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Instead of building 900,000 vehicles in September, Toyota said this week it will make around 540,000. It’s the first massive drop for the automaker, which so far has been weathering the pandemic storm relatively well.In North America, production in August and September will drop by up to 170,000 vehicles.There is one North American plant that will keep running at full steam, and that’s the one that will build the new Tundra, which is finally being updated with a new generation after well over a decade.Until this point in the pandemic, and despite the troubles other automakers faced with a lack of components, especially semiconductor chips, Toyota has managed to keep its production plants running relatively smoothly. One big reason for this was a strategic shift the automaker made following the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The updated plan relied less on the “just in time” component delivery system Toyota had used for decades and more on stockpiling components for use in emergencies.

As Automotive News wrote in 2016, Toyota’s updated system included a database called Rescue that “stores information about thousands of parts stored at 650,000 supplier sites, helping the automaker bypass bottlenecks when one supplier gets knocked out of commission.” It’s a system that works well until many suppliers, not just one, get knocked out. Which is why Toyota announced this week that it will dramatically reduce output at its plants around the world, cutting September’s planned production of around 900,000 cars down to 540,000. Speaking on Bloomberg Television this week, Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) executive vice-president of sales Bob Carter said the production issues are not limited to just microchips, even though they’re a big part of the problem. Some production changes will start in August, and Toyota’s North American facilities will build between 140,000 and 170,000 fewer vehicles in these two months. TMNA sent Car and Driver a statement about the situation: “Due to COVID-19 and unexpected events with our supply chain, Toyota is experiencing additional shortages that will affect production at most of our North American plants. While the situation remains fluid and complex, our manufacturing and supply chain teams have worked diligently to develop countermeasures to minimize the impact on production. In North America, we are projecting a reduction of approximately 60,000 to 90,000 vehicles in August. As for September, we are projecting a reduction of 80,000 vehicles, but the situation remains very fluid. We do not anticipate any impact to employment at this time.”

There is one North American facility that Toyota is not tampering with during this round of production cuts, though, and that’s the San Antonio plant that currently makes the Tacoma and is about to start building the highly anticipated 2022 Tundra. “In order to meet our production timeline and schedule for the new Tundra, we have to finish up current model production by a certain timeline,” Toyota spokeswoman Melissa Sparks told the San Antonio Express News. “If we’re delayed because of chip shortages, we can’t meet those milestones. So that’s the reason we’re prioritizing chips” for the San Antonio plant.
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Ford teased its upcoming Eluminator electric-vehicle crate motor ahead of its official debut at this year’s SEMA show.This follows Chevrolet’s electric crate motor conversion that debuted in 2018 and could see vendors this year.These crate-motor solutions should be less invasive to classic cars than more involved EV conversions. For fans of vintage American iron, the looming transition to electric motivation might strike fear into your heart: your nostalgia express might be rendered inoperable. Well, there’s some good news for those that are interested in modifying your classic: EV crate conversions. While this technology is still in its relative infancy, it does seem to be gaining some traction. Ford is teasing an electric crate powertrain solution that is slated for a debut at the SEMA show, scheduled to take place in early November.Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this. Chevrolet introduced a similar system back in 2018. That system has since evolved into the eCrate system, which Chevrolet said would be hitting the market sometime this year. Some solutions aren’t exactly bolt-in, which have been becoming more popular, and powerful, as these electric technologies have advanced.
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Ford jumped to Twitter to tease its upcoming Eluminator powertrain. This name is an obvious play on its Aluminator crate engine, and it will likely start a whole series of electric powertrain solutions for project cars. Details are still light on Ford’s plan for EV crate powertrains, but we’re sure that the company looked at its crosstown rival’s bolt-in-friendly approach and considered the problems of replacing an internal-combustion engine with an electric motor.

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Ford also neglected to mention the battery options, thermal management solutions, or battery controllers in this teaser tweet. We imagine all of this information and more will be revealed at this year’s SEMA show. We’re expecting the specs to be at least on par with Chevrolet’s Connect and Cruise system, which features a 200-hp electric motor and a 60.0-kWh battery. The kit also includes inverters, converters, and a wiring harness to make it all work.We doubt that anyone will knock on your door and demand you yank out the aging Ford Y-block under the hood of your ’61 F-100, but this could be a good solution for folks who want to enjoy their classic cars if fuel becomes too costly, or if regulations put a clamp on internal-combustion enjoyment.

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First run in 1923, the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans in France is the world’s greatest sports-car race. On the famous Mulsanne straight, the fastest cars top 200 mph.In 2021, the race takes place August 21–22. Sixty-two cars started the race on Saturday, August 21, at 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. Eastern time, for U.S. viewers), with fans in attendance limited to 50,000 instead of the usual quarter-million.The 24 Hours of Le Mans is auto racing’s Boston Marathon, a brutal test of endurance where competitors race stunningly fast cars for 24 straight hours at speeds that can exceed 200 mph on the fastest section of the incredibly long 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe road course. The race is a punishing test that pushes driver and machine to their limits—and sometimes beyond. Here’s everything you need to know to make sense of the race, which takes the green flag on Saturday, August 21.What is it? The 89th running of the world’s most prestigious sports-car race, which lasts (as its name makes clear) for 24 hours.When is the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans? August 21–22, starting at 9 a.m. Eastern time.How to watch? Live online at the Motor Trend on-demand website (paywall) or the Motor Trend cable-TV channel; excerpts on the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) YouTube channel. Or watch a live feed from inside one of the participating cars, including the Glickenhaus entry in the new Hypercar class, on YouTube.Or follow the live blog covering all the action from our friends at Road & Track.
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Where is the 24 Hours of Le Mans held? Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France.What time does it start? Coverage begins at 8:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, with the race starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time (3:00 p.m. local time).History, hellish events, and high speeds are the key ingredients that make the 24 Hours of Le Mans the world’s greatest sports-car race. It is both famous and infamous for the triumphs and tragedies that have occurred there. Started in 1923 as a showcase for car manufacturers to prove the durability of their vehicles in competition, it has evolved into a high-speed chess match among top professional racing teams where strategy, teamwork, and great driving skill are as important as a car’s reliability and technological edge.The race is staged annually, normally in mid-June (but these are not normal times), by the French sanctioning organization Automobile Club de l’Ouest. Four classes of cars compete side by side, which can make the racing confusing, but a team of knowledgeable TV commentators keeps the action sorted out for you. Le Mans is part of the FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes long-distance races in nine countries. Through the years, automobile manufacturers including Porsche, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Toyota, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Chevrolet have invested tens of millions in their race teams with the hope of taking the winner’s laurels and basking in the marketing glory a win confers.The top two classes, LMP1 and LMP2, are made up of purpose-built race cars that can cost millions and are supported by large crews of engineers and technicians. The cars look like four-wheeled fighter jets and employ advanced aerodynamics to suck them to the track, which enables astounding speed in the corners. The current rules encourage teams to race gasoline-electric hybrids, and last year’s winning car, Toyota’s TS050 LMP1, utilized that technology to make a claimed 986 horsepower. LMP2 cars are similar but less complex, are powered by conventional gasoline engines, and are not quite as fast as the LMP1s.About two-thirds of the field is composed of the other two classes competing in the race, the GT, or grand touring, cars: GTE-Pro and GTE-Am. These classes are based on highly modified versions of production-line sports cars with recognizable names and shapes from makers such as Ferrari, Porsche, Chevrolet, Ford, and Audi. They have about 500 horsepower, and the infighting is fierce as these cars battle for position and class wins while trying to stay out of the way of the flying prototypes. As their names imply, GTE-Pro is for full-time professional drivers and manufacturer teams, while GTE-Am is for amateur drivers and private teams. This year’s new Hypercar class promises to add interest and could make some fresh history.All teams must rotate three drivers through the car during the race, with no one driver behind the wheel for more than a total of 14 hours. Driver changes happen in conjunction with pit stops for fuel and fresh tires.History runs deep at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the name of the 8.5-mile temporary course that roars to life in the sleepy French countryside every June. The original race was run entirely on local roads, but for reasons of safety it now combines sections of public road knitted together with stretches of purpose-built racetrack. The famous Mulsanne straight, part of the original track, is still in use. One of the world’s longest racing straightaways at 3.7 miles, it’s actually a public road, French route départementale D338, except for those few days each year when it is closed down for the 24-hour event. Another tradition: the race cars undergo one of their several technical inspections in the Le Mans town square, where they can be viewed up close by the general public. And the spraying of champagne after a race win? That was started at Le Mans as well, by American Dan Gurney after winning the 1967 race.Racing dynasties have flourished and faded across the 86 years the event has run—it was canceled for 10 years during World War II and in 1936 because of strikes across France. Bentley and Alfa Romeo both made their early reputations with four consecutive wins each in the 1930s. Jaguar and Ferrari dominated the 1950s and 1960s. Henry Ford II’s personal rivalry with Enzo Ferrari resulted in his company deciding to build the Ford GT40, which defeated Ferrari in four straight Le Mans races from 1966 through 1969. Porsche was the dominant force in the 1980s, and Audi prototypes notched an amazing 13 wins between 2000 and 2014.Along with racing triumphs, the race has been the scene of tragedies. The worst of them occurred during the 1955 event, when a Mercedes 300SLR race car crashed at high speed on the front straight, launching flaming parts into the crowd and killing 83 spectators. It remains the worst auto-racing accident in history. As a result, automobile racing was temporarily banned in several European countries. Major safety improvements were made to the Circuit de la Sarthe in the wake of the 1955 event; numerous safety upgrades for both spectators and the racers have been implemented in the decades since. Race cars were already reaching speeds in excess of 225 mph on the Mulsanne by the early 1970s, so a pair of tight zigzag chicanes were added partway down the straight to bring speeds down. Despite the changes, the fastest of today’s race cars will still top 200 mph on the Mulsanne. And that can still mean trouble, as when driver Peter Dumbreck’s Mercedes race car flipped into the trees in 1999; he somehow escaped without major injury.The danger and excitement of 1970s-era Le Mans competition was captured for the silver screen by racer/actor Steve McQueen in his movie Le Mans. And a recent tribute video of the Le Mans event brings McQueen’s spare depiction up to date by evoking the romance that is the Le Mans 24 Hours. Here’s a preview of what you’ll see in the 2021 race.
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type=’text’ question=’Are you planning to follow the 24 Hours of Le Mans?’ answer1=’I’ll be in front of the TV with snacks and drinks all night.’ answer2=’Not my cup of tea.’][/poll]

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CarInsurance.org found that the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray were the biggest gainers last month, topping the list of used cars with prices above new-car MSRP.Using different metrics, iSeeCars recently found that the Kia Telluride, GMC Sierra 1500, and Toyota Tacoma were the top three used cars that cost more than new versions.The2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid had a starting MSRP of $29,470, but every example available on Edmunds right now costs more than that, with some base models daring to have a $35,000-plus asking price.New and used vehicle prices are not following the traditional rules these days. The average new-car price hit $41,044 in July, a jump of 17 percent over the year before and, more important, the highest average ever recorded, according to data from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive Forecast. Meanwhile, the confluence of COVID-19, semiconductor chip shortages, and the resulting manufacturing delays has meant that you can’t necessarily find the new car you want when you want it. So demand for used cars has become so great that sellers can practically write their own prices—and they’re doing just that.[editoriallinks id=’163b21fc-5d5c-469c-acbb-1c2456c7519b’ align=’left’][/editoriallinks] Take the 2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid in base LE trim, for example. The popular and fuel-efficient small SUV had an official starting MSRP of $29,470, including Toyota’s $1120 delivery fee. But if you were to look at the used listings on Edmunds.com for a 2020 RAV4 Hybrid, you will not find any that are listed below that price. Every one of the 38 used 2020 RAV4 Hybrids currently for sale cost more than the vehicle did when it was new, with many of them featuring an asking price well above $35,000. The price of a new 2021 RAV4 starts at $30,115, including the $1215 delivery fee.CarInsurance.org took a look at Edmunds data to find the vehicles with the biggest delta between their 2020 MSRP and their current highest used car asking prices. The group found that the 10 most popular used cars had a price that was, on average, $7557 higher compared to their new purchase price. Percentage-wise, the RAV4 Hybrid had the largest price increase at $10,493, representing a jump of 37 percent, the group said. The second-highest increase was found in the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, which jumped up 28 percent, or $22,865. [image id=’ba693fa7-5f59-4607-b575-bdc4e1d44bea’ mediaId=’14169c4f-37d6-4f96-a17a-820e260cf849′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’false’ caption=’2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. ‘ expand=” crop=’18×11′][/image]Chevrolet kept the official MSRP for the brand’s first ever production mid-engine Corvette the same for the 2021 model year as it was for 2020, which means the Stingray costs $60,995 for the coupe and $68,495 for the convertible, including Chevy’s $1095 destination fees. Looking at the actual prices for vehicles available today, there are more than 500 of the 2020 Stingray available on Edmunds, and the lowest-priced one costs $87,500. Sure, that particular example comes with the $1195 Performance Exhaust option, but that doesn’t begin to explain the almost $20,000 price difference.Whatever the exact price increases are for a model you might be interested in, used cars that cost more than new versions are becoming a bit of a trend. Last month, iSeeCars looked at the differences between prices of 2019–2020 model used cars and 2020–2021 model new cars. After analyzing 470,000 listings, the difference between the two groups was just 3.1 percent, down from a 10.8 percent difference in November 2020. iSeeCars found 16 models that cost more used than new, with the Kia Telluride, GMC Sierra 1500, and Toyota Tacoma leading the pack.[poll id=’5f9b409b-253e-4655-a332-a6180923454e_6a0e50dca37b8′ type=’text’ question=’Time to sell that used car?’ answer1=’Already on it.’ answer2=’I’m not ready or don’t want to sell, thanks.’][/poll]
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