japan
Honda Fit Overtakes Toyota Prius In Japanese Car Market After Hybrid Subsidies End
The best-selling car in Japan is about to change as government subsidies on hybrid cars has lead to a drop off in sales of the Toyota Prius. Analysts expect the Honda Fit to take the top spot. Prius sales began to dip in September after the government subsidy program ended, but Fit sales remained strong, buttressed by the introduction…
Chocolate-Themed Smart Car Makes Sweet Valentine’s Day Gift
Forget buying your Valentine chocolate – up the ante by getting them a chocolate-themed Smart car. Recently unveiled in Tokyo, the Smart car was designed by Q-Pot, a Japanese accessories company, and is not only painted brown but also showcases a pattern that looks like a bar of chocolate. It comes just a few weeks…
2012 Suzuki MR Wagon is the World’s Cutest Box on Wheels
Suzuki has been struggling with its car division in North America, and sales in 2010 were particularly poor. However, in its home market of Japan, the brand does quite well, thanks to tiny run-abouts like this new MR wagon. The MR wagon fits under the kei-class category in Japan, which in English would mean, ultra…
Mitsubishi To Dump Eclipse, Endeavor, Build Global Products
Mitsubishi‘s American plant will transition from making less-than-thrilling cars like the Eclipse and Endeavor SUV to producing vehicles for the global market. The transition will occur in 2014 as part of its new business plan. The vehicles will share a common platform with the Lancer compact car and Outlander crossover. Along with the Eclipse and…
Mitsubishi Colt To Take On Ford Fiesta, Debut In Geneva
The Mitsubishi Colt is one of the oldest nameplates in the compact car market, having been sold across the globe in fairly substantial numbers. While North Americans missed out on the previous incarnation, the Colt was well regarded as a practical and inexpensive subcompact that was also a competent driver’s car. For the next generation…
Detroit 2011: Mazda5 Gets A Badass Makeover
‘ The Mazda5 may be about to get overshadowed by the Ford C-Max, but that doesn’t mean Mazda’s engineers can’t have fun with their venerable but well regarded compact van. Designers at Mazda’s Irvine, California studio were given free reign to design their dream Mazda5, and the vehicle above was the end result. Lowering springs…
Toyota Hangs On To Sales Crown Despite Rough Year
From recalls to unintended acceleration to lawsuits, 2010 was not a good year for Toyota. The seemingly infallible automaker had its reputation for quality and reliability shattered forever – but that didn’t stop the brand from coming out as the sales leader in a few categories. Yet again, the Camry was America’s best selling passenger…
Honda CR-Z JCOTY Edition Is Built For Gloating
While the Honda CR-Z has had only a tepid reception in North America, its home market of Japan seems to be taking well to the controversial hybrid sports car. Hybrids have always been a hit in Japan, and the nation’s automotive journalists recently awarded the CR-Z the title of “Car of the Year”. To celebrate…
Toyota Forecasting 8 Million Units For 2012
Toyota is projecting sales of 8 million units in 2012, according to parts suppliers who have been briefed by the auto maker. The projections do not include units sold by Toyota subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino. The last time Toyota sold such a volume was in 2007, when the company moved 8.42 million vehicles. Toyota expects…
Goldman Sachs: Toyota To Lose Money Through 2013
Analysts at Goldman Sachs’ Japanese arm have a dim forecast for Toyota, projecting an operating loss through the 2013 fiscal year, with Goldman predicting continued sales downturns in the United States, Europe and Japan, which comprise Toyota’s three biggest markets. Toyota sales, hammered hard by recalls earlier in 2010, are not projected to keep pace…
Honda Fit Recalled Over Headlight Defect
143,8003 Honda Fit hatchbacks from the model years 2007 and 2008 are being recalled in North America due to a defect that could cause the low beam headlights to stop working. Plating on the vehicle’s headlight connector has been identified as the culprit, with the automaker stating that it “can become warn after repeated use…
Steve Millen Donates Modified Car To High School Auto Shop
If you’ve ever taken an auto shop class, you’ll remember the shop cars as being anything but desirable. K-Cars, T-Body GM’s and Ford Panthers involved drug related homicides often littered the garage area, while a crusty old teacher instructed you on the finer points of rebuilding a 3-speed automatic transmission. For some lucky kids in Orange County,…
Nissan, Mitsubishi, Expand Business Alliance
Nissan and Mitsubishi announced a new joint venture today, notably involving a minicar project that will see Nissan’s engineering prowess and Mitsubishi’s small car expertise utilized in to give greater market share to both companies in markets outside North America. The first salvo of products will include a Nissan-built van to be sold as a…
40 MPG Subcompacts Not Such A Hit With Consumers
For all the hype surrounding Ford‘s Fiesta subcompact, which is capable of hitting 40 mpg, it looks like subcompacts, especially those than can hit the vaunted number, aren’t selling all that well in the USA. Even though gas prices will almost certainly hit $3 a gallon, customers are still gravitating towards compact cars, according to…
Fuji Speedway Hosts Lexus LFA Challenge at Toyota Motorsports Festival [Video]
Toyota recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of the Toyota Motorsports Festival, and what better way to show off what Toyota Motorsports is all about than to assemble a team of flagship Lexus LFA supercars in various colors and taking them all out to the track at Fuji Speedway? That’s exactly what Toyota did, and we’re…
Honda Jazz Gets CVT, Facelift In Europe
Honda has given its European market Jazz (also known as the Fit to us North Americans) a mild refresh, and confirmed availability of the Jazz Hybrid that debuted at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. A front end re-style drops the drag co-efficient to 0.33, and the 1.2L and 1.4L powerplants get minor reductions in CO2…
Toyota Confirms iQ Will Get Electric Version
Toyota‘s iQ microcar will get a fully electric version in 2011, the Japanese automaker has confirmed. The iQ will come as part of a plan to launch 11 hybrid or electric vehicles by 2012, including a hybrid version of the Yaris hatchback, a plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid and a Prius-based minivan. In a…
Honda Stopping Sales Of Civic In Japan
In a move that would be unthinkable to most North American consumers, Honda will stop selling its ubiquitous Civic in Japan due to non-existant demand for the iconic compact. Japanese have been gravitating towards hybrids, ultra-compact cars and small minivans for some time now, leaving little room for the venerable Civic sedan, an extremely popular…
Honda CR-Z Is Japan’s Car Of The Year For 2010
Honda‘s CR-Z sports hybrid has won the distinction of being voted Japan’s Car of the Year. Honda narrowly missed out on last year’s award when their Insight hybrid was beaten out by the mighty Toyota Prius. Hybrids enjoy a level of popularity in Japan that far exceeds the warm reception that they’ve been given in…
Mazda CEO Plans To Double Sales, Move Upmarket In The United States
Mazda‘s CEO is hoping to double American sales to 400,000 units within the next 5 years, thanks to new fuel-saving technology known as SkyActiv, as well as a push upmarket. The new SkyActiv gasoline and diesel engines, as well as weight saving technology, will help Mazda position their cars at a more premium price point….
BMW M3 Competition Package Announced for Japan
BMW is certainly rolling out a lot of special edition models lately. The Japanese have already seen the BMW X6 Performance Unlimited, while the Australians got the M3 Pure Edition and China got the M3 Tiger Edition. BMW has come back full circle by offering the Japanese market with another special edition vehicle, this time…
Honda Fit Hybrid Now Japan’s Cheapest Gas-Electric Vehicle
We may not be seeing Honda’s 2011 Honda Jazz/Fit hybrid over here in North American any time soon, but it doesn’t mean we won’t uncross our fingers. And now we’re even more excited – that’s because it has launched in Japan for 1.59 million yen ($19,310 U.S.), making it the cheapest gas-electric car available in…
Mitsubishi Puts Delica Minivan Plans On Hold
Mitsubishi‘s lineup in the rest of the world is a pretty far cry from the Outlanders, Eclipses and Galants we’re used to in North America. In foreign markets, cars like the i, Colt and Delica can be had instead of the pulse-slowing fare sold here. Mitsubishi apparently planned on bringing their Delica minivan to our…
2011 Infiniti M To Get Minor Price Bump
Infiniti‘s M37 and M56 sedans, the largest of Infiniti’s 4-door offerings, get a minor price bump for 2011, with the MSRPs rising $250 and $350 respectively. The 2011 M37 and M37x will now retail for $46,500 and $48,650 while the M56 and M56x will cost $58,775 and $61,275. The price increases are fairly standard for…
