Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japan. Show all posts

Drift Ahoy! 11 Minutes of Non-Stop Slide…show



In Japan, drifting is more than a hobby; it's a way of life. If you enjoy watching professional drivers mastering the technique of going slideways in an unmatched display of choreographed drifting, then just hop over the jump to check out this 11-minute-long video shot during the Kansai All Star Drift GP event in mid-August.

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TRD Introduces Lexus IS F Circuit Club Sports Package Inspired by Last Year's Concept



It's been over a year since Lexus unveiled the conceptual IS F Circuit Club Sport (CCS for short) at the 2010 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon, but Toyota's TRD division has not forgotten about the prototype model.

TRD has just made available to the public an assortment of performance and styling accessories for the latest IS-F sports saloon, all inspired by the CCS concept .

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In the Spotlight: How to Overkill a Ferrari 458 Italia



Electric lamps are so passé these days. The way of the future is LEDs or Light-emitting diodes that can be found just about everywhere. Lately, LEDs have taken the automotive industry by storm with carmakers offering them either optionally or standard on most of their models.

But it’s not only regular carmakers that have adopted the new lighting technology; so has the tuning industry which discovered a new toy to attract consumers. The results, as you can see from this example of a Ferrari 458 Italia slathered in LEDs, aren’t always graceful. Video follows after the break.

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Kawasaki ZX-770R Concept: The Japanese Antidote to the KTM X-BOW



If KTM could pull it off with the X-BOW, then why couldn't any other motorcycle maker take the leap and venture into the automotive business with a special lightweight sports car? Though it is a simple question, (obviously) the answer is far more complex than it seems at a first glance.

But in the fantasy land of designers, there are no restrictions or limits, only a desire to create. And for Dutch designer Sabino Leerentveld, who we came to know through his Aston Martin V12 and BMW Nazca Homage prototypes, the answer to the previous question is the Kawasaki ZX-770R Concept.

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Video: Asian Car and Motorcycle Accidents Compilation



As most motorists are already aware of, there are many ways to get into an accident, be it your fault or another driver's error.

In the video after the jump, a Youtube user compiled a 7-minute-long clip with all sorts and types of automobile and motorcycle related incidents that allegedly took place in numerous countries of Asia (though understandably, there's no way of ratifying this claim for each and every crashe seen in the clip).

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Honda to Invest $800 Million in New Mexico Plant



Honda announced today that it will invest $800 million to build a new assembly plant in Mexico. The factory, which is expected to be operational in 2014, will employ around 3,200 workers producing up to 200,000 vehicles per year. Read more »

Is this the JDM 2012 Toyota Camry?



We've seen official teaser shots and unofficial video footage of the next generation of the 2012 Toyota Camry that give us a rough idea of what the North American market version will look like when it arrives in showrooms later this year,

However, the USA and Canada aren’t the only markets expecting the new Camry. So is the Asia Pacific region, albeit in a slightly modified form.

Now, thanks to a forum member of VW Vortex we have what appears to be scans from an unnamed magazine allegedly featuring brochure shots of the Japanese domestic market [JDM] 2012 Toyota Camry.

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Report: Honda Threatened by the Rise of the Koreans



If there is one Japanese company that can lay claim to having a reputation for innovation and advanced engineering, it is Honda.

It is a reputation built over more than 30 years, starting from the first generation of the Civic in the ‘70s and continuing throughout the years with novelties such as VTEC, the futuristic first generation Insight hybrid back in 1999, the S2000's high-revving 120HP-per-liter engine, the first practical supercar, the NSX – and the list goes on.

However, something seems to have changed, and not for the better.

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GM is World’s Number One Automaker, Toyota Drops to 3rd Place behind VW


Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles.

As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to General Motors, which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the Volkswagen Group which sold 4.13 million units worldwide.

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Revised Mazda2 First-Month Sales in Japan Exceed Initial Target by More than 100%


Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being available in Japan have far exceeded their initial target. Specifically, from June 30, when the Demio became available, until July 31, orders have reached 13,500 units, more than double Mazda’s initial estimate of 6,000. Read more »

New JDM Honda CR-Z "α Black Label" with Limited Edition…Yellow Hue


For some automakers such as Porsche and BMW, a black edition version of one of their cars means everything is finished in black, for others including Mazda and Holden, it's more like a secondary trim color.

Honda's CR-Z "α Black Label" ("Alpha Black Label") can be classed in the second category as the Japanese market only edition of the hybrid sports coupe justifies its name only through the color choices inside and to a lesser extent, the darker shade of the alloy wheels.

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Toyota’s Passenger Car Sales in Japan Down 43 Percent in the First Half of 2011


The two natural disasters that hit Japan on March 11, the 8.9 offshore earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami that devastated the country and took many human lives, has also hit hard production and sales of Japanese car manufacturers.

Toyota said on Monday that its domestic passenger car production for the first half of 2011 dropped by 38% to 947,090 units and its overseas production by 11.7% to 1,923,408 units compared to the same period in 2010 units due to the lack of parts.

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Toyota to Use Prius Hybrids to Supply Household Appliances with Electricity!


As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. In Japan’s case, the devastating earthquake in March and the subsequent damages to the country’s infrastructure put the spotlight on Toyota’s Estima Hybrid minivan that features a system allowing the supply of auxiliary electricity to power household appliances.

The minivan’s owners were extremely satisfied with the system, which effectively turns the hybrid system into an electric generator that runs on gasoline, claiming that it was invaluable during the extended blackouts in Japan.

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2012 Toyota Fortuner: SUV Version of Facelifted HiLux Makes Asian Debut


After last week’s presentation of the redesigned 2012 HiLux in Europe, Toyota went ahead and introduced the Asian market version of the pickup truck, called HiLux Vigo in Thailand, as well its SUV sibling, the seven-passenger Fortuner.

Both the HiLux Vigo and Fortuner sport the same styling revisions with their European counterpart including the new front end with the chromed out, razor edge grille, new alloy wheel options, and interior refinements such as the redesigned instrument panel plus trim and equipment updates.

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Über Rare Porsche 911 GT1 Straßenversion up for Grabs


It might not be the prettiest Porsche to look at, but the 911 GT1 Straßenversion is without doubt one of the most rare and radical street legal 911s ever to leave the Stuttgart firm’s factory.

You see, the 911 GT1 Straßenversion is the fully road-legal version of Porsche’s 1997 GT1 race car, While based on the 993, it features many modifications including a bespoke carbon-fiber body made to improve aerodynamics and lower the car's weight, and a detuned version of the competition model’s turbocharged flat-six engine delivering some 540 horses.

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Rising Yen won’t Hurt Nissan’s Sales, says Ghosn


Nissan CEO, Carlos Ghosn, has predicted that Japan’s second biggest carmaker will achieve its sales targets, despite the yen’s 9.6% climb over the US dollar in the past year. However Ghosn admitted that the strength of the Yen may cause problems: “The high yen is definitely a headwind. What I worry about is not just Nissan, but Japanese manufacturers losing their motivation to maintain production in Japan”. Read more »

The Price of Parking: Colliers’ Releases Results of 2011 Global Survey


The results of Colliers International’s 2011 Parking Rate Survey are in for the U.S., Canada and the rest of the world, and there are few surprises.

The U.S. national median monthly parking rate is US$155.22, with the highest being midtown Manhattan at US$541 and Renoa at US$45 the cheapest. In Canada, Calgary topped out at US$486 followed by Toronto at $342 USD and Montreal at $305 USD.

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Toyota and Honda want to Win Back Sales Share from Hyundai Sonata with New Models


Not too long ago, if someone told you that a South Korean model would challenge America’s best selling sedan, the Toyota Camry, you would have probably laughed in his or her face.

Needless to say, a lot has changed over the past few years with Hyundai and in particular its latest Sonata sedan, not only challenging, but this past May even surpassing the Camry in U.S. sales for the first time in history.

Of course, the fact that Toyota’s production capabilities were seriously affected by the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan, played a significant role in Hyundai’s accomplishment.

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CNN Says Toyota Prius Plug-in will Top Chevy Volt, 12 Months before the Former Goes On Sale


If you are a GM diehard or a Chevy Volt fanboy, I suggest you cover your ears and start humming loudly to yourselves. CNN Money recently featured an article from Fortune magazine’s Motorworld declaring the upcoming Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid a better buy and a better car than Chevy’s range-extended electric vehicle. Shock, gasp, horror, blasphemy etc.

To quote Motorworld senior editor Alex Taylor III: “[The Prius Plug-in is] more efficient and less expensive than the Volt, and Toyota actually stands the possibility of making a profit on it -- something General Motors concedes it can't do with the Volt.”

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Toyota Says Prius US Sales Will Outperform 2010 despite Earthquake Setback


In spite of the earthquake and Tsunami that devastated Japan last March and which deeply affected the country’s automobile production capabilities, Toyota remains confident that US sales of the Prius will outperform those of 2010.

The lack of inventory, with many dealers reporting as little as one day’s worth of Prius cars on their lots, led to a whopping 61% drop in July sales in the US, which is the lowest since 2004. And that’s significant because the US accounts for almost half of the all Prius models sold worldwide, which makes it Toyota’s most important market for its compact hybrid.

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