Toyota targets Venza crossover for North America

Greg Piatt / Special to The Detroit News

Toyota Motor Corp. — going even deeper with its U.S. product offensive — introduced a crossover sedan today the automaker thinks will be ideal for active Boomers and young couples with small families. The 2009 Venza is targeted specifically for the North American market where it will be sold exclusively.

"The all-new Venza was developed as a vehicle that combines the styling, comfort and fun-to-drive performance elements of a five-passenger sedan with the surprising utility of an SUV," said Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president and general manager.

The new crossover is based on the FT-SX concept introduced three years ago. It is expected to go on sale in late 2008.

The Venza was engineered at Toyota’s technical center in Ann Arbor and designed at Toyota’s Calty design studios in Newport Beach, Calif. and Ann Arbor. It will be assembled in Georgetown, Ky.

Toyota is battling General Motors Corp. to become the world’s top auto company, ranked by sales. Toyota sold 9.37 million vehicles worldwide last year. GM expects to sell around 9.3 million vehicles — marking its second-best year ever — and will release final results next week. All of GM’s sales growth is concentrated overseas.

Toyota’s U.S. sales advanced 3.2 percent last year even as overall industry demand shrank.

The Venza is Toyota’s latest attempt to exploit its vast financial and engineering resources to move beyond its full-volume lineup — from subcompacts to full-size trucks and SUVs — and target niche segments.

The focus of the Venza design team was to create a new crossover vehicle that shifted away from the more traditional SUV styling themes that tend to dominate the segment, the automaker said.

Toyota focused on a sedan concept with a wide stance but equipped it with SUV attributes such as cargo space, towing capability and room for five passengers.

Venza will be available in front- and all-wheel-drive with power generated by an optional 3.5-liter V6 engine or a standard new 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine. Both engines will have a six-speed sequential-shift electronically-controlled automatic transmission.

Toyota is also showing a concept vehicle that harkens back to its compact pickup truck roots.

However, the A-Bat concept is a hybrid that can use the solar panels on the surface of the vehicle to convert sunlight into power. The vehicle is powered by a four-cylinder gas engine and equipped with Toyota’s hybrid synergy drive.

The concept has crisp lines and a trapezoidal profile, but it brings to mind the Dodge Rampage concept unveiled at the 2006 Chicago Auto Show.

"We studied the ‘trapezoid’ silhouette from the side profile of the Toyota Prius and applied it to create an entirely new truck image," said Toyota’s Creative Designer Matt Sperling.

The bed is defined by the C-pillar and is separated from the cab to allow it to stand out from the rest of the profile, Sperling added.

"The image of a NATO all-terrain military truck inspired us to keep the occupants as far forward as possible to maximize rear bed capacity in this compact package," Sperling said.

The A-BAT has a four-foot bed, but its translucent roof panel slides open to allow for tall cargo in the cab. When the pass-through midgate is folded down into the cab the bed lengthens an additional two feet.

The tailgate also includes lighting for illuminating the load in the bed, a first aid kit, a flashlight integrated into the tailgate, sliding tie downs and an AC power outlet. "We were able to create a compact truck that’s utilitarian, has an original profile compared to other pickup trucks, a ’small, but tough’ character and is economical to operate," said Kevin Hunter, president of the Calty design center.