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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Japan , Tokyo Motor Show , Supercars , Lexus , Toyota , Rumormill Lexus LF-A Concept - Click above for a high-res gallery With the D-3, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Lamborghini and other automakers, pulling out of this year's Tokyo Motor Show , Toyota is rumored to have a big showing to capitalize on the lack of reveals this October. According to InsideLine's correspondent in Japan, Toyota will unveil the production version of the Lexus LF-A , originally expected to debut in Frankfurt. The V10-powered, 600-hp supercar's future was in doubt late last year, but the on-again-off-again coupe won't be the only two-door gracing the Toyota stage. The collaboration between Toyota and Subaru on a new coupe is also rumored to make an appearance in Tokyo, although it's unclear if the Toyobaru will debut as a concept or a production model. Based on the current Impreza platform, the rear-wheel drive will coupe will be powered...
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Japan , Toyota , Earnings/Financials According to the Los Angeles Times , a town three hours southwest of Tokyo called Toyota City has gone from being the envy of Japan's economy to the city with the country's highest unemployment rate seemingly overnight. What happened? As its name implies, this town is comprised almost entirely of men and women who work for Toyota, the largest automaker in the world - the very same manufacturer that is facing its first year-long operating loss in company history. Because the city's well-being rises and falls right along with the automaker that it is so dependent on, Toyota City's finances are looking pretty dire for the upcoming year, with a projected drop in corporate tax collections of 96.3 percent. Interestingly, city officials have found an American analog with which to compare themselves: Detroit. Norio Seki, general director of the city's industrial labor division, says of Detroit, "I'd...
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Filed under: Trends , Japan , Marketing/Advertising , BMW , Mercedes-Benz , Volkswagen , Volvo , Earnings/Financials , Tokyo Auto Salon Although Volvo has already said that it would not participate in this October's Tokyo Motor Show, the Swedish automaker's German contemporaries are reportedly dragging their feet on similar public announcements in an effort to not be the first from their country to do so. According to a brief Automotive News item, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are "unlikely to participate" as part of an effort to limit expenditures, and Volkswagen AG and supplier Bosch are among those said to be on the fence. Speaking about the pullout possibilities, an unnamed Automobilwoche (AN's Germanic sister publication) source has said that "No one wants to be in the unpopular position of being the first to announce their exit." Perhaps, but that didn't stop Volvo from letting some air out of Tokyo's balloons, nor did it keep the Detroit 3 from doing...
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Filed under: Coupes , Sports/GTs , Japan , Subaru , Toyota The last report about the on again/off again sports car being developed jointly by Toyota and Subaru was that it's on again . Today comes word from L'Automobile in France that not only is the rear-wheel-drive Toyubaru going to happen, but it will arrive bearing the Celica name sometime in 2010. If Wikipedia is to be believed, this would be the eighth generation of the Celica, which traces its roots all the way back to 1970 when it debuted in Japan as an inexpensive rear-wheel-drive sports car. Through the years it switched to front- and all-wheel drive, with the final seventh generation Celica sold from 2000 - 2005 being a strict cart puller. L'Automobile claims that Thierry Dombreval, Toyota's VP of sales and marketing in France, spilled the beans on reviving the Celica name, so we won't consider this news solid until a second source comes forward or Toyota officially confirms it, neither of which is likely...
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Filed under: Time Warp , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Etc. , Japan , Videos , Nissan , Police/Emergency Unfortunately, I don't speak Japanese, because then I might have enjoyed the old detective drama Seibu Keisatsu even more than I did watching the video above and the two subsequent parts embedded after the jump. The crew at Japanese Nostalgic Car posted these last week, explaining that this particular episode was the first appearance of the "Super Machine-X" (names don't get much better than that) Skyline 2000GT Turbo. The black hero car (the first in a string of Nissans to be featured on the show) was outfitted with a metric ton of yestertech radio, camera, and computer equipment, all of which are used to track down the episode's villians. Those guys drive a '70 Cougar, inexplicably equipped with an imitation Screaming Chicken on the hood (seriously), setting up a Detroit vs. Japan showdown straight out of the Bizarro world. It's completely entertaining, even with...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , SUVs , Japan , Honda , HUMMER Driving a HUMMER in Japan seems about as practical as piloting an Chevy Kodiak in the urban canyons of Manhattan. It's just not optimal. Solution? Take Honda's pint-sized pillbox on wheels, the Crossroad , and HUMMERize it. That's what Okada Enterprise (Motto: "We supplied high quality cars") has gone and done for Japanese drivers looking to add more macho to their micro. That is, if macho means a HUMMER-style grille, abundant chrome trim, gaudy wheels, and (our favorite) a backwards-reading "HUMMER H4" decal on the driver's side. The upside? The Crossroad-turned-HUMMER stands little chance of getting vandalized by intolerant eco-weenies. More photos of the various accessories are in the gallery below, and the Okada video promoting the kit is embedded after the jump. Gallery: Okada Enterprise Honda Crossroad "HUMMER H4" kit [Source: Okada Enterprise ] Continue reading JDM kit turns Honda...
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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Japan , Toyota , Rumormill 2010 Toyota Prius - Click above for a high-res gallery According to the ever-flowing and always active rumormill, Toyota may be working on a new low-cost hybrid to do battle with the revived Honda Insight , which is a bit smaller than its rival from Toyota and undercuts its price by a few thousand dollars (or a few million yen). Likely due in no small part to its low point of entry, Honda managed to move 18,000 Insight hybrids in Japan in its first month on sale, which is well above the automaker's early projections. The new hybrid from Toyota would use similar hybrid components as the Prius but would use a smaller engine and cost 20-30% less. Even if these rumors are true, Toyota still plans to continue selling its previous-generation Prius in Japan for at least the 2010 model year alongside the new model, which features better performance from an enlarged 1.8-liter engine while still managing to reduce fuel consumption...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Tuners , Japan This passed September, Trust Co. LTD - the parent company of GReddy Performance Products in the U.S. - declared the Japanese equivalent of Chapter 11 . According to a release from the aftermarket parts supplier, Trust has successfully completed the reorganization process (known in Japan as Minji-Saisei-Hou) and is hoping to be completely back on its feet within the next few months. During the reorganization , both Trust and GReddy have maintained its workforce here and abroad, developed new components, continued to produce parts and serviced its clients around the world. While we're happy to hear about GReddy's future involvement in the aftermarket, this won't be the first or last filing from a performance part supplier as the auto-apocalypse continues. Continue reading TRUST successfully reorganized in Japan, GReddy in the U.S. churning along TRUST successfully reorganized in Japan, GReddy in the U.S. churning along originally appeared...
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