Toyota working on Yaris-sized 7-Seater?

Filed under: Economy, Minivans/MPVs, Hatchbacks, Toyota

If you've been distressed by not being able to buy a clown car at any local lot, Toyota has news for you: the company is working on a Yaris-sized seven-seater. That is odd enough to make us ask "What?" and "Why?" in several languages. Even better, though, is when Toyota engineer Hiroki Nakajima says "We can do it, and give limo-like legroom in the back." We aren't sure what Nakajima-san's idea of a limo is, but the current five-searter Yaris doesn't have limo-like room for the people in the front, much less the back and the cargo area...

The next Yaris is due in 2011, and recent rumors suggest the use of Toyota iQ's packaging to make it more roomy inside. Toyota has also said it planned to build an MPV on blueprints of the iQ. While a repackaged Yaris with iQ clever bits would be an impressively spacious subcompact, we simply can't see it making for a limo-like minivan.

[Source: Auto Express]

Toyota working on Yaris-sized 7-Seater? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda bringing more Fits stateside

Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, Honda

The Honda Fit is selling like candy in the U.S. Sales of the subcompact car from January to May have increased by 64 percent, compared to the same period last year. Honda originally planned to sell between 30,000 and 40,000 Fits a year, but then increased production to 60,000. The marque is planning almost 80,000 units of the new model, which is going on sale on October 1st.

Global capacity for the Fit is more than 500,000 units. All U.S. units are imported from Japan, where the new generation is already in production (Americans still get the first generation models). The reality is that Honda USA will have to compete with other markets to get more units stateside.

[Source: Automotive news (sub's req'd)]

 

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