#ToyotaCanada

A friend once had a ’94 Olds 88 with delaminating paint, souring the Olds ownership experience and causing him to pine for his recently departed ’86 model. The newer model’s hood and trunk lid looked like hell, but at least he wasn’t alone in his misery (there were a lot of peeling 1990s GM cars on the road at the time).

Toyota owners, on the other hand, are used to bragging about their vehicles’ longevity, dependability, and solid resale value, making issues like peeling paint a black eye in an otherwise wholesome relationship. It’s worth noting that they’re among the most loyal customers on the market.

These owners will be happy to hear the automaker plans to cover the cost of applying a whiter shade of pale to the exterior of their older Toyota models.

A revamped version of a compact Lexus crossover that’s seen a fair bit of exposure on these digital pages will begin assembly in Ontario starting in early 2022, Toyota Canada has announced.

We knew some sort of product announcement was scheduled to take place today after the automaker’s Canadian arm stopped and shook everyone in sight last week, eager to signal its committed to maintaining a presence in the snowy country north of Buffalo. The Lexus NX is that product, Toyota says, with Canadian production replacing Japanese output.

For Canucks fearful that their fragile auto industry will one day disappear, the addition of a new crossover — a vehicle type seemingly without a sales ceiling — is a reassuring balm.

Toyota dropped a big hint this week that new product might be on its way to the Great White North, saying an announcement will be made Monday that “will serve to further reaffirm Toyota’s commitment to manufacturing in Canada.”

The automaker operates three assembly plants in southwest Ontario, with the Cambridge North facility tapped for next week’s big news. Bloomberg seems eager to kill the suspense, however, with plugged-in sources telling the publication that two Lexus crossovers stand to join the company’s Canuck assembly scene.

If confirmed, it’s good news for a country facing a doomed General Motors plant and a dropped shift at Fiat Chrysler’s Windsor minivan plant.