japanese cars
Video: Lexus LF-A Revs Its V10 at Japanese Motorsports Expo
Next week in Japan, Lexus will (after a tremendously long wait), officially unveil its new flagship supercar at the Tokyo Auto Show. To help drum up interest, the company decided to give a little demonstration of the Nürburgring race version of the car, to show just what it is capable of. Or, more importantly, what…
Report: Nissan Launches 40th Anniversary Edition 370Z
To celebrate 40 years since the original 240Z landed in North American, Nissan has announced a limited edition 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition model. Starting out as a well-equipped manual-transmission Touring model, this limited edition vehicle also gets the Sport Package, which includes the SynchroRev Match transmission, a front lip spoiler and rear spoiler, Nissan’s impressive…
Report: Next Acura RL to Reassert Its Flagship Position
Acura continues to talk about being a tier-one luxury automaker, but while Honda’s luxury arm keeps to talking the talk we’re not seeing a lot of walking. Recently the folks at Car & Driver had a chat with a few Acura execs during the launch of the new ZDX model – a seemingly niche-market vehicle…
Report: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR Touring Priced from $40,990
Mitsubishi has just released details and pricing on the move civilized and luxurious Lancer Evolution MR Touring model and for the first time ever the base MSRP of a Lancer tops the 40k mark. Starting at $40,990, the EVO MR Touring model gets leather Recaros, added soundproofing, a higher resolution digital display and a moonroof….
Tokyo Preview: Edgy Nissan Roox Makes Cube Look Like a Ball
If you polled the folks in Nissan’s design department to see what their favorite artist is, we have little doubt Picasso would be a popular choice. The cubist designs at Nissan have been popular as of late, but don’t expect to see the new Roox model heading to North America to join its big brother…
Tokyo Preview: Nissan Land Glider Concept A Zero Emissions City Car Solution
Most certainly one of the wildest concept cars set to debut at the Tokyo Auto Show (and that’s saying a lot) is the Nissan Land Glider Concept. The cockpit design is very much a cockpit, looking more like something you might fly off an aircraft carrier than drive around congested urban streets. There is room…
Tokyo Preview: Nissan Leaf Electric Car Will Gets Its Auto Show Time in the Spotlight
While news and photos of the Nissan Leaf have been around for several months now, the electric car will get its official debut at the Tokyo Auto Show on October 21st. Nissan describes its functional five-door, five-seater compact hatchback as having a “high-performance, zero-emission” powertrain. Output from the lithium-ion battery packs is rated at 80kW/280Nm,…
Report: New Nissan Fuga/Infinti M to Debut at Tokyo Auto Show
Nissan has chosen the Tokyo Auto Show to debut the next generation of the company’s top-level Fuga luxury sedan. Sold in North America as the Infinti M, it’s not clear if Nissan plans to offer the same 3.7-liter V6 (M37) and 5.6-liter V8 (M56) engine choices. Nissan will, however, deliver a hybrid model, similar to…
Leaked: Design Sketches of Subaru-Branded Toyobaru Slip Out
Several sketches showing what Subaru’s new compact sports car might look like have been leaked by the folks at AutoCar. The car has become known by the name Toyobaru because of the joint partnership between Toyota and Subaru that lead to the its creation. Earlier this week Toyota unveiled its version of the affordable sports…
Report: Infiniti Confirms Plans for M35 Hybrid in 2012
The 2011 Infiniti M luxury sedan hasn’t even made it’s debut yet and already Nissan’s luxury arm has announced that a hybrid version of the M will be offered. The new model will make use of the Infiniti 3.5-liter V6 engine, along with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack to deliver high levels of…
Report: 2010 Honda Crosstour Interior Images Released
Honda has just released images of the new 2010 Accord Crosstour’s interior and some details about a functional rear storage area. Inside, the new crossover gets a familiar Accord-like cockpit, but with a slightly thicker center console to give a more truck-like feel. As for the cargo area, it certainly looks massive (although no statistics…
Tokyo Preview: Lexus LF-Ch Hybrid Hatchback Concept to Get Japanese Debut
Lexus has announced that along with the world premiere of a new two seater supercar concept, it will show the LF-Ch hybrid hatchback concept for the first time in Japan. Unveiled last month at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the LF-Ch is expected to lead to a production model, in Europe, by 2011. Lexus sees the…
Tokyo Preview: Lexus Confirms Two-Seat Supercar Concept Will Debut at Tokyo Auto Show
***UPDATE*** A video showing the production version LFA has been released, showing the car lapping the Nürburgring. A selection of photos has also leaked. See both below ***UPDATE*** Lexus first showed the LF-A concept at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, back in 2007 and has been incredibly slow about bringing the car…
VIDEO: Toyota FT-86 Concept Makes Video Game Debut in GranTurismo 5
Toyota’s new FT-86 Concept car hasn’t even received its official unveiling at the Tokyo Auto Show and yet its already made its video game debut. Toyota has released a short clip of the FT-86 in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 game. There are plenty of great clips of the stunning new Toyota, and even a…
Tokyo Preview: Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybird Concept to Get Japanese Debut in Tokyo
Officially unveiled last month at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, Toyota is now set to give the Prius plug-in hybrid concept an official unveiling in its native land and in front of a more welcoming audience. Toyota has said that the Prius PHV Concept will be able to travel up to 12 miles on…
Report: Hybrids, Not Electric Vehicles, Are the Future Says Toyota Europe R&D Boss
Hybrid cars and not electric vehicles, are the future of mass market environmentally-responsible transportation, says Toyota Europe’s R&D boss Masato Katsumata. Obviously we would expect any Toyota representative to toe this line, as competitors like Nissan are focusing on the future of electric cars – like the Leaf EV. Speaking at a conference in Cologne,…
Tokyo Preview: Stunning Toyota FT-86 Concept Delivers “Racecar-like” Handling
Until today, if someone asked you what the best looking Toyota from the past decade was, you’d have a tough time thinking something up. As of today, the answer is the FT-86 Concept, which is set to officially debut at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month. The name FT-86 brings together Toyota’s past and…
Breaking: Honda to Close European Design Studio
Honda apparently doesn’t think much for European designs. The Japanese automaker has just announced that it will close its European design studio, located in Offenbach, near Frankfurt, Germany. This is the latest cost cutting measure by Honda to reduce operational losses. The R&D center is responsible for design of European Honda models as well as…
Tokyo Preview: Suzuki SX4-FCV Hydrogen Fuel Cell Concept
Along with a plug-in hybrid version of the Swift, Suzuki is planning to unveil a hydrogen fuel cell-powered SX4 concept model at the Tokyo Auto Show later this month. Under the theme “Small cars, big future,” Suzuki will show the SX4-FCV and several other alternative fuel vehicles. This particular vehicle is powered by a fuel…
Tokyo Preview: Suzuki Swift Plug-In Hybrid Concept
Suzuki is looking to take its small car expertise to new heights (and new distances) by unveiling a new plug-in hybrid concept at the Tokyo Auto Show in just a few weeks. Based on the current Swift platform that is sold in both Japan and Europe, this PHEV uses a 658 cc gasoline engine (0.7-liters),…
Report: Nissan Planning Next-Gen R36 GT-R for 2013
Nissan’s product planning head has made known plans to keep the GT-R legacy alive with an all-new R36 version of the car expected to debut by at least 2013. Global product boss Andy Palmer made the comments to the folks at PistonHeads, during a recent visit to Nissan’s Nürburgring Technical Center this week. Palmer cited…
Report: Mazda To Raise $1.1 Billion for Hybird Research
Mazda has announced plans to raise as much as $1.1 billion in capital to invest in hybrid technologies for future vehicles. The news comes roughly 8 months after the automaker laid out plans to improve the overall fuel economy of its vehicles through advancements to gasoline and diesel engines, as well as transmission improvements. Many…
SEMA Preview: Scion Teases Trio of Wild Show Cars
Along with three xB Tuner Challenge Cars, Scion will be bringing a trio of additional custom creations to the 2009 SEMA Show. The three cars include a tC, xB and xD, created by Cartel Customs, Five Axis Design and 0-60 Magazine. First up is the Cartel Customs tC,which promises to follow in the tread patterns…
Report: Scion Previews xB Tuner Challenge Cars for SEMA
At this year’s SEMA Show Scion will once again be showcasing the creative energies of three companies in its Tuner Car Challenge. Like last year, the Scion xB is the canvas of choice, for the tuners, artists and marketing experts to express themselves. This year, the list of those involved includes Bowls LA (an upscale…
