Japan


UPDATE: U.S. bound Mitsubishi Colt will be an all-new global small car

Yesterday, we reported that Mitsubishi is bringing its small, B-segment Colt to our shores. And that's true, mostly. What we've learned between now and then is that Mitsu isn't bringing over the current Colt, but rather the replacement for the current Colt, i.e. the next Colt. In fact, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko said as much during last month's Tokyo Motor Show. Here's what he told Automotive News: "Mitsubishi will follow that with a global small car in 2012. That car will be smaller than the Colt, which is sold in ... Read more →

Mitsubishi's new sub-CUV will be called RVR in Japan... what will it be called when it hits the US? Dan Roth

Mitsubishi is dusting off and old name for its new compact crossover. The new RVR that will be released in Japan next spring is nothing like past Mitsus wearing the moniker, a model we knew here ...

BREAKING: Mitsubishi Colt is coming to America Jonny Lieberman

Buried deep within Mitsubishi's (re)presentation of its PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid concept from the Tokyo Motor Show was a line about a global small car that Mitsubishi will be bringing to the US in ...

How do you spell Hyundai's Kryptonite? J-D-M Dan Roth

As Hyundai continues to pull itself up by its bootstraps, the company is moving decisively and picking up share around the globe. However, one key market continues to be so problematic for the ...

Nissan's self-healing Scratch Shield paint to be applied to mobile phones Jonathon Ramsey

A while back, Nissan scientists helped to develop a paint clearcoat called Scratch Shield that can self-repair light scratches overnight or over the course of a week. Now the Japanese automaker ...

Rumormill: Toyota MR2 to be reborn with hybrid power 10 days ago on Autoblog

Tell us if this sounds familiar: Hybrids will kill the driver-oriented sportscar. It's the line taken by no small share of enthusiasts, and some of them are among us here at Autoblog. But the skeptics were silenced – or temporarily hushed, at least – when Honda took the wraps off of ...

Return of Paperboy? Honda unveils Bicycle Simulator 13 days ago on Autoblog

You remember Nintendo's Paperboy, right? Back in Triassic era of videogames, you had to deliver the day's print to the right house while not getting run over by a car or taken out by a tire. Not exactly the most direct way to learn bicycle safety, but it was fun. A more efficient way to stay ...

First Drive: 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT is a CUV we can live with 16 days ago on Autoblog

Mitsubishi presented its best and brightest rides for us to drive over the course of an eight-hour event in the parched desert oasis of Palm Springs, CA. Everything from a tuned, 290-hp Lancer Sportback Ralliart to an electric i MiEV. And drive them we did. We rocketed up winding mountain roads ...

Rumormill: Subaru version of Toyota FT-86 to be bigger, get substantially more power, AWD 18 days ago on Autoblog

While most sports car fans everywhere are waiting with bated breath for the new Toyota FT-86 to arrive from the Land of the Rising Sun, some of us are a little bit more excited about the car's Subaru cousin. Why is that, especially considering that the FT-86 appears to be kinda just what the ...

REPORT: Nissan continues work on GT-R SpecM 19 days ago on Autoblog

The 2009 Tokyo Motor Show has come and gone, and despite rumors leading up to the event, Nissan never unveiled a SpecM version of the GT-R. However, a new report from Japan says that work continues on the softened, marginally up-market super coupe, although there's no word when we'll finally see ...

New SuperGT contender from Honda in the works? 20 days ago on Autoblog

When we sat down with a few Honda execs at SEMA, we were told to "watch out for something big" from the automaker's motorsports efforts in Japan early next year. It didn't take much to deduce what they were hinting at: Honda plans to fill the vacuum left by the recently departed NSX-R in SuperGT ...

SEMA 2009: Meet the world's most desirable Lexus RX450h by Branew 1 month ago on Autoblog

Let me be blunt: I don't like luxury crossovers. At all. It's a niche with no appeal to me whatsoever. Not a car, not a truck – just a fat sedan jacked up on stilts to woo trophy wives with fancy badges and reassure soccer mammas that their children are "safe." And the Lexus RX gets the ...

SEMA 2009: Custom Suzuki Kizashi models impress, upset 1 month ago on Autoblog

We totally dig the new 2010 Suzuki Kizashi. It's a bold step forward for Suzuki and (hopefully) a harbinger of great things to come, which also happens to be what "Kizashi" means. However, the looks are a little, well... not outstanding. Not that it's particularly bad-looking (it ain't), but ...

SEMA 2009: Toyota Tacoma All-Terrain Gamer (ATG) takes gaming to illogical conclusions 1 month ago on Autoblog

It's said that one hundred monkeys typing for eternity will eventually bang out the complete works of William Shakespeare. However, they will also come up with a whole bunch of other, um... stuff. Including the design brief for this thing. Yes friends, you are looking at a pickup truck designed ...

SEMA 2009: Toyota Tundra Hot Rod kinda cool misses the bullseye 1 month ago on Autoblog

Yeah... Toyota is painting this one as a what-would-happen if Tundras existed back during the hot rodding heyday of the 1950s. We'll let you draw your own conclusions about that. However, we would like to take this opportunity to point out that the grill would have been chrome, not matte. And ...

SEMA Preview: Subaru bringing tuned STI, Legacy and 1969 360 van 1 month ago on Autoblog

SEMA is just around the corner and aside from the inevitable Camaro riot that will be taking place in the convention center's parking lot, many auto folks are showing up with tuned rides. Like, for instance, Subaru. SPT is Subaru's in house tuning division and they're cooking up three nifty cars ...

REPORT: Convertible Toyobaru FT-86 in the works 1 month ago on Autoblog

In news that will only shock those that haven't been paying attention, Toyota has reportedly confirmed that if the market demands it, there will be a convertible version of the new FT-86. Though Toyota still hasn't settled on a name for the upcoming budget rear-drive sports car, the announcement ...

Mitsubishi sketches out Concept-cX-influenced compact crossover for 2010 1 month ago on Autoblog

It's been two years since Mitsubishi took the wraps off its Concept-cX crossover at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, but before we see the production version at next year's Geneva Motor Show, Mitsubishi has released a teaser sketch of its all-new compact CUV. Aimed at competing with segment ...

Rendered Speculation: JDM rumormill reports Subaru's FT-86 will get turbo power, AWD 1 month ago on Autoblog

The crew from Japan's BestCar magazine have apparently taken the initial pics of the Toyota FT-86 concept and grafted a unique nose, rear fascia and wheels onto ToMoCo's new sports coupe, and while the result is less-than-fetching, the accompanying report offers a pseudo-confirmation of what's ...

Autoblog Podcast #150 - Tokyo Motor Show Edition 1 month ago on Autoblog

It's Episode #150 of the Autoblog Podcast, and we raided the crypt to give you your buck-and-a-half's worth. Former podcast staples John Neff and Chris Paukert have been unearthed and join Chris Shunk, Sam Abuelsamid, and Dan Roth for this milestone occasion. A review of the Tokyo Motor ...

Accord Crosstour, JDM Odyssey, or JDM Accord Tourer - Which would have been your pick? 1 month ago on Autoblog

While we were in Japan last week for the Tokyo Motor Show, at least two American Honda officials expressed interest in bringing the automaker's Fit-based Freed MPV to the U.S. market. However, as we strolled the streets of Tokyo's Ginza district, another thought occurred to us when a JDM Odyssey ...

VIDEO: Best Drift Ever? Reverse-entry slide has JDM judges all aflutter 1 month ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/other_sports/Best_Drift_Ever_Reverse_entry_slide_has_judges_aflutter'; You know the famous soccer announcer (football to you internationals), Andrés Cantor, who screams "Goooooaaaallllll" after a score? A bit of performance genius has had some Japanese drift ...

Honda Racing finally puts NSX out to pasture as SuperGT tweaks regs 1 month ago on Autoblog

The Honda/Acura NSX has had a good run. The mid-engine supercar developed with input from the legendary Ayrton Senna first hit the market in 1990 and didn't cease production until 2005, giving it one of the longest production runs in the business. But even after Honda stopped selling the NSX, it ...

Tokyo 2009: Toyota Prius claims Japan Car of the Year title 1 month ago on Autoblog

For the past 30 years, Japan has declared a car of the year, an award given to newly released or redesigned vehicles released from November 1st of the previous year to October 1st of the current year. More than 60 jurors composed of Japanese journalists receive an allocation of votes, and the ...

Tokyo 2009: Autoblog samples quirky Honda U3-X unicycle and other assist devices 1 month ago on Autoblog

If there is one thing humans love, it's personal mobility. After all, what other species regularly harness other creatures for the sole purpose of getting around. The auto industry is all about personal mobility. Since the dawn of the car in the late 19th century, it has been adopted world-wide ...

VIDEO: Nissan Fuga officially, silently takes to the road 1 month ago on Autoblog

You will soon be watching video of the Nissan Fuga running around a glorious rode somewhere empty and scenic. What's a Fuga? Well, here in the United States we'd call the Fuga the 2011 Infiniti M with tiny wheels. Regardless, the video gives you a 98% complete glimpse of what the new 5-Series ...

The Lexus LFA may cost $375k, but the paper one is free 1 month ago on Autoblog

Many people are into model cars. And... origami. Tangrams, too – which are sort of a two-dimensional, reusable form of origami. What are we on about here, why are we discussing folding paper and models? Funny you should ask. See, the all new Lexus LFA went ahead and got revealed the other ...

Tokyo 2009: Subaru Legacy B4 GT300 is pure JDM awesomeness 1 month ago on Autoblog

Our jaws literally dropped when we spotted this car in the Subaru booth here at the Tokyo Motor Show. The concoction of carbon fiber spoilers, wings and widened fenders seen here is the Legacy B4 GT300 racecar that is set to compete in Japan's Super GT series next year. The car actually made ...

Tokyo 2009: Mazda RX-500 still awesome nearly 40 years later 1 month ago on Autoblog

One of the coolest concept cars here at the Tokyo Motor Show isn't even new. In fact, it's almost forty years old. Originally displayed at the Tokyo show in 1970, this Mazda RX-500 Concept features styling similar to the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO Breadvan, gullwing doors that swing forward, and ...

Tokyo 2009: Rear-wheel drive Toyota Mark X had us at "mite-suppressing agent" 1 month ago on Autoblog

Remember back when Toyota actually offered rear-wheel drive cars? Sure, a production version of the FT-86 concept is on the way, and yes, you can get a Toyota-branded truck or plump for a Lexus that routes its power out back – but when was the last time Americans could get a proper ...

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu's Deca Deca concept is the most popular "super box" in the world 1 month ago on Autoblog

Daihatsu has a way with words: the company calls its Deca Deca concept a "super box," and we'll call it a super super box. A funky little piece of chunk, the Deca Deca has a flat floor – and a flat everything else -- along with pillarless doors that render the interior absolutely ...

Tokyo 2009: Nissan Fuga appears more 'M'pressive 1 month ago on Autoblog

We've always thought that Infiniti's current M35/M45 sedan deserved greater consideration from American consumers than it has typically received. With a strong VQ-series powerplant and entertaining rear-wheel drive handling, there has always been a lot to like from behind the wheel, but its ...

Tokyo 2009: 2010 Toyota Sai hybrid looks suspiciously familiar 1 month ago on Autoblog

Toyota has rolled out its new Sai hybrid here at the Tokyo Motor Show, and if it looks familiar, that's because you've probably seen something very similar wearing "Lexus" and "HS250h" badges. The overall aesthetic of the Sai is very similar to that of its premium sibling, but it features ...

VIDEO: Japanese market Gran Turismo PSP commercial is fantastic and revolting 1 month ago on Autoblog

Don't worry, this video is totally safe for work. But we're saying revolting because we can remember back years ago we watched Clint Eastwood's Pink Cadillac with a friend's father who happened to restore muscle cars for a living. Anywho, as you might imagine the 1959 Cadillac gets pretty dinged ...

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu Tanto Exe and Tanto Exe Custom are boxy and... custom boxy 1 month ago on Autoblog

A "tanto" is a short Japanese sword or dagger, which means the only thing it has in common with the Daihatsu Tanto Exe and Tanto Exe Custom is the descriptor "short" and the additional epithet, "light." Both the Tanto Exe and Exe Custom are "lighter and more fuel efficient versions of the ...

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu e:S plays small ball 1 month ago on Autoblog

Daihatsu didn't just bring out its big little guns, it had a couple of tiny guns there as well, such as this, the Volvo C30-esque e:S. Called "a new eco-car that reveals the future role of mini vehicles," it focuses earnestly on environmental impact and "embodies the roles that mini vehicles ...

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Autoblog Podcast #155: 'Twas the night before LA...

Chris, Dan, and Editor Paukert go over some LA Preview action and quietly whoop it up on the podcast.

 
 

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