Toyota AE86

The AE86 generation of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Toyota Sprinter Trueno is a small, lightweight coupe or hatchback introduced by Toyota in 1983 as part of the fifth generation Toyota Corolla lineup. For the purpose of brevity, the insider-chassis code of "AE86" depicts the 1600 cc RWD model from the range. In classic Toyota code, the "A" represents the engine that came in the car (4A series), "E" represents the Corolla, "8" represents the fifth generation (E80 series) and "6" represents the variation within this generation.

The Levin has fixed-headlights, and the Trueno has retractable headlights, both could be hatchback or coupe. The export model name Corolla covers both variations. The AE86 (along with the lower spec 1,452 cubic centimetres (1.452 L) AE85 and 1587 cc SR5 versions) was rear wheel drive (unlike the front wheel drive CE80, EE80 and AE82 models), and is among the last rear-drive cars of its type, at a time when most passenger cars were being switched to front-drive. In 1987, there was a limited edition model of the AE86 called "Black Limited" that served as a send-off model before the AE86 chassis was replaced later that year by the front wheel drive AE92 Corolla/Sprinter range.

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by Toyota. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in the world since then. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, surpassing the Volkswagen Beetle. Toyota reached the milestone of 40 million Corollas sold over eleven generations in July 2013. The series has undergone several major redesigns.

The name Corolla is part of Toyota's naming tradition of using names derived from the Toyota Crown for sedans. The Corolla has always been exclusive in Japan to Toyota Corolla Store locations, and manufactured in Japan with a twin, called the Toyota Sprinter until 2000. In Japan and much of the world, the hatchback companion since 2006 is called the Toyota Auris. Prior to the Auris, Toyota used the Corolla name on the hatchback bodystyle in various international markets.

Early models were mostly rear-wheel drive, while later models have been front-wheel drive. The Corolla's traditional competitors have been the Nissan Sunny, introduced the same year as the Corolla in Japan and the later Honda Civic. The Corolla's chassis designation code is "E", as described in Toyota's chassis and engine codes.

Initial D

Initial D (Japanese: 頭文字D（イニシャル・ディー）, Hepburn: Inisharu Dī) is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Young Magazine from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The story focuses on the world of illegal Japanese street racing, where all the action is concentrated in the mountain passes and rarely in cities or urban areas, and with the drift racing style emphasized in particular. Professional race car driver and pioneer of drifting Keiichi Tsuchiya helped with editorial supervision. The story is centered on the prefecture of Gunma, more specifically on several mountains in the Kantō region and in their surrounding cities and towns. Although some of the names of the locations the characters race in have been fictionalized, all of the locations in the series are based on actual locations in Japan.

Initial D has been adapted into several television anime and original video animations series by OB Studio Comet, Studio Gallop, Pastel, A.C.G.T and SynergySP. A live action film by Avex and Media Asia was released in 2005 and its sequel, Initial D 2, will be released in 2016. Both the manga and anime series were initially licensed for English-language distribution in North America by Tokyopop (2002–2009), however, the anime license has since been picked up by Funimation Entertainment, while the manga is no longer available in English.

Car Throttle

Car Throttle is a British media platform company for car enthusiasts.

Founded in 2009 as a car blog by Adnan Ebrahim, the company has grown to become one of the largest car communities online and allows users to create content alongside featured editorial articles.

History

Funding

In July 2012, Car Throttle raised an undisclosed pre-seed round from London early-stage VC firm Passion Capital. In 2013, the company raised a further $550,000 from investors including Passion Capital, James Bromley (MailOnline) and Peter Read which allowed it to make its first editorial, video and engineering hires. In January 2015, Car Throttle closed a $1.6 million round led by Redalpine with participation from Blake Chandlee (Facebook's first international employee). Car Throttle is currently based in White Bear Yard, a coworking space in Clerkenwell, London for startup companies.

Content

Car Throttle creates publishing tools to allow online car enthusiasts to share their opinions on cars and car culture. Described by TechCrunch as "Buzzfeed for cars", Car Throttle follows a similar model in producing content for its website aimed at distribution on social media platforms. Unlike Buzzfeed however, the website encourages and promotes user-generated content alongside editorial pieces, and has ambition to become "a platform, not simply a top-down publisher".