2011 Toyota Corolla Facelift: First Official Photos, will Debut at LA Show

The Los Angeles Auto Show will be opening its doors to the members of the press tomorrow, but Toyota can't wait to share its facelifted 2011 Corolla sedan. The Japanese firm's bread and butter model has received a mild makeover along with some equipment upgrades. It will go on sale in the States in December.

The most obvious visual changes concern the front end which gains new bumper, grille and headlamp designs. At the back, there are newly styled tail lamps as well as a revised turn lid and rear license garnish. Other changes include the slightly larger side-view mirrors, an engine undercover that promises to improve air management under the car and new wheel designs.

The S model seen in these photos features a standard body kit that adds a front spoiler, rocker moldings, and upper and lower rear spoilers.

The interior upgrades are even more subtle being limited to new seat colors and patterns, different trim on the instrument panel and doors, plus a newly designed three-spoke sports steering wheel on the Corolla S.

There are no changes under the hood with the 2011 Corolla being offered with a standard 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, which produces 132 hp at 6,000 rpm and 128 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. According to the Japanese maker, the 1.8-liter engine has an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 28 mpg city and 35 mpg highway with the five-speed manual transmission, and 26 mpg city and 34 mpg highway with the four-speed automatic transmission.

Toyota made no mention of the XRS, which for the 2010MY, comes with a 158HP 2.4-liter unit, so we'll have to wait and see if it has been crossed out of the range or if it will return for the 2011MY.

For now, we know that the 2011 Corolla will be available in three grades, the base-model Corolla, LE, and S, all powered by the 1.8L engine.

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Subaru to Finally Present its RWD Coupe Concept at Geneva Motor Show

It's been a long time in the making but we're finally going to get our first glimpse of Subaru's version of the Toyota FT-86 RWD Coupe, which is a joint project from the two companies, at the upcoming Geneva Salon in March. The somewhat blandly named “Subaru Rear Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept” will share the spotlight with the Impreza Concept (pictured above) and the Trezio mini MPV, both of which will receive their European premiere at the Swiss motorshow.

Despite rumors suggesting that Subaru may present an all-wheel drive version of the coupe project, the Japanese carmaker is keeping the rear-wheel drive setup, at least for now.

Not surprisingly, the Subaru coupe will be powered by a boxer engine, possibly the same four-cylinder unit lent to Toyota for the FT-86. Subaru did not release any photos nor any additional information on the Coupe concept model.

As for the company's two European premieres, the Impreza Concept was first shown in LA last November and previews a new design direction for the production model, while the Trezio is a re-badged version of the Toyota Verso-S mini MPV, which will be offered in Europe with a 1.3-liter gasoline and 1.4-liter turbo diesel engines.

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Lexus Launches CT 200h in Japan to Boost Domestic Sales

Lexus has added the new CT 200h dedicated hybrid model to its Japanese line-up in an attempt to boost flagging sales in its home market. The company's first entry in the premium-compact segment is also its cheapest offering with prices in Japan ranging from 3.55 million yen to 4.33 million yen (about US$42,600 to US$52,000).

Originally designed with European customers in mind, the CT 200h has also made its way to North America as well as China, with more countries to be added to the list. In the U.S., the CT 200h is priced from $29,120.

The five-door hatchback from Lexus features the same hybrid powertrain as the Prius mating a 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle combustion engine with an electric motor, nickel-metal-hydride battery and a generator. Lexus said that using the 10-15 test cycle of the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the CT 200h returned a fuel efficiency of 34 km/lt (equal to 79.9 mpg US or 2.9 lt/100km).

The company said it plans to sell around 1,500 units a month of the CT 200h in Japan.

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