Those who have followed the Nissan GT-R since it was named the Skyline GT-R (R32) know that there was a variant called the M-Spec. While the R34 V-Spec was made for the track, the M-Spec was more of a grand tourer, providing the best of both the performance and comfort worlds.

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“We’ve always planned that after we released the SpecV, we were going to build the SpecM,” says Kazutoshi Mizuno, the man behind the current GT-R (R35),. SpecM will be sold for around 18,000,000 yen (the equivalent of over $200k). That sexy thing is worth every penny!

Toyota Motor Corp. has unveiled a more expensive and bigger hybrid-only model than its hit Prius, underlining the Japanese automaker’s ambitions to make green technology more widespread.

The “Sai” sedan is Toyota’s second hybrid-only model after the Prius. Toyota offers hybrid versions of other car models.

Sai, which means “talent” and “color,” will be sold only in Japan, starting Dec.7, targeting monthly sales of 3,000 vehicles. No global sales plans have been decided, the world’s biggest automaker said. Nice! Bring some of those over here.

According to Japanese automotive magazine Mag-X, Honda is finalising the design and details for the 2012 Civic. Apparently, the Japanese automaker is planning to come up with different versions of the car for different markets. Different sedan, coupe and hatch versions!

This is all, of course, nothing more than back-fence talk and speculation. Do you like what you see so far?

Ever notice that nobody makes a fuss about buying televisions made in Korea or coats sewn in Mexico. But if you’re buying a car, your patriotism is questioned?

Let’s not forget that Honda was the first Japanese firm to build cars in the U.S. starting 50 years ago. The impact has been overwhelmingly positive: According to a study from the Center for Automotive Research, more than 367,000 private sector jobs and $17 billion in annual wages are generated thanks to Honda’s U.S. operations.
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Honda’s Insight, billed as the cheapest gas-electric hybrid on the market, ranked as the top-selling vehicle in Japan for April — the first time a hybrid has clinched that spot. That marked the first time a hybrid model was Japan’s monthly best-seller, excluding minicars limited to an engine size of up to 660 cubic centimeters.

Honda sold 10,481 Insight cars in April in Japan. Toyota is expected to be aggressive with its pricing, although the Prius is a bigger car than the Insight and would be expected to carry a higher price tag.

The gov’t in Okayama, Japan will offer city residents 100,000 yen ($1,680) subsidies to purchase new cars made by Mitsubishi Motors Co., which has reduced operations at its Mizushima plant in Kurashiki, in the prefecture, due to sluggish sales.

The city government will provide the subsidies for those purchasing new Mitsubishi passenger cars, minicars and pickup trucks. Earmarking 20 million yen in a supplementary budget to subsidize 200 purchases, the city plans to distribute the subsidies as early as February. The city also plans to purchase about 10 Mitsubishi vehicles to be used as official vehicles.

Toyota is projecting its first operating loss in 70 years.

There’s a trend worrying Japan’s auto executives, who fear the nation’s love affair with the auto may be coming to an end. The mentality from earlier generations of Japanese who viewed car ownership as a status symbol has now made a U-turn.

Young people’s interest is shifting from cars to communication tools like personal computers, mobile phones and services. Vehicle sales peaked at 7.78 million vehicles in 1990 during the nation’s heyday “bubble” economy. After that burst, Japan was mired in a decade-long slowdown, which squelched consumer spending and sent car sales on a decline. A surge in gas prices didn’t help too.
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Toyota Motor Corp is recalling 121,930 cars in China to fix a problem that could result in loss of steering control.

The 54,657 Reiz and 62,517 Crown sedans were made by Toyota’s venture with FAW Group between February 2005 and October 2006. The recall comes in the wake of more bad news this week for the world’s biggest automaker which forecast a first-ever annual operating loss amid tanking global car demand. Talk about bad timing.

Imports once again dominated Kelley Blue Book’s annual ranking of the most-researched new vehicles on its website. Of the top 20 vehicles, 15 were Japanese, 3 were American and 2 were German.

Given the spike in gas prices earlier in the year and the recent slump in the economy and stock market, shoppers gravitated toward fuel-efficient, economical models.

1. Honda Civic
2. Honda Accord
3. Toyota Camry
4. Toyota Corolla
5. Nissan Altima
6. Honda CR-V
7. Toyota Prius
8. Toyota Highlander
9. Toyota RAV4
10. Mazda3
11. Toyota Yaris
12. Ford Escape
13. Honda Odyssey
14. Honda Pilot
15. Honda Fit
16. Ford Mustang
17. Chevrolet Malibu
18. Toyota Sienna
19. Mini Cooper
20. Volkswagen Jetta

American Honda Motor Co. has overhauled the look of its fuel cell concept cars, unveiling a futuristic, lightweight three-seater. 

The design study concept is inspired by supercar levels of performance through low weight and a high-performance, electrically driven fuel cell powertrain. What’s with the rear side? The extended rear houses cooling radiators for the fuel cell stack. You likey?

Toyota rolls out its first Venza wagon. Toyota Motor Sales USA will price the five-person wagon between $25,975 for its V-4, front-wheel drive model, and $29,250 for the V-6, all-wheel drive model. The V-6 model will hit dealerships in early December, with full production and sales of both models starting in January. How do we say this lightly? Looks like a Camry with a little more junk in the trunk.

The Venza, which is built in Georgetown, Ky., on the platform of its mid-size Camry sedan, will be sold exclusively in North America.

It’s official! The nation’s public transportation systems logged a 5.2% jump in ridership in the second quarter, according to industry figures released this week, as record-high gas prices pushed people to take millions more trips on buses and rail systems.

It’s too bad that higher ridership doesn’t necessarily translate to higher revenue for districts. The national surge in riders is straining many agencies that don’t have the funds to expand service. Many systems are struggling just to maintain the service they already offer because of their own rising fuel costs.
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To make up for revenue loss, GM’s brlight idea is to increase prices of their smaller cars.

When General Motors Corp.’s new global small car hits the U.S. market in mid-2010, the company is expecting it to fetch a better price than Honda and Toyota get for their small cars. Chevrolet General Manager Ed Peper said GM needs to get more money per vehicle than its prime Japanese competitors, Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

GM is banking on a big step up in price as it tries to make up for revenue lost when the U.S. market shifted rapidly from more profitable trucks and sport utility vehicles to more efficient smaller models.
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The Toyota Lexus had 120 problems per 100 vehicles compared to the industry average of 206 problems.

Lexus once again stands alone atop a closely watched list of vehicle dependability after Buick slipped from the No. 1 spot it shared with the Japanese luxury brand last year. It’s the 14th straight year Toyota Motor Corp.’s high-end brand has held the highest ranking in the annual study, which measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Lexus had 120 problems per 100 vehicles, down from 145 last year.
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Behold!!  The Honda FCX Clarity

Honda Motors Co. has started production of a car that runs on hydrogen fuel rather than oil, marking the first time a commercial vehicle will produce zero emissions. The FCX Clarity, which was introduced two years ago as a concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show, runs on electricity made from an onboard hydrogen-powered fuel cell battery. It will be available in July as part of limited lease program offered in California.

 

In May, the thrifty Honda Civic became the best-selling vehicle in America.

The Honda Civic became the best selling vehicle in America – car or truck – and both it and the Honda Accord outsold the once-invincible Ford F-150 pickup trucks.

Among the world’s automakers, Honda has long behaved as if the world is indeed running out of all kinds of resources, including oil. Its relentless focus on thrift and conservation, which seemed like eccentricities 20 or 30 years ago, today make Honda the leader of the environmental pack.
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A Personalized Crest Just For You

Toyota likes to think of its quirky, boxy Scion as a unique expression of the young, hip person who Toyota hopes is driving it. Toyota will let Scion owners design their own personal “coat of arms” online, a piece of owner-generated art.

In making their personalized crests, Scion owners can choose from among hundreds of symbols, all designed by a professional graffiti artist. The symbols range from an eagle, a jester, a king’s crown and a worker’s fist to Japanese anime-style flowers, a three-person family and a yin-yang circle. Customers can download their designs and have them made into window decals or take them to an auto airbrushing shop to have them professionally painted onto their cars.
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When It Comes To Naming Car Models, Who Takes The Cake?

Japan! The best part of this research, however, was the process of combing through the names of cars sold in Japan with odd English titles…  Daihatsu Motor Naked; Honda Life Dunk and That’s; Isuzu GIGA 20 Light Dump and Mysterious Utility; Mazda Motor Bongo; Mitsubishi Delica Space Gear and Pistachio; Nissan Fairlady Z and Prairie Joy; Rickman Space Ranger; Rinspeed X-Dream; Suzuki Cappucino; Toyota Motor Deliboy and Toyopet; Volkswagen Thing and Volugrafo Bimbo.
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If You Or Someone You Know Has A Murano OR EX35, Send It Back

Nissan has announced the recall of 16365 2008 Infiniti EX35 and 2009 Nissan Murano vehicles due to a faulty software in the passenger airbag control unit. The software glitch may cause the passenger airbag to not deploy when the battery level is low. The recall will begin sometime this month.

Ford to Reveal Global Car

Ford is set to debut their global small car at the Geneva Auto Show. The joint development of the Fiesta by Ford’s European, African, Asian, American and Australian divisions marks the Fiesta as the first car to come from Ford’s global product development process. This means that there will specific models for the different markets. Sales will begin this fall in Europe, with 5 different engine options available, 3 gas and 2 diesel. The Fiesta will arrive in North America as a 2010 model, as a five door model, with the 3 door still being a possibility.