Toyota may cease Matrix production next fall - Autoweek TV with Jake Lingeman

Описание: Also in this episode: Toyota is on track to take back the title of largest automaker, and the Germans manage another excellent showing at the Race of Champions.

-- The Matrix is going away.

-- Toyota is taking its crown back.

-- And the zee Germans win again at the ROC.

I'm Jake here with a Monday edition of Autoweek TV. Let's get the last week of the world rolling and hey, if it all ends on Friday, at least we have each other.

Toyota will likely drop the Matrix hatchback when the new Corolla arrives next fall. Toyota division boss Bill Fay said that "if we don't have the Matrix, it won't be the end of the world." He also said that the RAV4 is as small as the company wants to get.

The Tundra will get a redesign next year along with the Corolla. The RAV4, Avalon andHighlander will also be revised.

For more details on the Matrix:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121...

In other Toyota news, the company should take back the title of world's biggest automaker in 2012. Volkswagen and GM will be battling for number two going into the final weeks of the year. Toyota is rebounding from last year's Japanese tsunami, which slowed production and shipping in 2011. The VW and GM is race is still too close to call, with less than one percent difference between their sales.

The Race of Champions took place over the weekend, and for the sixth consecutive year Germans Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel took home the crown in Bankok, Thailand on Saturday. The final match came down to the Germans versus the French pairing of F1 driver Romain Grosjean and rally specialist Sebastien Ogier. Vettel and Schumacher won the final heat two to zero.

Champion of champions honors went to Romain Grosjean.

We're not going to say that this proves Formula One has the best drivers in the world, but having two top tier F1 guys win it six times in a row has got to mean something.

More on Grosjean's win:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121...

More on the Race of Champions:
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20121...

Thanks for joining us, be sure to check out our related videos at autoweek.com. Come back tomorrow. Until then, enjoy the drive.