Toyota MR2
The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seater, MR layout, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars, manufactured in Japan and marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 until 2007 over three generations: W10 (1984–1989), W20 (1989–1999) and W30 (1999–2007). It is Japan's first rear mid-engined production car. Conceived as a small, economical and sporty car, the MR2 uses simple design elements, including a straight-four engine, Transverse engine, transversely mounted in front of the rear axle, four-wheel disc brakes, and fully independent coilover suspension – MacPherson strut fronts and Chapman strut rears. The name MR2 stands for either "mid-ship run-about 2-seater" or "mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seater". In French-speaking markets, the vehicle was renamed Toyota MR because the abbreviation "MR2" sounds like the profanity "merde" when spoken in French. Origins The MR2 derived from a 1976 Toyota design project with the goal of a car which would be enjoyable to drive, yet st ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Central Motors
Central Motor Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of cars within the Toyota Group. It was founded on 4 September 1950 by Ryuichi Tomiya. The company operated five plants, all located in Japan. It was one of the biggest export vehicle manufacturers of the concern. In July 2012 it was merged with two other Toyota subsidiaries operating in Tohoku to form Toyota Motor East Japan. History Central Motors was the operational successor of ( Kamata, Tokyo). In 1950, employees of the Kamata Plant were made redundant after it was closed down by Toyota. They founded Central Motors that year and began producing light commercial vehicles for Toyota in 1956. In 1959, Toyota acquired the company and moved the production from Kamata to Sagamihara which would later also become the headquarters base. The company opened various facilities for auto parts production. A new assembly plant and headquarters were built in Ohira, Miyagi. The new facility started production in January 2011 and the Saga ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Willow Springs International Motorsports Park
Willow Springs International Motorsports Park (commonly referred to as Willow Springs) is located in Willow Springs, Kern County, California, Willow Springs near Rosamond, California, Rosamond, California, about north of Los Angeles. It is the oldest permanent Road racing, road course in the United States. Construction began in 1952, with the inaugural race held on November 23, 1953. The main track is a long road course that is unchanged from its original 1953 configuration. The elevation changes and high average speeds make it a favorite of many road racing drivers. Willow Springs hosted two NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Grand National Series races in 1956 and 1957 on the original road course (then known simply as Willow Springs Speedway), won by Chuck Stevenson and Marvin Panch, respectively. The track also hosted five ARCA Menards Series West, NASCAR Winston West Series events, the first two in 1955 and 1956 and the other three between 1984 and 1986. Willow Springs also hosted o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Straight-four Engine
A straight-four engine (also referred to as an inline-four engine) is a four-cylinder Reciprocating engine, piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the exceptions of the flat-four engines produced by Subaru and Porsche) and the layout is also very common in motorcycles and other machinery. Therefore the term "four-cylinder engine" is usually synonymous with straight-four engines. When a straight-four engine is installed at an inclined angle (instead of with the cylinders oriented vertically), it is sometimes called a Slant-4 engine, slant-four. Between 2005 and 2008, the proportion of new vehicles sold in the United States with four-cylinder engines rose from 30% to 47%. By the 2020 model year, the share for light-duty vehicles had risen to 59%. Design A four-stroke straight-four engine always has a cylinder on its power stroke, unlike engines with fewer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Toyota A Engine
The Toyota A Series engines are a family of inline-four internal combustion engines with displacement from 1.3 L to 1.8 L produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. The series has cast iron engine blocks and aluminum cylinder heads. To make the engine as short as possible, the cylinders are siamesed. The development of the series began in the late 1970s, when Toyota wanted to develop a completely new engine for the Toyota Tercel, the successor of Toyota's K engine. The goal was to achieve good fuel efficiency and performance as well as low emissions with a modern design. The A-series includes one of the first Japanese mass-production DOHC, four-valve-per-cylinder engines, the 4A-GE, and a later version of the same engine was one of the first production five-valve-per-cylinder engines. Toyota joint venture partner Tianjin FAW Xiali produces the 1.3 L 8A and resumed production of the 5A in 2007. 1A The 1.5 L 1A was produced between 1978 and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past participle of , "cut". Some coupé cars only have two seats, while some also feature rear seats. However, these rear seats are usually lower quality and much smaller than those in the front. Furthermore, "A fixed-top two-door sports car would be best and most appropriately be termed a 'sports coupe' or 'sports coupé'". __TOC__ Etymology and pronunciation () is based on the past participle of the French verb ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard. It was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. These or ("clipped carriages") were eventually clipping (phonetics), clipped to .. There are two common pronunciations in English: * () ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tokyo Motor Show
The , called (TMS) until 2023, is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and normally sees more concept cars than actual production car introductions, which is the reason why the automotive press sees the show as one of the motorshow's big five (along with North American International Auto Show, Detroit, Geneva Motor Show, Geneva, Frankfurt Motor Show, Frankfurt and Mondial de l'Automobile, Paris). For the first time in its 67-year history, the show was cancelled for 2021 due to rising cases of COVID-19. History The show, originally called All Japan Motor Show was first held in an outdoor venue called Hibiya Park, the show was considered a success with 547,000 visitors over ten days and 254 exhibitors displaying 26 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fiat X1/9
The Fiat X1/9 is an Italian two-seater mid-engined sports car designed by Gruppo Bertone, Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from 1972–1982 and subsequently by Gruppo Bertone from 1982–1989. With a transverse engine and gearbox in a mid-engine design#RMR layout – Rear Mid-engine / Rear-wheel drive, mid-mounted, rear-wheel drive configuration, the X1/9 was noted for its balanced handling, retractable headlights, lightweight removable hardtop which could be stowed under the bonnet, front and rear storage compartments — and for being the first Fiat to have been designed from its conception to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, US safety regulations. History Design and development The X1/9 was developed from the 1969 Autobianchi A112 Runabout concept car, concept, with styling by Gruppo Bertone, Bertone under chief designer Marcello Gandini. Even though the Runabout was named for the Autobianchi A112, it was powered by a version of the brand new Fiat 128 SOHC en ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Volkswagen Scirocco
The Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, sport compact hatchback manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 until 2018. Production ended without a successor. The Scirocco derives its name from the Mediterranean wind. __TOC__ First generation (1974) Volkswagen began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the ''Typ 53'' internally. Although the platform of the Golf was used to underpin the new Scirocco, almost every part of the car was re-engineered in favour of a new styling (penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro) which was sleeker and sportier than that of the Golf. The Scirocco debuted at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show. Launched six months before the Golf, in order to resolve any teething troubles before production of the high volume hatchback started, the Scirocco went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ford EXP
The Ford EXP (also called Ford Escort EXP) is a sports compact coupe that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company from 1982 to 1988, across two generations. The first two-seat Ford since the original Ford Thunderbird, the EXP was derived from the American Ford Escort. In contrast to its platform counterpart, the model line was not a "world car", but developed entirely for North America. For 1982 and 1983, Mercury marketed a badge engineered variant of the EXP was also sold as LN7. Competing against the similarly configured Honda CR-X, the EXP shared its powertrain and many chassis underpinnings with the Escort. Alongside its front and rear fascia styling, the EXP differed primarily in its roofline, with the rear seat area converted to additional cargo space. The EXP received a minor face lift during model year 1985. After model year 1988, the EXP was discontinued. Development By 1980 Ford Motor Company had entered a period of major transition. Following ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pontiac Fiero
The Pontiac Fiero is a Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, rear mid-engine, light sports car manufactured and marketed by Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac for model years 1984 – 1988. Intended as an economical commuter car with modest performance aspirations, it was Pontiac (automobile), Pontiac's first two-seater since their 1926 to 1938 coupes, and the first rear mid-engine mass-produced car by any American manufacturer. In addition to using 4- and 6-cylinder engines to help Pontiac meet America's Corporate average fuel economy, 'CAFE' average fuel economy requirements, the Fiero's chassis and structure technology used non-load-bearing, composite body-panels, contributing to the car's light-weight and unique selling proposition. Pontiac engineers modified the design over its life to enhance its performance and reposition the two-seater closer to the implications of its sporty configuration. The Fiero ''2M4'' (two-seat, mid-engine, four-cylinder) was on ''Car and Driver'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nissan EXA
The Nissan Pulsar EXA and Nissan EXA are automobiles manufactured and marketed by Nissan Motor Company from 1983 to 1986 and from 1986 to 1990 respectively. The first generation model was internally designated as the N12 series and was marketed in Japan at '' Nissan Cherry Store'' locations as the Pulsar EXA. The second generation EXA was designated as the N13 series. Both generations were marketed in North America under the name Nissan Pulsar NX. __TOC__ Nissan Pulsar EXA (N12; 1982–1986) The Pulsar EXA followed a successful strategy Nissan used in Japan of offering the economical Nissan Sunny in an affordable, youth-oriented two-door coupé, demonstrated by the Nissan Sunny fastback coupé, which had been offered since the Sunny's introduction in 1966. As the Pulsar was a companion to the Nissan Sunny, but offered at a different Japanese Nissan dealership called ''Nissan Cherry Store'', the Pulsar EXA mirrored the tradition of the Sunny Coupé. The Pulsar/Cherry line was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Honda CR-X
The Honda CR-X (styled in some markets as Honda CRX), originally launched as the Honda Ballade Sports CR-X in Japan, is a front-wheel-drive sport compact car manufactured by Honda from 1983 until 1991 with nearly 400,000 produced during this period. The first-generation CRX was marketed in some regions outside Japan as the Honda Civic CRX. Although there are many supposed definitions for the initialism CR-X, the most widely accepted is "Civic Renaissance Experimental". In the U.S., the CRX was marketed as an economy sport Kammback with room for two passengers while Japanese and European market cars came with a 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 seating arrangement. Redesigned for the 1988 model year and produced until 1991, the CRX was popular for its performance, nimble handling, and good fuel economy. The CR-X was replaced by Honda's Honda del sol, CR-X del Sol, which was marketed as a CR-X in some markets. __TOC__ First generation Overview In 1983 for the 1984 model year, Hon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |