Toyota to make Solara convertible for 2 more years

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Toyota Motor Corp. has decided to extend production of its Solara convertible for up to two more years, the automaker's North American manufacturing chief has announced.

Steve St. Angelo, senior vice president of Toyota North American manufacturing operations and president of the factories that produce the Solara and related models, said the automaker decided not to end the model's run this month in response to market demands. The Solara coupe, which has already discontinued, was based on the top-selling Camry midsize sedan.

"It was a car that our customers demanded. They wanted it," St. Angelo said after a recent speech at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City.

"I was pushing for it," St. Angelo said.

The challenging part will be continuing to produce the 1,000 Solara convertibles at the Georgetown, Ky., complex along with the Camry, Camry hybrid, Avalon and 4- and 6-cylinder engines while launching the all-new Venza crossover.

The Camry-based Venza, which debuted at the Detroit auto show in January, is scheduled to go on sale later this year. It was de-signed at Toyota's Calty design center in Ann Arbor Township, Mich., and engineered at Toyota's research and engineering center in Ann Arbor, Toyota said.

Despite the rapid changes in the North American automotive industry, caused by a weakened U.S. economy and gas that ex-ceeded $4 a gallon for nearly two months, St. Angelo said Toyota has the right products and the right manufacturing plan for the U.S. market.

Last week, Toyota stopped making Tundra full-size pickups and Sequoia SUVs until November. At that point, Tundras will only be made at its San Antonio assembly plant.