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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Japan , Supercars , Nissan , Tokyo Auto Salon , Special/Limited Editions Click above for a high-res gallery of the Nissan GT-R SpecV Nissan's press release on the GT-R SpecV left a lot of unanswered questions, particularly the geeky tidbits that we thrive on. So with the help of our friends at the GTRBlog , who were on hand for the unveiling in Japan, and a few of our super-secret sources abroad, we were able to scrounge up some of the more salient details on Nissan's upgraded Godzilla. Gallery: Nissan GT-R SpecV Live Gallery: Nissan GT-R SpecV Continue reading Nissan GT-R SpecV: Details, live images and video Nissan GT-R SpecV: Details, live images and video originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Tuners , Sports/GTs , Japan , Supercars , Nissan , Tokyo Auto Salon , Special/Limited Editions Click above for a high-res gallery of the Nissan GT-R SpecV After nearly a year of speculation and spy shots, it's official: the Nissan GT-R SpecV has arrived. The limited edition GT-R is a subtle evolution of the super coupe that's set the world on fire after its introduction last year, and Nissan claims that it offers race car-levels of performance in a street-legal vehicle. The body mods consist of a carbon fiber rear spoiler, grille and brake ducts, along with an exclusive Ultimate Black Opal paint job. On the inside, a set of carbon fiber Recaro buckets are fitted up front, while the rear seats have been nixed to save a few pounds. Carbon fiber also adorns the center storage box, instrument panel and replaces the majority of the interior trim. The only substantive engine modification is a new high gear boost controller that increases the amount of compressed oxygen entering...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Japan , Honda , Tokyo Auto Salon Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Sports Modulo S2000 Concept and friends Detroit's not the only auto show kicking off on January 11. The annual Tokyo Auto Salon (think "Japanese SEMA") also kicks off this Sunday, and Honda has announced the vehicle lineup it'll display at Makuhari Messe. The two headliners are the Sports Modulo S2000 and Fit concepts. The former is a somewhat ghastly take on Honda's two-seat sports car, with a face that belongs in an aquarium and side cladding straight from a '90s Pontiac stylist's wildest fantasies. Inside, the Sports Modulo S2000 Concept is actually very nice, with swanky brown leather adorning a variety of surfaces. It still doesn't atone for that clock-stoppingly ugly body kit, though. Read on for some brief commentary on a pair of other concepts headed to the show, and check out the gallery below for the complete model rundown. Gallery: Honda at Tokyo...
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Filed under: Japan , Plants/Manufacturing , Toyota Toyota execs must think they're living in the Bizarro World. Think about it: operating losses , plunging sales -- these were terms once reserved for its lowly competitors. Not anymore. Now, Toyota's feeling the sting of a down market along with everyone else and is taking steps to try and stop the bleeding. An already-planned 3-day production freeze this month at all of Toyota's Japanese manufacturing plants has now swelled to include 11 more days in February and March. Toyota's hoping to scale back inventories in the face of flagging car sales everywhere. Cue the R.E.M ... [Source: Reuters , AFP ] Toyota plans 11-day plant shutdown in Japan originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Tuners , Sports/GTs , Japan , Nissan Click above for a gallery of the Branew 2009 Nissan 370Z Nissan sportscars - the Z included - are a popular base for tuners, so it should come as no surprise that, with the newly revised 370Z just revealed, the JDM aftermarket is already lining up with their range of extras. Next up to bat is Branew, the Japanese tuner whose GT-R we spotted at SEMA wearing giant 23-inch rims. The Branew 370Z offers a remapped ECU, tightened suspension and upgraded brakes, as well as an aero package complete with front spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser and wing. A variety of wheel options in various unreasonable sizes are also expected to be offered when Branew unveils the full package in January at the Tokyo Auto Salon. In the meantime, you can check out the pair of images in the gallery below. Gallery: Branew Nissan 370Z [Source: CarScoop via WCF] Branew to unveil tuner kit for new Nissan 370Z originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Dec...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Japan , Lifestyle Japan's car sales are declining, just like they are in most countries. But unlike other markets, auto sales in Japan won't be recovering anytime soon. The sales outlook is so bleak, in fact, that the Japanese automakers even have a word for it: "kuruma banare," or "demotorization." While it may sound more like "kuruma bizarre" to us car-obsessed types, kids in Japan are much more interested in the latest electronic gadgetry than they are with cars, and many have no intention on ever owning an automobile. Early predictions are that 4.86 million new cars will be sold in Japan in 2009, which would mark the first time in three decades that sales have sunk below five million. To help keep traffic flowing inside showrooms, dealerships have taken up rather interesting tactics. For instance, one Honda dealership is now catering towards dog owners, since public transportation options are limited for large animals....
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Filed under: Economy , Japan , Hatchbacks , Honda Click above for a gallery of the Honda Zest Spark Honda apparently decided that its home-market Zest Sports wasn't zesty enough. Away it went to the plastic surgeon for a freshened look with more flavor. The result is the Zest Spark. Instead of basically carrying over the base Zest's vanilla look up front, the Spark gets a new fascia with a V-shaped grille/lights combo hovering above the car's big, flat bumper. 660cc NA and turbo kei-spec engines reside underhood. Inside, it's basic kei car stuff, with seating for five that can be arranged in an optimal date night configuration . Yeah it's small, but it's practical , see? Gallery: Honda Zest Spark [Source: Honda via NihonCar ] Japan: Honda Zest gets extra Spark originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Honda , Toyota Honda and Toyota may not be joining their colleagues at Nissan, Mitsubishi and Suzuki in canceling their participation in this year's Detroit Auto Show , but they still won't be laying on the glitz and glamor that have become the mainstay of past events. For starters, both Honda's and Toyota's CEOs won't be attending, even though the market is vital to their success. Beyond that, neither will be holding press conferences to unveil their new hybrids, simply placing the vehicles on their show stands and waiting for questions. No parties, either, as they acknowledge the economic state of the industry leaves little to celebrate this year. The automakers didn't give any specific reasons for their decision to scale things back, but sources suggest that the move was made out of deference to the difficulties faced by their rivals in Detroit. [Source: The Detroit News | Image: Junko Kimura/Getty] Japanese CEOs sitting out Detroit...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Sports/GTs , Japan , Supercars , Nissan Click above for a high-res gallery of the Nissan GT-R FIA-GT1 Japan's Auto Sport magazine has procured a handful of shots and some preliminary specs on the FIA-GT1-ready Nissan GT-R , and judging by the modifications and performance stats, Nissan is planning an all-out assault on the series and a possible campaign at LeMans. In order to get the GT-R up to snuff, NISMO has fitted the super coupe with a full body kit, GT-style wing, plexiglass windows, upgraded brakes, wheels and ducting, along with a hood reminiscent of the unit fitted on the SuperGT GT500 class GT-R. Informed speculation says that Nissan has ditched the twin-turbo'd 3.8-liter V6 in favor of a V8, possibly the 4.5-liter VK45DE used on the SuperGT racer. The Nissan GT-R LM is rumored to be putting out 542 hp and 448 lb-ft of torque with a curb weight of 3,417 pounds and a price tag somewhere in the ballpark of 18,000,000 yen, or just under $200k US...
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Filed under: Etc. , Japan , Subaru , Lifestyle Subaru has decided to issue a 99-edition run of mountain bikes under its own corporate banner called the Subaru XB steel hardtail. If there's any automaker for which such a move fits, it is Subaru (has anyone even seen a Porsche or Mercedes mountain bike in the wild?). And it's not the first time a Japanese car concern has jumped into the bicycle biz: Bridgestone had a seriously good range of road and mountain bikes in the '80s and '90s. However, Subaru's effort will be outsourced, built-to-order, and expensive. The hardtail chromoly steel steeds will run you $3,880. For that price - even for a limited edition with decent kit - we aren't sure why anyone would opt for it over a fully-suspended Ellsworth or Ventana for the same money. [Source: Bike Radar ] Subaru getting into bicycle business originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 24 Dec 2008 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email...
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Filed under: Japan , Subaru , UK In this installment of "As the Yen Skyrockets," Autocar is reporting that the introduction of the long-awaited Subaru Impreza diesel has been delayed indefinitely due to unfavorable exchange rates. A source inside International Motors, the firm that imports Subarus into the UK, told Autocar , "At the current rate we would have to charge vastly more than we can justify for the diesel Impreza if we were to make a profit. As a result we can't guarantee when the car will go on sale as we can't predict when the economy will change." Both Toyota and Honda are facing the same problem, with Honda CEO Takeo Fukui going so far as to threaten moving Honda's headquarters outside of Japan . Analysts predict that the yen could begin to sink in the coming weeks, but if the market doesn't correct itself, the Japanese government might have to intervene and begin devaluing its currency. [Source: Autocar ] Subaru Impreza diesel delayed for...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Japan , Honda , Earnings/Financials Corporate posturing or not, Honda's Takeo Fukui made his opinions perfectly clear regarding the Japanese government's recent lack of currency manipulation. Fukui, CEO of Honda Motor Co., suggested that the yen's rise in value relative to the currency in the United States and Europe is causing major damage to the automaker, and he's willing to take drastic measures to stop the hurt, including relocating the automaker's corporate headquarters to another country. Other possible actions include a major reduction in workforce, including the type of permanent lay-offs that the automaker has typically avoided in the past, as well as moving more production out of Japan and into overseas markets. Fukui might get exactly what he wishes for, as many economists are predicting that the yen will sink in value in relation to the dollar within the next few days. If not, many, like Fukui, are calling on the Japanese...
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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , Japan , Lifestyle Outside of a Terry Gilliam film, where else can you see a used car blessing ceremony, a city of one million people with 535 different public bus routes, roadblocks set up by car mechanics, and kids dressed in zebra suits patrolling crosswalks? Bolivia, that's where. The South American nation, attempting to halt an explosion of automobile buying that's clogging their limited road network, has banned importing used cars more than five years old. The president of Bolivia issued the ban to halt the tide of right-hand-drive cars coming in from Japan. The cars are more reliable than what was on offer before, and so cheap that Bolivians have been buying them up, painting "Taxi" on the sides, only to sit on traffic-choked roads. Shutting down the import trade brings Bolivia more in line with its South American neighbors, and it could open the roads up a bit as well and curb air pollution issues. The mechanics who convert...
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Filed under: Sports/GTs , Japan , Subaru , Toyota , Rumormill The rumors of the sports car that Toyota and Subaru were working on have been replaced by rumors that the car has been put on hold. Earlier news had posited a rear-wheel-drive sports car with "wonderful style," based on the current Subaru Legacy platform, with a boxer engine putting out around 200 hp through a six-speed manual. Originally due in 2011, now, according to Nikkei , the car has been pushed back to at least 2012. If things get worse before they get better, we have a feeling that 2012 will also come and go without Toyota fielding another dedicated sports car entrant. So move along, folks, there's nothing to see here, please return to your Camrys and cue up Queen: another one bites the dust... [Source: Bloomberg ] Report: Toyobaru delayed until 2012 or later originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Tuners , Japan , Mazda , Tokyo Auto Salon Click above for a high-res image of the Mazda RX-8 Circuit Trial Traditionally, Mazda has a large presence at the Tokyo Auto Salon , and the 2009 show won't be any different. Mazda will have 13 vehicles on hand in January to showcase the automaker's continued commitment to its "zoom-zoom" philosophy, along with concepts carrying the theme (and we quote) "Driving-oriented environmental technologies for endless driving pleasure." Mkay. Headlining the show will be three "Circuit Trial" models, including an RX-8, Demio and Atenza (Mazda6), along with the all-new Mazda Roadster (MX-5) kitted out in NR-A trim and packing Bilstein dampers along with other race-ready parts. Mazda hasn't released any details on what the Circuit Trial models will consist of, but its safe to assume that reworked suspensions, brakes, fascias and engine components will be part of the package. The other featured...
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