#Japan

Honda and Nissan are reportedly interested in formally creating the EV and software alliance the duo hinted at earlier this year, with Mitsubishi apparently asking if it can come along for the ride.

Nissan and Honda signed a memorandum of understanding in March that confirmed the companies were actively considering joining forces on the development of electric vehicles and automotive software. That partnership now seems closer than ever, with sources claiming that Mitsubishi (34 percent of which is owned by Nissan) may also be getting in on the action.

On Wednesday, the Japanese government demanded that Toyota Motor Corp. make sweeping reforms after finding additional violations of the automaker’s certification protocols. The nation’s transport ministry has been coming down hard on the industry after several Japanese manufacturers were not precisely following regulatory procedures, however the current focus seems to be on Toyota.

Japanese manufacturers are in the middle of a minor crisis after the nation’s transport ministry noticed irregularities in the certification process of several domestic models before launching a formal investigation. Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha Motor have all been faulted with submitting either incorrect or intentionally misleading information in regard to vehicle certifications.

Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru conducted a press event designed to explain why they’re walking away from full-blown electrification. While this is something numerous automakers have done in recent months, the “Multipathway Workshop” faced a predictable amount of criticism from EV acolytes.

With Toyota discussing its desire to build an automatic transmission dedicated for performance applications, driving enthusiasts around the world are eager to find out when the unit will be affixed to the GR Yaris. Meanwhile, Americans want to know when it will be adapted for the GR Corolla and prospective performance products Toyota may actually sell in the United States. There has been no shortage of rumors, with one of the most recent suggesting Toyota’s newest “Direct Automatic Transmission” (DAT) will debut during the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. Production is supposed to commence at roughly the same time.

Mitsubishi began selling cars with its own branding in the United States in late 1982, introducing three car models and a pickup as 1983 models. We had an extensive range of Mitsubishi models to choose from for quite a while, including a credible luxury sedan known as the Diamante, but those days are long gone. Today's Junkyard Find is one of the very last Diamantes sold here, now residing in a Denver car graveyard.

On Monday, Japan's Nippon Steel expressed its intention to purchase the United States Steel Corporation. The iconic American business supplies numerous industries, with the automotive sector being one of the largest.

Nippon Steel is reportedly offering a deal worth $14.9 billion and the assumption of any debt. However, the United Steel Workers don’t seem pleased with the arrangement and were said to have backed an earlier offer from domestic rival Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. totaling $7.25 billion.

But we can all go pound sand in North America, unfortunately. Such are the joys – and challenges – of our global marketplace. Nevertheless, off-road gearheads in other parts of the world will be able to avail themselves of this tremendously square beast, showing up for duty with a 2.8L turbodiesel.

In last week’s installment of Abandoned History, we learned about General Motors’ 1966 magnet-based primitive navigation system, DAIR. The inclusive system featured emergency messages, traffic bulletins played inside the car, and route guidance. DAIR never progressed beyond the concept stage and two total test vehicles, largely because it would have meant buried magnets and accompanying signal relay stations at every major intersection in the country. Some 25 years later The General tried it again, but technology progressed considerably by that point.

Mazda’s iconic roadster has undergone some changes in Japan for the 2024 model year that should likewise underpin the variant slated for our market. While some of this pertains to updated safety tech few MX-5 owners are likely to care about, there are also a host of mechanical upgrades that should actually make it a better performance machine.

The cause of a recent blip in production for one of the world’s largest automakers has been traced to problems with computer memory. Yes, you read that correctly.

Thanks to Nissan’s glacier-like design cycle, most of us are intimately familiar with the silhouette of the brand’s mighty GT-R. Last night in Tokyo, company reps rolled out its latest smattering of updates for the long-running supercar.

Just about every single automaker on the planet has been plagued by production disruptions and supply chain headaches, leading to lots that were deader than disco on occasion and bereft of product to sell. At Toyota, production numbers are up compared to this time last year – but down from the month prior.

Over the weekend, the Japanese government issued a formal complaint suggesting that the United States’ updated tax credit scheme for electric vehicles could prohibit future investments from the Land of the Rising Sun. Complaints were reportedly directed to the Treasury Department and revolved around the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and how it seemed at odds with previous efforts to build trade between America and Japan. But things are always a bit more complicated than that and we cannot overstate the relevance of Japanese auto lobbying groups that want the most favorable regulatory terms they can negotiate.

We return to Abandoned History’s coverage of the twists and turns of the Daewoo story, at a time when the company’s predecessor, Shinjin, was no more. After an early Seventies joint venture with General Motors saw the company renamed to General Motors Korea, Shinjin bowed out of the deal after just five years. In 1976 Shinjin’s ownership in the business was sold to a state-owned Korean bank, and General Motors Korea was renamed to Saehan Motor Company. But that didn’t mean GM was out of the picture - far from it.