Last Friday the first two Tundra pickups rolled off the line at Toyota's new production facility in San Antonio, Texas. The facility, called Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, took three years to build and cost $1.28 billion. At full capacity it can pump out 200,000 Tundras a year, a rate at which Toyota hopes the plant will be operating sometime next year. The facility also houses 21 suppliers who produce components for the Tundra on-site. Toyota's president Katsuaki Watanabe and Texas Governor Rick Perry were on hand to witness the ceremony that marks Toyota's entry into the North American auto industry's biggest market.

With a capacity of only 200,000 units per year, it's not likely the Tundra will put a huge dent in the sales of its main competitors, the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra, both of which sell more than three to four times that many units in a year. Still, the arrival of a competitive full-size truck from Toyota, the current can't-miss automaker, is a big deal, and it's no coincidence this manufacturing facility was built right in the heart of Texas truck country.

Check out more pics of the facility's inner workings after the jump.

[Source: Toyota]

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GM announced today that its Opel Astra will receive a design refresh and updated power plant options. The new 2007 Astra will debut at the Bologna Motor Show (December 7-16, 2006), and will be available at dealerships starting in February. Engine choices will vary from either a 1.3-liter diesel four or a 1.4-liter gas engine, both producing 90 HP, to an available 240 HP, 2.0-liter turbo gasoline engine. The brutish 2.0-liter turbo will only be available in the spicy Astra OPC, but a 'milder' 200 HP version is available in more standard configurations.

Perhaps this news is indication that GM is preparing the Astra to be ported over to the North American market as a Saturn. We certainly wouldn't object to another 240 HP plus compact to toss around. With the next generation Vue set to unveil in LA, the Ion is the only legacy Saturn remaining. The people at GM seem too smart to pull a Ford and stick us with the same Ion for another few years.

You can read the press release and catch more photos after the jump.

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Dual-clutch transmissions are viewed as an improvement over current automatic and auto-manual transmission technologies. Here in the US, we tend to look at the use of the technology by VW as a performance enhancement, primarily. It is a marriage of the directness of a manual transmission with the ease of use of an automatic, while providing quicker shifting than is humanly possible. BorgWarner, the supplier of the dual cluch technology for VW's DSG transmission, is setting its sights on the low-cost market as a way to offer automatic shifting in the 600cc to 1.0-liter segment. Currently, CVT and low-cost automatics are being used in this segment, and dual-clutch technology can offer improved performance and fuel economy over standard automatic transmissions and lower cost than CVTs with less mechanical complexity.

According to CSM Worldwide, an automotive market consultantcy, manufacturers pay anywhere from €300 to €400 ($381 to $509) a unit for low-cost, four-speed automatics. CVTs can cost up to €1,400 ($1780), but dual-clutch transmissions offer a nice middle ground at about €950 ($1208).

While some of us still prefer to row our own gearboxes, technologies like dual-clutch offer a better compromise so that others who are not comfortable with selecting their own gear ratios can experience improved performance and fuel economy. Few would argue that a standard slushbox is a better alternative, especially in smaller displacement engines.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub. req)]

Ah, the trials of being a tuner, especially one that creates its own line of body enhancements. When Volvo gave the XC90 a face-lift for 2007, Heico Sportiv had to respond to the updated Swedish SUV with a new kit in which to wrap it. The biggest improvement is the use of a material called PU-RIM plastic. This material is touted as 'brakeproof', which should be translated breakproof to us. Regardless, the front and rear enhancements are three-piece designs and give the XC90 a more butch appearance. The front skirt includes cut outs for fog lights, which can be upgraded to cornering lamps. There is even an optional dual exit exhaust that can be added to complement the rear apron.

Heico can also outfit your XC90 (or any other late model Volvo) with performance parts to go with that body kit, including ECU upgrades, suspension packages, and brakes kits. If you want, you can also get the aluminum door pins or other interior goodies so that your investment in Heico parts doesn't go unappreciated inside the cabin.

[Source: SwedeSpeed]

We can hear Carlos now, "We don't need no stinking kei cars!" According to Japan Today, Ghosn et all don't see a need to build or design their own kei cars. Instead of going through the hassle of building their own tiny car for the markets that consume them, Nissan will still prefer to sell another OEM's product as their own. Nissan currently sells two kei cars designed by Suzuki and Mitsubishi, the Moco and Otti respectively.

Obviously, kei cars, or keijid?sha, are popular in Japan. Mitsubishi and Suzuki already produce very respectable kei car designs, why would Nissan even bother when it can focus its design and manufacturing energies on what the rest of the world scrambles for, like compacts? We've never known Ghosn for doing something that wasn't absolutely necessary.

[Source: Japan Today via Winding Road]

With a release date set all the way for 2009, you will be certain to see hundreds of spy shots of the upcoming Porsche Panamera. At least this mule is painted in a different color than the last one. The four-door coupe, with the name that makes us hunger for sandwiches, will be flogged and tweaked until it's near perfect in Porsche's mission to provide rapid and luxurious transport for three lucky occupants and one privileged driver. We expect the Panamera will be available with engine choices that range from the 3.5-liter V6 in the Cayenne all the way to the 700hp V10 used in the Carrera GT, as well as include a V6 gas-electric hybrid co-developed with VW.

By 2009, we the range of this new 'crossover' segment will include the Aston Martin Rapide, Audi A7 and others. Like we said, expect to see more photos of this wildly anticipated offering from Porsche.

[Source: WorldCarFans]

It is the supreme testament to the capabilities of the Caterham CSR260 that it captured the track record on Top Gear's test track. The unsuspecting CSR260 lapped TG's test track faster than a Koenigsegg CCX, a Pagani Zonda F, a Maserati MC12, or even an Enzo. If this isn't an advertisement for the less-is-more philosophy of Colin Chapman, we don't know what is. The real cool bit is you can watch the fast Caterham do its business in real time at Dunlop's Injection.tv by clicking the Read link. Check it out, it's the best 1 minute 17.4 seconds you'll spend today.

[Source: Dunlop via Pistonheads]

Every year, the Edmunds staff creates a list of Most Wanted vehicles. Typically, at the top of the list sits what the staff proclaims as "Most Significant Vehicle of the Year." For 2007, this honor is bestowed upon the 2007 Toyota Tundra. Now, look past the whole list, which can be found after the jump, and check out the site's analysis of Toyota's full-size truck evolution. There is no question that the Tundra is aimed squarely at the Big Three's domination of the full size market, especially in comparison to the current Tundra, and dare we even bring up the long dead T100.

It's hard to argue with Edmunds' conclusion, the new Tundra might turn out to be the most significant vehicle of 2007. Not that it's anything special in and of itself, but because everyone will be watching how the market reacts to it. For the first time, an 'outsider' is bringing a full-line full-size truck, complete with three cab options, 3 bed options, and 3 engines (Sorry Nissan, the Titan didn't come to play). Detroit will be watching, Wall Street will be watching, the media will be watching, as will consumers themselves. Could Toyota unseat one of the major players in this segment, like it did to Ford and the Taurus? Time will only tell.

Maybe Edmunds is right on this one, but we must take umbrage with the Infiniti G35 Coupe being the most wanted Coupe Under $40,000. They need to raise that price point to $45,000 and throw out the Infiniti for the BMW 335i Coupe, but we digress.

[Source: Edmunds]

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With the bitter end of production of the MG/Rover K-series engine, there was a gaping vacancy left under the hood of the run-of-the-mill Caterham Seven in the UK. Starting in 2007, it's getting a new engine for its 50th birthday. The new powerplant will be Ford's Sigma engine, displacing 1.6-liter in this application. Ford uses this motor in a variety of compact vehicles, such as the Fiesta and Focus, but Caterham's engines will be tuned to produce 120 bhp or 140 bhp. The Roadsport 120 will be fitted with the 120 bhp engine. With the Seven's weight just over 1200 lbs, the 120 bhp engine will allow the car to run 0-60 in 5.9 seconds. The Roadsport 140 will shave almost a full second off the 0-60 at an estimated 5.0 seconds. For the die-hard Seven buyers, the Superlight 140 is lightened 50kg or 110 lbs, which allows it to do 0-60 in about 4.7 seconds with the same engine. The relatively flat torque curve of the Ford Sigma gives just a little bit more performance than the previous K-series motor.

All models will begin production in November, with deliveries to begin at the start of 2007. There will be a more an even more powerful motor available in the second quarter of 2007, so our UK readers will have something to look out for.

[Source: World Car Fans]

The wait may finally be over. At SEMA next week, Jeep will be showing a concept Wrangler Unlimited dubbed 50 JK. The Mopar Skunkwerks team beefed up this hardtop four-door Wrangler concept with a four-inch lift, 35-inch tires, and Dana 44 axles. The real beef comes from a new Cummings 4.2-liter V6 diesel under the carbon-fiber hood. The concept will also feature GPS and a full saddle leather interior.

We've been patiently waiting for any hint that DaimlerChrysler will actually put a small diesel into the new Wrangler. There is something magical about a smaller factory off-road vehicle with a diesel engine, straight axles, and the option to remove the top and fold down the front window. If we lived in other parts of the world, this would be a fantasy already fulfilled. Now, with this concept rendering staring us in the face, the dream is finally going to come true for us in the U.S. The quesiton is, how long before we can walk down to a Jeep dealer with our check books out and get a stump-pulling diesel Wrangler of our own?

[Source: AutoblogGreen]