New Toyota Research Facility to Test Automated Driving Scenarios 'Too Dangerous for Public Roads'

Photo: Toyota media website.

Toyota revealed Thursday that one of the automaker's research and development divisions, the Toyota Research Institute (TRI), is building a new, closed-course testing site to support the development of automated vehicle technology. The facility, to be built on an approximately 60-acre tract at the Michigan Technical Resource Park in Ottawa Lake, will have the purpose of testing driving scenarios that are "too dangerous to perform on public roads," according to Toyota.

Toyota Aims to Boost Performance Cred of the Camry—Yes, You Read That Right

Photo: Toyota media website.

In the midst of high-profile recent announcements of GM and Ford phasing out storied sedan models like Impala and Taurus, Toyota is focusing on boosting the performance cred of what has, historically, been denigrated by auto enthusiasts as perhaps the most infamous example of an unexciting grocery-getter by entering three Toyota Camrys in a challenging 3,657 mile rally.

Toyota, Mazda Form Joint Venture to Manufacture New Mazda Crossover and Toyota Corolla in Alabama

Mazda Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation announced on Thursday that they have launched a new joint venture, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. (MTMUS), to build vehicles in Huntsville, Alabama, beginning in 2021.