***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...
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[vs-jwplayer movieid=”8QZacNDd6vI” width=”560″ height=”340″ autoplay=”0″] 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...
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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...
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Toyota will take the wraps off an updated version of its FT-EV electric car at the Tokyo Auto Show in just a few weeks. Called the FT-EV II, the car is designed for urban use with a total range of 90 km (56 miles) and a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). This news...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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),...
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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...
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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...
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Japanese auto manufacturers consider Korea’s Hyundai to be their biggest threat, according to a report by The Associated Press. As automakers around the world struggle to survive the weakened economy and up-and-coming Chinese companies seek to make a name for themselves, Hyundai has emerged as a major player. “Hyundai is awesome,” Honda Motor Co. chief...
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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...
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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...
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At a news conference in Tokyo, Toyota’s new President Akio Toyoda, said that Japan’s largest automaker has now slipped into the fourth (out of five) stages of corporate decline. Citing author Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall, Toyoda regretfully announced that Toyota had entered the stage called “grasping for salvation.” The previous three stages are...
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After releasing the limited edition Nissan GT-R SpecV (pictured above) last year, rumors of a more comfort-oriented SpecM model have surfaced. Those rumors have now reportedly been confirmed by GT-R project chief Kazutoshi Mizuno, when he ran into the folks from PistonHeads at Nissan’s Nürburgring test facility. The SpecM edition is geared slightly more towards...
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Unlike the past two years, Lexus will have a more low-key presence at the SEMA Show for 2009. In the past, Toyota’s luxury division had significant outdoor exhibits, centered mostly around the IS and IS-F performance sedans. Last year the automaker distributed four of its IS-F sedans to four different companies (Fox Marketing/Artisan Performance, MotorworldHype,...
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If you though Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV electric city car was both silly looking and impractical, perhaps the i-MiEV Cargo is more up your alley? Or perhaps not. With significantly more usable space, along with an even more ridiculous shape, the Cargo model is a concept that Mitsubishi is exploring for eventual production. The i-MiEV on which...
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When concept cars look this road-ready, you can be sure an automaker isn’t just interested in design for design’s sake. Called the Concept PX-MiEV, Mitsubishi will unveil this hybrid crossover concept at the Tokyo Auto Show next month. The vehicle’s name combines the automakers “MiEV” nomenclature, which stands for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle, with a...
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Honda’s latest concept car (van) that is scheduled to debut at the Tokyo Auto Show, looks like something you might see done to an Odyssey minivan at Hot Import Nights. The reason? It has both the typical minivan sliding rear doors, as well as front “Lambo-style” doors. Honda hasn’t released much info about the van,...
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Honda intends to put the focus on its environmentally friendly alternative energy vehicles at the Tokyo Auto Show next month, showcasing several products, including the undeniably cute EV-N electric car concept. The car will be in display in the HELLO! Zone (which apparently stands for Honda Electric mobility Loop) next to the hydrogen fuel-cell FXC...
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Along with the Hybrid Tourer Concept, Subaru will have on display a hot-looking Carbon edition of its high-performance WRX STI model at the Tokyo Auto Show next month. The model gets its name from a new carbon fiber roof that has been fitted to the car. Using the light weight and incredibly strong material so...
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At next month’s Tokyo Auto Show, Subaru will unveil what it calls the Hybrid Tourer Concept. The idea with this concept seems to be to explore a new area of the marketplace, somewhere between the Outback and Legacy, but with a serious focus on luxury and sport – like the GT/Sportback/Hatchback models being built by...
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Honda has just announced that a revised version of its CR-Z hybrid hatchback will debut at the Tokyo Auto Show next month. Honda has already produced a concept version of this car, but the new one (shown above) is as close to production as concepts get. The design has been toned down just ever so...
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