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Oh yeah, no news of specs just yet, we'll have to wait till tomorrow...
Toyota releases Aurion at Melbourne Motor Show
Toyota's Aurion: The manufacturer's new V6 it hopes will compete front-on with Holden's Commodore and Ford's Falcon.
09 February 2006
Paul Gover
Aurion - get used to it. It is the new name that Toyota plans to make as popular in Australia as Commodore and Falcon.
Aurion was chosen for the all-new V6 family car that is being unwrapped this morning at the press preview for the Melbourne International Motor Show. It will be set straight up against the Holden and Ford family favourites when sales begin at the back end of 2006.
The Aurion is based on an all-new Camry, which is missing from the Melbourne Exhibition Centre despite being previewed in the USA, but has a very different and more upmarket look.
There will also be an Aurion Sportivo.
Toyota has tried before to challenge Australia's showroom leaders, first with the Lexcen - a poor-quality re-badged Commodore in the 1980s - and then with the outdated and unimpressive Avalon.
It has always believed that it must have a credible and successful big-six contender if it is to win the heartland support it craves so desperately.
Toyota Australia has tried everything else to become accepted as more than just a Japanese brand, even buying the major sponsorship rights to the AFL and signing on as vehicle supplier for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
This time it believes it has the right approach, as the Aurion was designed by an Aussie - 31-year-old Nick Hogios of Toyota Style Australia - and has been developed locally for Australian roads and owners.
It took a big push to convince Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan that the Australian team had the people and skills to do the job, which including sending Hogios to work in Nagoya and regular visits by Paul Beranger, the veteran head of Toyota Style Australia, to oversee the project.
Beranger produced the X-Runner pick-up and Sportivo Coupe which starred at earlier Melbourne Motor Shows.
The unveiling this morning will be one of the biggest in Toyota's local history, including a webcast to dealerships around the country and a major news stunt. But nothing is bigger than the Aurion story, which includes direct support from Japan, which plans to make the car a major export earner.
"It's all part of a global strategy," Beranger says.
The plan is to sell the Aurion only as a V6, with the Camry only available with a four-cylinder engine, using a premium position closer to the Holden Berlina and Ford Fairmont.
Toyota says it is far to early to talk about price or models or even the mechanical specification, but everything points to a $35,000 starter price with a full list of standard equipment.
The production target is also being kept quiet, but Toyota Australia's factory at Altona has recently been upgraded to produce as many as 140,000 cars a year, split between the Camry and Aurion. The Camry is still likely to dominate the production line, with Aurion numbers growing slowly.
The newcomer will also be built in China, Taiwan and Thailand with the Hogios looks, but wearing a premium Camry badge.
And what about the Aurion name?
Toyota admits that it is a made-up name, but says it wanted to avoid anything too obviously ocker Aussie - Kakadu or kangaroo - or a continuation of Avalon. Cressida, the name of a premium Toyota import in the 1980s, was also rejected because of its history.
"Aurion means 'tomorrow' in ancient Greek," Beranger says. "The name also has overtones of Australia and Aurora - the Latin word for 'the dawn'.
News Interactive
http://carsguide.news.com.au/story/0,20384...5002663,00.html
This post has been edited by Cosmo: 08 February 2006 - 09:39 PM
MultiQuote
Posted 11 February 2006 - 02:06 AM
what prices are we looking at atm? Holden and ford 25-30k mark?
