Debut of Daihatsu Move Conte; Teens Snickering
By Justin BerkowitzAugust 25, 2008 -
There isn't a whole lot to say here. Daihatsu has just revealed a special trim edition of its "Move" Kei car, calling it the Move Conte. To this writer at least, it sounds like something that a rapper would yell at other cars out the window of his Escalade. Or, in the words of one forum commenter, "What cupid stunt thought this was a good name?"
Posted in Japan | New Cars | News Blog | Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 20 comments 
Nissan Hybrid, EV and FCV Systems “Previewed”
By Edward NiedermeyerAugust 6, 2008 -
Nissan has decided that using Toyota powertrains in its Altima hybrid is a bit embarrassing. So they're working on one of their own. If CNet is to be believed, "Nissan's system is designed for a rear-wheel-drive car, and uses two clutches, doing away with a torque converter for more efficient power use." That's right sports fans, he said rear-wheel-drive. But before the hybrid Z-car rumors get out of control, consider that "Nissan hasn't released any details on performance yet, or when it might offer a car with this technology." Mes anwhile, they're charging ahead with Li-ion EVs, apparently. PC World reports that "Nissan has committed to launch its first all-electric car in the U.S. and Japan in 2010 and to mass market the vehicle globally by 2012." The latest prototype is a version of Nissan's Cube. PC World got to take the 80kw beast out on the track. The verdict? "On the test track it easily got up to a speed of 100 kilometers per hour." Breathtaking. But wait there's more! Nissan also has a new fuel cell stack that is smaller and lighter than previous models. And it uses half the platinum of previous fuel cells (a development that'll likely alienate literally hundreds of DUB readers from the green movement). While it's nice of Nissan to remind us that technology marches on, it's no substitute for a here-and-now hybrid system. Y'know, like the one they buy from Toyota.
Posted in Electric Vehicles | Fuel Economy | Future Vehicles | Hybrid | Hydrogen | Japan | News Blog | 8 comments
Nissan, Honda Threaten “Lightness Gap”
By Frank WilliamsJuly 24, 2008 -
Bloomberg passed on an unsubstantiated report in Nikkei English News that claims Honda, Nissan and Toray Industries are teaming-up to develop new carbon fiber materials for mass-produced automobiles. Toray is the world's largest producer of carbon fiber. They're hoping to make it economically feasible to use the material in large enough quantities to reduce vehicle weights by up to 40 percent. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is kicking in ¥2b over a five-year period to help fund the research. It didn't say if this project would be an extension of existing carbon fiber nanotube research, or if it will explore new materials. Either way, with new tailpipe and fuel economy regs in the offing, the race to add lightness has begun, plug-in hybrid or no.
Posted in Industry | Japan | News Blog | Technology | 40 comments
Question of the Day: Why Are the Japanese So Smart?
By Jonny LiebermanJuly 16, 2008 -
Maybe I should put "smart" in quotes. But then again, maybe I shouldn't. I was commiserating with a friend of mine the other night how are respective 401k plans lost a third of their value last quarter. In his case, it was actual money. He commented that he had a lot of money in Blue Chips. I told him that GM's stock is worth less than two gallons of (Los Angeles) gas. He asked why. And I explained that the General had made billions of dollars selling trucks, bought Saab and then redesigned their trucks while losing over 30 percent of their market share in a decade and that Mr. Wagoner got paid $14,000,000 for his troubles, pre-bonus. My friend was incensed. "How is that American? That sounds like some third world, nepatistic despot shit?" He has a point. And what of the Japanese, he asked. Well, I began, Honda now makes the best-selling car in the country, Mazda and Subaru sales are up and Toyota has the ability to shift gears (and production) when they sense a looming great depression crisis. He asked me why, what is it about Japanese culture that lets them succeed where Detroit just falls flat on its face? I have my suspicions. But, I'd rather just ask you.
Posted in Japan | News Blog | Question of the Day | 87 comments
Metabo Mania Hits Japanese Automakers
By Frank WilliamsJuly 7, 2008 -
Japan has laws mandating the size of your waistline. And now the auto companies are slimming down their cars–any way they can. Automotive News [sub] reports Nissan plans to reduce its fleet's average weight by 15 percent by 2015 (from 2005 levels). Toyota is looking for a 10 percent loss. Mazda wants to pare 220 lbs. from each of its new models. Honda's trimming down (2008 Accord notwithstanding), but hasn't publicized any goals. Automakers are doing what they can to lose weight, from using aluminum and plastic body panels to re-engineering existing components to make them lighter. For example, the next Prius' electric motor will be one-sixth as heavy as the current powerplant; the batteries will weigh half as much. Honda's even going so far as to shave off slivers of steel between spot welds on the Fit to save a few ounces overall. Adding lightness is an expensive business, but with existing safety regulations and new fuel efficiency standards, there may be no choice.
Posted in Design | Japan | News Blog | 9 comments
Mazda Testing Hydrogen-Hybrid Premacy
By Edward NiedermeyerJune 25, 2008 -
Toyota's dominance in hybrid technology has other OEM's straining to leapfrog on to The Next Big Thing. While GM tries to beat ToMoCo to the PHEV punch, Mazda decided to combine three imperfect technologies into one over-the-top rolling lab. By modifying a Wankel rotary engine to run on hydrogen, and then adding a hybrid system, Mazda's Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid wins the prize for the most complicated possible approach to high-efficiency motoring. But let's not condemn this franken-hybrid to the scrap heap of engineering excess just yet. Wards Auto has learned that the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport has given the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid permission to undergo testing on Japanese roads. Of the three systems, hybrid technology is clearly the most promising. But Mazda's blind technophilia has mated it to an immature fuel source and an inherently inefficient ICE. Who cares that it gets 124 miles from a tank of hydrogen and boosts power 40 percent over a "standard" hydrogen Wankel. Mazda plans on leasing these people-movers in Japan later this year. Here's hoping that the lease comes with an uncompromising warranty.
Posted in Alternative Energy | Hybrid | Japan | News Blog | Technology | 12 comments
Nissan and Infiniti to Get New Small RWD Coupes
By Justin BerkowitzJune 20, 2008 -
For Edmunds, the upshot of writing what RF calls "Pimpatorials" is that they get to break inside information (although who knows how long they've been sitting on the news). The Inside Line folks report today that Infiniti is planning a small rear wheel-drive (RWD) coupe. The brand extension will be an entry-level two-seater slotting under the Infiniti G37 coupe. The new car would likely pack a smaller engine (2.5-liter V6?). That said, yours truly thinks that'll go out the window once the G37 upgrades to an even more powerful version of the VQ block. But Edmunds says the two-seater hardtop will focus on luxury, not performance. Odds are pretty darn good that this baby coupe will be a close relative of the new Nissan RWD sport coupe (perhaps wearing the legendary Silvia name) about which many have speculated. Sounds like the Nissan model, with naturally aspirated and turbocharged 4-cylinder engines, will be far more interesting. But Infiniti's conquest of the luxury world must march forward, even if that means going toe-to-toe with other badly conceived luxury models (cough - 1-Series - cough).
Posted in Future Vehicles | Japan | News Blog | 15 comments
Subaru Exiga Not A Female Lotus
By Edward NiedermeyerJune 17, 2008 -
Subaru's freshly-unveiled Exiga CUV may be only a vowel away from sharing names with Lotus' Elise-based road racer, but that's where the resemblance ends. The three-row, seven-passenger Subie is a Japanese market only seven-seat option to the once-hideous, now bland Tribeca. Autocar UK claims that the Exiga is based on the Impreza. Elsewhere, we hear it's based on the Legacy. As a JDM-only product, Subaru will offer an front wheel-drive base version without shocking its export customers. Power comes from either naturally aspirated (FWD only) or turbo versions of the corporate 2.0-liter boxer four. The turbo version puts out a tidy 222 hp, in AWD trim only. A diesel version is rumored, but only if Subaru decides to export the Exiga to Europe. Now, if we could only get this turbo-AWD family-hauling thingie to mate with the superlight road-racing Lotus Exige…
Posted in Japan | New Cars | News Blog | 8 comments
Details Emerge About Toyota’s iQ
By Jonny LiebermanJune 17, 2008 -
First off, it's not very big. Measuring less than 10 feet long and weighing just over a ton, the iQ is Smart-sized. Unlike the two-seat Daimler product, the Toyota boasts a rear seat. Maybe "boasts" isn't the best word choice. ToMoCo is calling it a "three and a half seater." Ouch. Automotive News [sub] reports the iQ will also feature the thriftiest fuel economy of any Toyota product, save the Prius. Other pertinent info includes a diff in front of the axles to allow a relatively long wheelbase (79 inches) to create more interior space; a flat, underseat gas tank to cut down on the rear overhang, a longer steering column that lets the engine sit closer to the vehicle's front and high-tensile steel to create thinner seats. A legroom allowing flat-bottom steering wheel, too. Additionally, Toyota might sell the car in the US. Subjectively speaking, the iQ does bear a resemblance to both the Smart and Tata Nano. However, I find it much tougher looking. More sporting than either micro-car, too. Plus, unlike the ruthlessly decontented Nano, the iQ will be trying to pull off an upscale persona. Engines include a 1.4-liter oil-burner for Europe (natch) and 1.3 and 1.0-liter gas mills for other markets. No word on when the iQ is going on sale. But when it does it (maybe) could be yours for just a toro roll under $10,000.
Posted in Fuel Economy | Future Vehicles | Japan | News Blog | 22 comments
Honda CEO Trash Talks Toyota Prius
By John HornerJune 16, 2008 -
The Wall Street Journal carries a rare interview with Honda CEO Takeo Fukui. Ever the cagey character, Fukui claims to be completely uninterested in the fact that his company just passed Chrysler for the number four slot in the U.S. sales race. "It doesn't really matter if you come in fourth or fifth or first. What's important for us is that our production is going at full capacity and production is balanced with sales." Yeah right, the former Honda motorcycle race team manager doesn't care about the score. When the subject is the delicate matter of how Toyota pulled the green carpet out from under Honda's environmental image, Fukui turns a bit more… combative. "Honda's image was better but has evened out with [Toyota] because of the strong image of one single model, the Prius, which Honda feels is a problem. Next year, we will come up with a dedicated hybrid vehicle. We feel this model will have to overwhelm and overtake Prius. That is key for us." (The hyrdogen fuel cell-powered Clarity? Not so much.) Ladies and gentlemen, start your electric engines!
Posted in Green | Hybrid | Industry | Japan | News Blog | 31 comments
POWERED