Three weeks before the start of the 2008 Formula One Championship and Jarno Trulli just announced that he thinks Ferarri is going to win it this year.

He doesn’t give other any chances and says “the championship already looks over to me before it has started”.

The guy tested Toyota and Ferrari cars in Bahrein and is very happy with what the new F2008 is offering being noticeable quicker (half a second quicker). Read more »

Toyota is very active in the small segment and things are going to stay that way.

The company just announced that the new Toyota iQ is going to be revealed during Geneva Motor Show next month. It’s about 3 meters long, big enough for three adults and some luggage and very safe (they say).

Toyota will also bring the Urban Cruiser to make its European debut. Read more »

Toyota returns to its compact-truck roots with its latest concept vehicle A-BAT (Advanced Breakthrough Aero Truck) making its world debut at the North American International Auto Show in January. The A-BAT uses a hybrid powertrain reported to provide modern versatility, roominess, and style for a new kind of buyer.

“Driving from the suburbs to the city is a way of life for many people,” says Kevin Hunter, president, Calty Design Research, Inc. “We’ve taken Toyota’s truck heritage to a different level by envisioning a vehicle capable of maneuvering the suburbs as well as dirt roads.

This compact truck is as comfortable for long commutes as it is for road trips. It can accommodate outdoor toys and home-improvement supplies. Plus, customers benefit from the hybrid powertrain’s low emissions and fuel economy.” Read more »

General Motors’ European arm has decided that it won’t jump feet-first into the micro-car segment with Smart, and more recently Toyota and Volkswagen. Speaking with Automotive News Europe, GM’s Euro-veep Carl-Peter Forster said that, “These specialized urban vehicles have a limited market.”

True enough, but it’s a market that stands to go through a growth spurt in the coming years, and GM’s decision to opt out of providing a competitive product might be a shortsighted move. Read more »

Toyota has built a 15-foot-high, 23-foot-wide, 78-ton driving simulator “for effectively analyzing the driving characteristics of average drivers.”

The simulator allows Toyota to work on specific driving issues in a controlled environment, and to study mental aspects of driving such as decision making, which are among the most important considerations when trying to develop the next wave of gotta-have-it safety features.

The NHTSA has a comparable simulator, and Toyota used some of that technology to create its own. There’s a Lexus inside the dome, and its walls are 360-degrees of computer-animated scenery. Read more »

Toyota’s next-generation Supra is veiled in mystery, but we tend to take seriously any news coming from Winding Road’s Peter Nunn because, well, he actually lives in Japan and hears the hometown gossip. According to Nunn, rumor has it that the next-gen Supra’s design will be inspired by the FT-HS Concept, which we kinda sort of already knew, and be powered by either a hybrid drivetrain or an all-gas V6.

The last issue of Automobile Magazine claimed that the FT-HS Concept would go into production as Toyota’s Supra successor, but made no mention of another all-gas version. WR’s Nunn, however, speculates that the car will be offered with either an updated version of the 3.5L V6 from the Lexus IS350 producing around 330bhp and a V6 hybrid drivetrain likely scooped from the Lexus GS450h and producing 400bhp.

The all-gas Supra would obviously be less expensive than the hybrid version, and thus would likely be the volume seller of the two. Looks like we’re expecting both to arrive sometime in the latter half of 2008, though any details having to do with Toyota’s plans for the Supra are obviously about as firm as Jell-o.

[Source: Winding Road]