Toyota appears to be readying a convertible version of the iQ minicar that is currently on sale in Japan and Europe. The report comes from Japan’s Best Car magazine, which suggests much of the basics will be kept including a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 99hp and 92 ft-lbs of torque. Fuel-economy for this engine...
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Mitsubishi has just revealed the production model of its i-MiEV electric car in Japan and it plans to have models on the road by July. Initial sales of 1,400 vehicles will be to government entities with public sales starting in April of 2010. As a full-electric vehicle the i-MiEV creates zero emissions and is powered...
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Thanks to the folks over at Autoblog and one of their readers we have these new spy photos of the upcoming Suzuki Kizashi mid-sized sedan. It’s hard to tell much with all the body-cladding on the car, but it does appear as though a nice rear end design is in the works – even if...
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Motorsports is all about bending the rules. And as they say, if you’re not cheating, you’re losing. Chris Rado and his World Racing Scion tC are not losing. In fact, at the recent Redline Time Attack at Willow Springs Rado dominated in the front-wheel drive Unlimited class posting a 1:22.623 lap time – setting a...
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Nissan is launching a limited Europe-only Nürburgring Edition of its 370Z. But don’t worry if you don’t live in Europe… it’s not as exciting as it sounds. The cars are inspired by the bright yellow racers that competed at this year’s Nürburgring 24 Hour race and will share the same Premium Ultimate Yellow paint. They...
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Toyota has announced that it will lease 500 plug-in hybrid-electric Prius models starting this year. These will be the first plug-in version of the Prius on the road and will feature new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold more energy than the conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries used in other hybrid systems. Of the 500 vehicles, 200...
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The all-new Toyota Prius was the most popular selling car in Japan for the month of May, according to numbers just released by the Japan Automobile Dealers Association. In total, Toyota sold 10,915 Prius models to take the top sales spot, which was held last month by rival Honda Motor Co. and its new Insight...
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Car sales for the month of May appear to show a certain level of recovery – at least for U.S. automakers Ford and General Motors. Ford posted a loss of 28.5 percent, its best result since July of 2008. As for GM, it declined “just” 29 percent marking its best monthly performance since September. In...
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Just last week we reported on Honda’s upcoming Accord-based Crossover and now thanks to VWVortex member GoVdubSPEEDGo, we have these amateur spy photos of the vehicle taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There is no denying the car’s relation to the Accord, with the exterior taillights and that strong line running across the...
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We’ve been waiting for Honda to come up with an Accord-based crossover since the moment Toyota pulled the wraps off its Camry-based Venza concept at the North American International Auto Show last year. It’s no surprise that Honda would build a vehicle to go head-to-head with the Venza (pictured above) and apparently the company isn’t...
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When Lexus initially brought out the LF-A concept it boasted about the car’s engine power and top speed. With a 500hp V10 capable of 199mph the genuine exotic sounded unreal back then. Since the concept car was displayed at the North American International Auto Show back in 2007, it has had an uncertain future. But...
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It appears as though Mazda will offer its RX-8 sports car with a rotary engine in the future and as the all-new second generation model is just around the corner, the Japanese automaker has been busy making improvements to the pistonless wonder. Last October Mazda filed for a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark...
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Oddly, it seems as though Saturn is far more interesting and far more loved as the up-for auction arm of a doomed for bankruptcy company than it ever was as regular old car brand. To date the Penske Automotive Group, automaker Nissan/Renault and investment firm Telesto Ventures have all been cited as potential buyers. Now...
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It seems as though the upcoming Acura ZDX isn’t the only new model Honda’s luxury arm is planning to release in the near future. Both German auto pub Auto Motor und Sport and Japan’s Holiday Auto are both reporting that four-door coupe is in the works and that is likely to be based off the...
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Just days after President Obama proposed new legislation that would see fleet fuel-economy standards rise considerably in the U.S., Subaru has said it will explore the possibility of bringing a hybrid to market in order to reduce its fleet average. Ikuo Mori, the CEO of Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries told a group of...
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No matter how cool a U.S.-spec car is, foreign automakers always seem to have an even more impressive and hard-core version for oversea’s markets. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is a stellar performer, but in the U.K. apparently there’s a demand foreven more power – 36 more horsepower to be precise. Named the FQ-330, this new...
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Ahead of the world famous Nürburgring 24 Hour race this weekend, Lexus has released a set of photos of not one, but two LF-A models that will compete for the title. Last year Lexus brought an LF-A test mule out to the race but announced that it wasn’t technically competing, which is a good thing...
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Thieves have made off with that oh so sexy Nissan GT-R from the most recent Fast & Furious film. The car was being stored, along with several other vehicles, at a facility in Sun Valley, Los Angeles. The thieves were no doubt aware that the vehicle was inside the facility when they broke through the...
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The new 2010 Toyota Prius isn’t about to let the Honda Insight take over in the hybrid segment and strong initial sales show the Toyota model will be another big success for Japan’s largest automaker. Japanese business magazine Nikkei is reporting that Toyota has already accepted 75,000 orders for the new Prius. This news comes...
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To coincide with the launch of the new IS250 C and IS350 C hard-top convertibles, Lexus is releasing a line of F-Sport performance parts for both models. Manufactured in-house by Toyota’s performance parts division TRD (Toyota Racing Development) the parts are essentially the same as those already offered for the sedan models. While there aren’t...
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Suzuki recently made the decision to stop production on its low volume XL7 SUV. The vehicle is currently the only Suzuki manufactured in North America. Suzuki built the three-row, seven-passenger crossover at General Motors’ CAMI facility in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. The facility will continue to produce GM products on its other lines. Suzuki continues to...
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The Nissan GT-R has once again bested it’s own lap time at the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife, posting a new personal best of 7:26.70. Unfortunately for Nissan, the new time doesn’t move them up any in the fastest lap rankings, as the Corvette ZR1 still holds a lap time that is three tenth’s of a second...
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The month of April marked an important milestone for both Honda Motor Co. and hybrid cars. Last month the new Insight achieved the status of being Japan’s most popular vehicle with more units sold than any other model – marking the first time a hybrid has ever been the monthly sales leader. In April, 10,481...
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With the entry-level premium marketing continuing to grow in Europe, Lexus is planning to get in on the action by bringing a vehicle to market that will complete with the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series. The new vehicle will slot in under the IS250 and will be a hybrid. This may sound a lot...
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