Toyota to Announce Plant in Kentucky 01/02/96 Both the Associated Press and Reuters are reporting that officials from Boone County, Kentucky have announced that Toyota is going to open a plant in northern Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinatti. Toyota will announce their intentions today. The Boone County plant would allow Toyota to centralize manufacturing, production engineering, purchasing and quality operations. The plant may employ up to 600 people. The deal will involve incentives for Toyota, but details haven't been announced. Toyota received a $72 million incentive package when they opened a light truck plant in Princeton, IN last fall. Other major bases for Toyota operations in the United States include Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. in Torrance, CA, and the administrative unit Toyota Motor Corp. Services of North America Inc. in New York. Toyota's main manufacturing arm is Toyota Motor Manufacturing U.S.A. Inc. in Georgetown, KY. Toyota's move to open a new plant is seen as a move to consolidate it's North American operations. Industry analysts say the move illustrates the importance Toyota gives to the North American Market. Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00071 Toyota to Start New Company The Associated Press reported that Toyota will start a new company to procure a wide variety of internationally produced aftermarket auto parts which it will then market in Japan, separately from Toyota brand parts. The Company will be called TACTI; Toyota will be joined in this venture by its group parts makers Nippondenso Co. and Aisin Seiki Co. TACTI will be established in April and will start operations in July. Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00072 Ford Earnings Down, but Better Than Expected 02/01/96 Reuters reported that although Ford's profits in 1995's final quarter dropped almost $1 per share from the record they attained in 1994's 4th quarter, they still exceeded Wall Street's predictions. Ford expects gradual improvement in the coming year, once it completes the launching of all its new products. Ford pinned its second half financial results on low U.S. production volume and a record number of major product launches. The new line includes the the new Taurus, Mercury Sable, and F-Series pickups, as well as European releases like the new Fiesta and Galaxy minivan. Ford noted that the retail car market was depressed, and announced that dealers sold more trucks than cars for the first time in company history. Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00073 LeMans Winner Carroll Shelby Gets New Kidney 02/01/96 The Associated Press reported that 73 year old Carroll Shelby, winner of 1959's 24 hour endurance race of Le Mans, was doing well after kidney transplant surgery. The kidney was donated by Shelby's son, Michael. Doctors expect a speedy recovery for both Shelbys Shelby had been waiting for a donor match for several months. Shelby underwent heart transplant surgery five years ago and drove the pace car at the 75th Indy 500 one year later. Shelby is a three time U.S. Sports Car driver of the year, and he once won 19 consecutive races. Shelby developed the customized "Shelby Mustang" that was popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00074 Indy 200s Fastest Laps Motorsport News International reported the fastest laps from last weekend's Indy 200 at Walt Disney World. Here they are: 
	Driver			Lap	Speed
	---------------------------------------
	Buzz Calkins		188	171.805
	Tony Stewart		200	169.731
	Roberto Guerrero	 27	167.177
	Richie Hearn		  9	166.898
	Buddy Lazier		 26	165.601
	Mike Groff		194	165.555
	Michele Alboreto	155	165.251
	Arie Luyendyk		 29	165.138
	Scott Sharp		 28	164.436
	Stan Wattles		 29	164.331
	Davey Hamilton		 29	163.763
	Robbie Buhl		196	163.726
	Eddie Cheever		107	162.948
	Stephan Gregoire	 30	162.638
	Scott Brayton		  3	160.128
	Johnny O'Connell	 33	160.121
	Lyn St. James		 31	160.092
	John Paul, Jr.		128	158.877
	Johnny Parsons		 37	148.766
	David Kudrave		  3	137.468
Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00075 Tyrrell Launches New Formula One Car 02/01/96 Motorsport News International and Atlas Team F1 reported that Tyrrell launched their new F1 car on Tuesday. The car is powered by an ultra-compact 3 liter Yamaha engine and was designed specifically for this year's Grand Prix circuits at Tyrrell's Surrey headquarters. Atlas Team F1 quotes Tyrrell engineering boss Harvey Postlethwaite as saying that the most common motor racing corner is a second gear 75 MPH corner"; the car has been designed to "love that bend." Tyrrell begins testing the new car next week in Estoril, Portugal. The Tyrrell team's Ukyo Katayama and Mika Salo will be driving the car. Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00076 Temporary Slowdown in Growth of Asian Car Markets Expected 02/01/96 The Nikkei reported that the growth rate of automobile sales in major non-Japanese, Asian car markets is expected to drop below 10% this year. Japanese experts expect the decline will be temporary and that the market will rebound as countries build roads and make other improvements in infrastructure. Currently 7 out of 12 million car sales in Asia occur in Japan, although experts belief that other markets will surpass the Japanese one by the year 2,000. This year's automarkets in Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea are not expected to grow any. Last year the South Korean market fell for the first time in 14 years. The Taiwanese auto market appears sluggish, and the Chinese market is expected to grow in line with the growth of China's 1996 GDP. Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel ##--##--##news00077