’m willing to bet that it could save them from getting kicked off the top spot. Right now those numbers look like good news - I just hope that Ford kicks things up a notch or two higher and give us more, more, more.

It’s a good thing that you could always do something if you find your car getting a bit too bland for your taste. Adding new projector headlight, grilles, hubcaps or spoilers isn’t a far-off option now what with online auto parts stores like Auto Parts Corner at hand for the best selection of auto parts you can choose from.

Loyal to Customers

R. L. Polk and Co., which has tracked consumer loyalty, has given [link=http;??www.toyota.com/]Toyota[/link] high marks on consumer loyalty. The company, Toyota, won the Overall Make award for Polk’s 10th Annual Automotive Loyalty Awards. This was decided upon when the automobile company got the highest make loyalty in the automotive division. The company also took loyalty awards for two cars and two truck-based models that included the Toyota Camry, Toyota Tacoma, Lexus LS430, and Lexus RX 300/330/400h.

The chairman, president, and CEO of R. L. Polk & Co., Stephen R. Polk, remarked, “The success of Toyota in this year’s loyalty awards ceremony mirrors the increasing national sales and market share trends for Toyota. Toyota has succeeded in providing a product portfolio that enticed a growing number of customers to remain loyal to their vehicles when presented with numerous choices when returning to the marketplace.”

Other brands that took loyalty honors included General Motors, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercedes Benz, Mercury, Saturn, and Subaru.

If you are interested in online stores that continue to provide quality auto parts that still are loyal to the standards given by its manufacturers, try checking out Auto Parts Corner for all your Toyota parts or Lexus parts needs. You would be astounded by the quality of their auto parts.

And Toyota’s onslaught continues

In the news: Toyota tops in buyer loyalty, beating Ford

Ending a nine-year run, Toyota ousted Ford as the car brand with the most loyal customers in R.L. Polk and Co.’s annual survey of new vehicle purchases. GM scored highest in manufacturer loyalty.

Almost 55 percent of Toyota owners who bought a new car during the 2005 model year purchased another Toyota. According to Polk's data, the average owner loyalty for all brands is about 44 percent. Ford had a slightly lower buyer retention rate last year at 53.4 percent. On the other hand, GM had the highest customer loyalty for an overall manufacturer with over 63 percent of GM owners who traded in or sold a car last year purchased another GM vehicle. This success though, can be attributed to the sheer size of the company's product line and the number of brands it encompasses.

Polk defines loyalty in terms of new car customer retention: a new car buyer returning to buy another new vehicle of the same make or model.

According to Lonnie Miller, director of industry analysis for Polk, owner loyalty is affected by a range of factors, including dealership experience, a broad product selection and vehicle quality - and was not just the type of customer or the type of car he or she wants.

Quality and reliability are probably major reasons that Toyota owners stick with the brand, said Miller. "They don't have to worry about the biggest aspect of what's under their butt when they're driving," he said. True. I own a Toyota car myself, and so far, I’ve never had any major problems to speak of. I’m also thinking of getting a new car, and it will probably be another Toyota (the new Camry looks good to me).

Here are the survey results for the vehicles with the most loyal owners:

Small car: Saturn Ion, 24.6 percent

Midsize car: Toyota Camry, 27.1 percent

Large car: Mercury Grand Marquis, 36.1 percent

Luxury car: Lincoln Town Car, 37.2 pct

Prestige luxury car: Lexus LS 430, 32.0 percent

Sports car: Ford Mustang, 17 percent

Prestige sports car: Mercedes-Benz SLK-class, 24.5 percent

Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country, 26.9 percent

Compact pick-up: Toyota Tacoma, 19.5 percent

Full-sized pick-up: Ford F-series, 39 percent

Compact SUV: Subaru Forester, 27.1 percent

Midsized SUV: Lexus RX 300/330/400h, 31.0 percent

Full-size SUV: Chevrolet Suburban, 21.1 percent

Prestige SUV: Land Rover Ranger Rover, 32.9 percent


Asian manufacturers scored their best result since the survey began 10 years ago, leading five market segments.

Meanwhile, you can also make your car, truck, or SUV loyal to you by giving it proper care and maintenance. Should you need a new starter for your Ford car, or replacement headlights for your Honda car, just click over to Auto Parts Corner for the very best in auto parts.

Rivals challenge Toyota’s hybrid push, Toyota says GM in trouble

With the unveiling of hybrid versions of its two high-profile, flagship sedans – the Lexus LS and the Toyota Camry – giant Japanese automaker Toyota further pushes the hybrid envelope, even as rivals sought to tone down the “hype”, citing high costs to manufacturers and claiming “inflated truths” about vastly improved mileage.

Nissan says that hybrids are not a profitable proposition, while DaimlerChrysler AG – unimpressed by the popularity of hybrids – zealously endorsed diesel engines as the excellent solution to the U.S.’ fuel woes. The automaker will launch this fall what it says is the “cleanest diesel in the world”, the Mercedes E320 BLUETEC diesel car.

Honda, while the first to introduce the hybrid car in the US – isn’t about to pronounce the hybrid as the green car of the future just yet, saying that zero-emission fuel-cell vehicles should be the ultimate goal for the industry since supply of its power source, hydrogen, is inexhaustible.

Still, the hybrids’ potential are certainly not lost on all the major automakers.

General Motors Corp. has unveiled two hybrid models, the Saturn Vue Green Line car and the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV at the Detroit show, while Ford Motor Co. has pledged a 10-fold increase in hybrid output by 2010 – following the launch of hybrid versions of the Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. Nissan will also be bringing out its first hybrid with the Altima sedan later this year.

In other news, Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation and President of the Japan Business Federation, has stated in a press conference that he believes that General Motors is in serious trouble.

Uh-oh. The folks there at Autoblog are going for each other’s necks again.

Anyway, for those of you who’d rather keep your car in great shape than argue with someone over the merits of Toyota taking over the number one automaker spot, check out Auto Parts Corner for the best auto parts from all of your favorite automakers. You can choose from their vast selection of excellent auto parts such as Honda mirrors, Ford catalytic converters, BMW A/C condensers, Jeep bumpers, Toyota radiators and more.

Soon: a hybrid Toyota Tundra?

toyota tundra

Inside Line Reports: Toyota Thinks Big: Full-Size Diesel and Hybrid Coming to the States in ‘09.

Apparently in a move to combat soaring energy prices and some flak for building gas guzzlers, Toyota is planning to make the next Tundra more eco-friendly (i.e. a diesel or hybrid pickup truck).

Said to be in the works is a new big-block diesel V8, an engine the Japanese automaker plans to drop into the new Tundra and build at the rate of 70,000 units per year out of its new greenfield TMMTX plant in San Antonio, Texas, which opens this year. However, the diesel is apparently still three years away.

A new high-efficiency V8 and a gas-electric hybrid are also reportedly in the works to up the truck’s eco-friendly image. The diesel will be Toyota's first such unit in the United States and is likely to butt heads with Nissan’s Titan, which might also come in diesel soon.

Well, in the heat of the competition – the consumer wins.

For all of us truck-lovers here, there is no better news than having automakers plotting to make us better and more Toyota Tundra, Nissan Titan or Ford F-150 in shape with excellent quality auto parts such as grille guards, radiators, catalytic converters, mirrors, altezza lights and wheels from Auto Parts Corner.

For the love of…Willy Wonka

How would you like a chocolate-on-the-inside-inspired car? Well, if you’re in Japan – you can have it like now.

This week, Mazda introduced its Verisa Brown Collection Special Edition, which comes with a chocolate-themed interior – and luxury features such as rain-sensing wipers. (Rain-sensing wipers – and here I was getting smug about getting new windshield wiper arms from Auto Parts Corner).


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Inside Line reports:

“The Willy Wonka-esque interior is heavy on the chocolate theme, with dark brown leather seats, door trim, and glovebox lid. A "dress up" custom package includes brightly colored headlight moldings, an exhaust pipe finisher, and front foglamps with silver bezels. Other special equipment includes an automatic headlight system and water-repellent treatment for the front windshield, front door glass, and door mirrors.”

The chocolate theme does not extend however, to the car’s exterior, which comes in Radiant Ebony Mica, Velocity Red Mica, Moist Silver Metallic, and Snowflake White Pearl Mica. The base model starts at around $14,000. Sounds yummy? Sadly for us other chocolate lovers, the oh-so-right-for-me vehicle is produced only for the Japan market.


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