Listen up Toyota... Options

[creamed_corn]

Get up off your conservative butts and make something fun. Right now you're the only car company out there with nothing even remotely sporty in your lineup.

There's a huge HUGE gap in the fun category between the $15,000 tC and the $35,000 IS.

What they need:

-proper two door, rear wheel drive sports car
-starting around $25,500
-2GR-FE plant to the tune of 300-320 horsepower (they'll wanna stay a little bit ahead of the Z and Mustang, knowing them).
-six speed close ratio gearbox, LSD standard, TCS optional
-Keep the weight reasonable at around 3300-3400lbs.
-I'd like to see gas mileage at around 22 city/30 highway. I'm gonna have a hard enough time keeping my foot off the gas as it is.

This is well within their reach and they need to do it. I've been living off my celica for too long. Ever since I got my new job I've been saving my money, just waiting for a car like this. I just can't bring myself to defect to another company, and if this doesn't happen soon, I'm going to be picking up an MR Sypder next summer.

[BlackCelicaGT94]

I read this recently that its all about hybrid now and this may take place of the MR2 and Celica

Toyota considering hybrid sports car

Toyota is hoping to transfer its sales momentum to the sports car segment, Toyota executives told Dow Jones Newswires Monday. And a new hybrid model will be at the center of that movement, the sources said. The new model is "going to be global project, not one aimed at one region more than another. The concept is a hybrid," said Tokuo Fukuichi, the head of Toyota's ED2 design center. "We made a proposal to head office for a hybrid sports car. We're not sure that we're going to proceed with that but every time we develop a new car we consider a hybrid system. We have limited resources," he said.

Recent rumors have suggested a hybrid car could fill the gap left by the discontinuation of the Celica and MR2, and Fukuichi's comments seem to confirm that this is a strong possibility. "The sports car will come, but I don't know exactly when. Since we stopped production of the Celica and the MR2, there's a gap in that end of our range where we don't get the full impact of our participation in Formula 1," he said.

In February, we noted an Autocar report that suggested the Celica replacement will feature hybrid powertrain. The 2007/2008 model is said to be mid-engined, with four seats and all-wheel-drive. The car is also said to feature a folding metal hardtop — something that has never been seen before in a mid-engine car. It will take some inspiration from the CS+S Concept (shown right), the report said.

Fukuichi said Toyota has received a high volume of request for a sports car from dealers and customers. He said such a car would have to be affordable but also offer a lot of advanced technology. He said the target will be young, affluent buyers.

In April, Toyota's luxury division Lexus unveiled the Lexus LS 600h L — a powerful hybrid sedan with an impressive 430 horsepower and a SULEV (Super Low Emissions) rating.