Winds of change will be blowing into the Chicago Auto Show. Toyota’s Camry mid-size sedan, the best-selling car in America for the past 13 years, and Corolla compact sedan, the world’s best-selling car of all time, will debut special edition models at next week’s Chicago Auto Show. The debuts will be part of a press conference that will also feature a refreshed Avalon sedan.

Camry Special Edition
When redesigning the Camry for 2015, Toyota went bumper to bumper and floor to roof, changing or re-engineering nearly 2,000 parts. Only the roof remained unchanged, and it capped off the boldest Camry ever. Now, only one year after this major redesign, America’s best-selling car will offer the 2016 Camry Special Edition for owner’s looking for an extra dose of both aggressiveness and technology. Based on the youthful Camry SE, the limited production Camry will add sporty interior and exterior features. In addition to features found on the Camry SE, standard equipment on the Special Edition will include:

· Unique 18-inch alloy wheels with machined face contrasted with gloss black painted accents

· Power tilt/slide moonroof

· Smoked tail lamp treatment

· High contrast blue stitching on the seats, shift boot, and dash

· Exclusive sport appearance seats trimmed with black SofTex® bolsters and blue patterned inserts

· Sport meter cluster with blue details and white background

· Entune Audio Plus

· Available Entune Premium Audio with Navigation and App Suite

· Smart Key with Pushbutton Start

· Qi Wireless Charging

· Two exterior colors: Blizzard Pearl and new Blue Streak Metallic

· Floor mats with logo and unique exterior badge

The Camry Special Edition will be powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a six speed automatic transmission. Like all Toyota vehicles, the Camry Special Edition will come standard with the Star Safety System. Production of the Camry Special Edition will be limited to approximately 12,000 units and will run from August 2015 to January 2016.

Corolla Special Edition
The iconic Toyota Corolla is the world’s best-selling name plate of all-time with over 40 million sold since 1966. With its all-new 11th generation introduced in 2014, the current Corolla is the roomiest and most fuel-efficient ever. Corolla will add more driving excitement with the launch of the 2016 Corolla Special Edition. Sporty styling features, inside and out, complement a spirited driving experience made possible with steering wheel paddle shifters, rear disc brakes and Sport Driving Mode along with an array of additional standard features. Based on the sporty Corolla S Plus grade, the 2016 Corolla Special Edition will turn heads as it adds:

· Unique 17-inch alloy wheels with gloss black finish

· Black interior with red contrast stitching

· Red accented dash and door trim

· Smart Key System with pushbutton start

· Three colors: exclusive Absolutely Red, Black Sand Pearl and Super White

· Special Edition floor mats with logo and unique exterior badge

Toyota’s Entune Premium Audio with Navigation and App Suite and power tilt/slide moonroof will be available as options. The Corolla Special Edition will be produced between August and December 2015 and will be limited to 8,000 units.

In addition to the Camry and Corolla Special Editions, Toyota will unveil the refreshed 2016 Avalon premium mid-size sedan during a press conference in the Toyota display at Chicago’s McCormick Place on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 2:30 p.m. CST

-- Press release courtesy of Toyota

JEFF GORDON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 CHEVROLET SS IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAM OWNER, RICK HENDRICK, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA THURSDAY TO DISCUSS JEFF GORDON’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT 2015 WILL BE HIS FINAL FULL SEASON OF NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES COMPETITION.

BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM TODAY’S NASCAR TELECONFERENCE WITH JEFF GORDON and TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK aftef the announcement that 2015 will be Gordon's last year racing full-time in the Cup series:

(Note: This release is part of a series in advance of the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Jan. 30, broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC
Sports Network, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White are the five 2015 inductees.)

Fred Lorenzen’s NASCAR career was brief, just 158 premier series starts over slightly more than a decade.

During a 13-year premier series career, Wendell Scott likely never considered he was making NASCAR history. The Virginian’s sole concern was getting to the next race on a miniscule budget.

Scott wasn’t the only driver to struggle financially. The odds of making a good living racing stock cars were long in the 1960s and early 1970s when purses were small, large sponsors unheard of and manufacturer support came and went with the turning of the calendar’s pages.

(Note: This release is part of a series in advance of the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Jan. 30, broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, Motor Racing Network Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Bill Elliott, Fred Lorenzen, Wendell Scott, Joe Weatherly and Rex White are the five 2015 inductees.)

When Bill Elliott climbed into his Ford on a late-winter afternoon in 1976, little did fans at North Carolina Motor Speedway know they were witnessing the birth of a NASCAR Hall of Fame career.