Drivers in Japan have once again taken to the track in an effort to wring maximum mileage from their Toyota hybrids. According to AutoWeek, the Prius Cup resumed this year after a two-year hiatus.
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Toyota is flush with buzz surrounding the company’s new 86 sports car, and that could translate into additional performance models if the vehicle’s chief engineer has anything to say about it. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Tetsuya Tada, the mind that brought the Toyota 86 to life, believes there’s room in the stable for two additional sports cars. Tada is quoted as saying that while the 86 is a mid-sized sports car, he’d like to see one vehicle positioned below the boxer-powered coupe as well as an additional model slotted higher in the lineup.
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Mazda has just taken the wraps off of its new concept sedan, the Takeri, at its display stand here at the Tokyo Big Sight expo hall (honest, that’s what it’s called). The C/D-sized concept sedan furthers Mazda’s Kodo ‘Soul of Motion’ design language while hinting at the next Mazda6.
Predictably, the Takeri (derived from the Japanese word for “Male”) is equipped with a full slate of Skyactiv features, including Mazda’s new Skyactiv-D clean diesel – a version of which we recently fell in love with in the CX-5 crossover – and a new i-ELOOP regenerative braking system.
In person, The Takeri offers a very attractive shape, with traditional Mazda cues including a prominent hexagonal grille (we particularly like the subtle matte metal element that links the grille to the headlamps) and short overhangs. More importantly, the showcar appears to be a production-friendly shape if you discount items like the showcar mirrors, slightly oversized 20-inch wheels and raise the roofline by an inch or two. Given the Mazda6′s slow sales pace, a successor can’t get here soon enough. Read More »
In March, we heard that, because of production delays as a result of the March 11 earthquake in Japan, Toyota was looking at delays for the new Prius V and Prius + models set to go on sale in North America and Europe, respectively. The Detroit News is reporting that those delays could last as long as a year for some buyers due to battery pack shortages. Read More »
The forums are alight with word that BMW will be bringing something unique to this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. According to the BMW-obsessed crowd over at M3Post.com, the Roundel is looking to flex its muscles when it comes to lightweight engineering with an M concept that boasts the best the company has to offer. Supposedly, the chassis will use a plethora of exotic materials to shave off every last pound, including magnesium, titanium, thermoplastic and carbon fiber. Unfortunately, it sounds like the concept will be a one-off piece and not something that’s destined for production. A real shame since we could really go for a 1 Series CSL.
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The Jeep Grand Cherokee is selling like hotcakes here in the States, with sales of the new crossover up 130 percent in January. Chrysler hopes the Grand Cherokee will find similar success overseas, with Automotive News reporting that the automaker is hoping the new Jeep will help boost sales by 21 percent in Japan.
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Mazda has officially announced that it will supply the Mazda5 minivan to Nissan beginning in May of this year. But before you go dreaming of a Nissan micro-minivan here in the United States, know that this will be a Japan-only affair. As of this writing, mum’s the word on what the Nissan-badged Mazda will be called in the automaker’s home market. The Mazda5, or Premacy as it’s known in Japan, will “enrich [Nissan's] minivan lineup in the Japanese market” – a place where small MPVs are sold in great volume. Read More »
