Toyota Rumored to Debut Performance Automatic Transmission for GR Models Next Month

With Toyota discussing its desire to build an automatic transmission dedicated for performance applications, driving enthusiasts around the world are eager to find out when the unit will be affixed to the GR Yaris. Meanwhile, Americans want to know when it will be adapted for the GR Corolla and prospective performance products Toyota may actually sell in the United States. There has been no shortage of rumors, with one of the most recent suggesting Toyota’s newest “Direct Automatic Transmission” (DAT) will debut during the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. Production is supposed to commence at roughly the same time.

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Junkyard Find: 2004 Mitsubishi Diamante LS

Mitsubishi began selling cars with its own branding in the United States in late 1982, introducing three car models and a pickup as 1983 models. We had an extensive range of Mitsubishi models to choose from for quite a while, including a credible luxury sedan known as the Diamante, but those days are long gone. Today's Junkyard Find is one of the very last Diamantes sold here, now residing in a Denver car graveyard.

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Nippon Steel Set to Buy U.S. Steel, Union Dismayed

On Monday, Japan's Nippon Steel expressed its intention to purchase the United States Steel Corporation. The iconic American business supplies numerous industries, with the automotive sector being one of the largest.

Nippon Steel is reportedly offering a deal worth $14.9 billion and the assumption of any debt. However, the United Steel Workers don’t seem pleased with the arrangement and were said to have backed an earlier offer from domestic rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. totaling $7.25 billion.

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Toyota Re-Launched Land Cruiser “70” in Japan

But we can all go pound sand in North America, unfortunately. Such are the joys – and challenges – of our global marketplace. Nevertheless, off-road gearheads in other parts of the world will be able to avail themselves of this tremendously square beast, showing up for duty with a 2.8L turbodiesel.

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Abandoned History: Oldsmobile's Guidestar Navigation System and Other Cartography (Part II)

In last week’s installment of Abandoned History, we learned about General Motors’ 1966 magnet-based primitive navigation system, DAIR. The inclusive system featured emergency messages, traffic bulletins played inside the car, and route guidance. DAIR never progressed beyond the concept stage and two total test vehicles, largely because it would have meant buried magnets and accompanying signal relay stations at every major intersection in the country. Some 25 years later The General tried it again, but technology progressed considerably by that point.

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JDM Mazda MX-5 Miata Updated

Mazda’s iconic roadster has undergone some changes in Japan for the 2024 model year that should likewise underpin the variant slated for our market. While some of this pertains to updated safety tech few MX-5 owners are likely to care about, there are also a host of mechanical upgrades that should actually make it a better performance machine.

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Bits & Bytes: Toyota Shutdown Caused by Insufficient Disk Space

The cause of a recent blip in production for one of the world’s largest automakers has been traced to problems with computer memory. Yes, you read that correctly.

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One More Time: Nissan GT-R Updated for 2024

Thanks to Nissan’s glacier-like design cycle, most of us are intimately familiar with the silhouette of the brand’s mighty GT-R. Last night in Tokyo, company reps rolled out its latest smattering of updates for the long-running supercar.

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Toyota’s Output Makes Like a Yo-Yo in October

Just about every single automaker on the planet has been plagued by production disruptions and supply chain headaches, leading to lots that were deader than disco on occasion and bereft of product to sell. At Toyota, production numbers are up compared to this time last year – but down from the month prior.

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Japan Issues Warning, Asks U.S. for Flexible EV Tax Credit Scheme

Over the weekend, the Japanese government issued a formal complaint suggesting that the United States’ updated tax credit scheme for electric vehicles could prohibit future investments from the Land of the Rising Sun. Complaints were reportedly directed to the Treasury Department and revolved around the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and how it seemed at odds with previous efforts to build trade between America and Japan. But things are always a bit more complicated than that and we cannot overstate the relevance of Japanese auto lobbying groups that want the most favorable regulatory terms they can negotiate.

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Abandoned History: Daewoo Motors, GM's Passport to International Sales (Part IV)

We return to Abandoned History’s coverage of the twists and turns of the Daewoo story, at a time when the company’s predecessor, Shinjin, was no more. After an early Seventies joint venture with General Motors saw the company renamed to General Motors Korea, Shinjin bowed out of the deal after just five years. In 1976 Shinjin’s ownership in the business was sold to a state-owned Korean bank, and General Motors Korea was renamed to Saehan Motor Company. But that didn’t mean GM was out of the picture - far from it.

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Rare Rides Icons, The Nissan Maxima Story (Part VII)

Unlike its third generation which had the upmarket sporty sedan segment largely to itself, when the fourth generation Maxima (A32) arrived in 1995 there were numerous new competitors from all directions. In its home market, the American-centric Maxima faded away and was replaced by the more internationally flavored Cefiro. Notably, the Cefiro wore Infiniti I30 styling in advance of its North American debut. In addition to the handful of variants for other markets like the Maxima QX and QX (which both wore Cefiro clothes), the A32 Maxima was also transformed into a very important car for the Korean market. Let’s talk about some business deals.

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Abandoned History: Daewoo Motors, GM's Passport to International Sales (Part III)

After a few successful years building a trio of Toyota models (Corona, Publica, and Crown), Shinjin was forced to look elsewhere for a business partner. Toyota wanted to sell cars in China, and China forbade any company that sold products on its shores from having operations in South Korea. As expected, the government stepped in and assisted in a new deal between Toyota, Shinjin, and General Motors. 

The deal was finalized in 1972 and saw Toyota sell its stake in Shinjin directly to GM. The 50-50 GM-Shinjin venture saw the latter immediately renamed to General Motors Korea. GMK was immediately the new face of GM product distribution in South Korea. Let’s embark upon a series of particular business arrangements involving Shinjin that didn’t last very long.

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Rare Rides Icons, The Nissan Maxima Story (Part VI)

It turned out that 1994 was a high point for the Nissan Maxima. The third-generation sedan was just about the ideal mix of driving dynamics, quality, luxury, and whiz-bang tech features. It was offered in well-equipped GXE trim for lovers of comfort, and sportier SE for Sports Enthusiasts (or something). After its introduction for the 1989 model year, Nissan made relatively few changes to its impressive sedan.

Sales were around 100,000 units in its first two years, and then around 85,000 for the next two years. But in its final model year of 1994 the third gen’s sales nearly doubled, to 163,138. It was time for a new Maxima in 1995. It was a generation that branched out to become other interesting vehicles but also started the model’s decline.

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Rare Rides Icons, The Nissan Maxima Story (Part V)

The new third-generation (J30) Nissan Maxima went in a bold new direction from its predecessors. Larger, more luxurious, more technologically savvy, and better made than the first two, the third Maxima was the first to cater to the North American market. The Maxima’s sudden transformation was so complete that it diverged from its former sibling the Bluebird to become an entirely separate model. First up today, we consider 4DSC styling.

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  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)