Japan auto news

Report: Toyota turning Nintendo DS into navigation system

Video games are already an easy target for politicians, what with their amazing ability to turn both brains and muscles to jelly while also promoting violence and other sociopathic behaviors. So we can only wonder at the political grandstanding that might accompany this development: The Nintendo DS can now be used to control a Toyota navigation system.

Yes, that's right, if you can pull yourself away from drawing evil kittens on your DS - and you live in Japan - you can pair it via Bluetooth, and use it to input destinations and display a speedometer on the DS, according to Kotaku. The Kuruma de DS game card also gives your handheld gaming device the ability to broadcast its audio through the car's stereo system.

The software is designed to be used by passengers - of course - but we're sure it's only a matter of time before Japan experiences its first I-was-just-using-my-DS-to-program-my-nav crash. Kotaku says the game card is being sold by Toyota dealers for about $92.

Official: Honda unveils another Segway-fighter [w/video]

It seems that ever since humankind grew legs and climbed out of the ocean, we've been trying to figure out ways to avoid using said appendages. While many of these efforts have been wildly successful - think Roman chariots, Pony Express, and the Ford Model T - the recent spate of personal mobility devices hasn't quite taken off.

The poster child for this failure is, of course, the Segway. Though completely awesome, its greatest success has come in comedic appearances on television (Arrested Development) and in the movies (Paul Blart: Mall Cop). But manufacturers have forged ahead, undaunted in their desire to bring human-like mobility to humans. The latest: The Honda Uni-Cub.

An evolution of Honda's U3-X motorized unicycle, the Uni-Cub marries a saddle and sturdy base with an omni-directional drive wheel. A rider controls the Uni-Cub by simply shifting their weight. Honda says it is "designed for harmony with people," as the device positions the rider at relatively the same height as pedestrians, rather than towering over them like a Segway rider.

The Uni-Cub is designed for use indoors, and is powered by a lithium-ion battery and electric drive. It can reach a top speed of 3.7 miles per hour and has a range of 3.7 miles, meaning that any reasonably fit individual should be able to both outrun and outlast the Uni-Cub.

Honda will begin demonstration testing of the device in June.

Scroll down to read the full press release and watch a video of the Uni-Cub in action, and be sure to check out all the images in our gallery.

Continue reading Honda unveils another Segway-fighter [w/video]

Official: Toyota launches new Pixis Epoch kei car in Japan

Kei cars may be small in size, but they're big business in Japan. The latest arrival to the category is the little hatch you see above, the Toyota Pixis Epoch.

It's the fourth vehicle produced by the Daihatsu division but sold under the Toyota brand. As with other keis, power comes from a 660cc engine. It's mated to a continuously variable transmission driving either just the front wheels or all four. In both configurations, the Pixis Epoch features a stop-start system that helps its emissions and fuel efficiency figures come in well below even the Japanese government's stringent standards.

The whole package measures just 3,395 mm (133 inches) long, 1,475 mm (58 inches) wide and 1,500 mm (59 inches) tall, but offers a relatively spacious and utile interior, plus a tight turning radius of just 4.4 meters. Pricing ranges from 795,000 to 1.2 million yen - that's less than $10,000 (and no more than $15k). Further details in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Toyota launches new Pixis Epoch kei car in Japan

Official: Toyota launches new Pixis Epoch mini-vehicle in Japan

Kei cars may be small in size, but they're big business in Japan. The latest arrival to the category is the little hatch you see above, the Toyota Pixis Epoch.

It's the fourth vehicle produced by the Daihatsu division but sold under the Toyota brand. As with other keis, power comes from a 660cc engine. It's mated to a continuously variable transmission driving either just the front wheels or all four. In both configurations, the Pixis Epoch features a stop-start system that helps its emissions and fuel efficiency figures come in well below even the Japanese government's stringent standards.

The whole package measures just 3,395 mm (133 inches) long, 1,475 mm (58 inches) wide and 1,500 mm (59 inches) tall, but offers a relatively spacious and utile interior, plus a tight turning radius of just 4.4 meters. Pricing ranges from 795,000 to 1.2 million yen - that's less than $10,000 (and no more than $15k). Further details in the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Toyota launches new Pixis Epoch mini-vehicle in Japan

Video: Japanese man makes the best Transformers model we've ever seen

Michael Bay's Transformers were true enough (for a Bay production, at least) to the original articles in their car and robot states, but their transforming sequences were epilepsy-inducing explosions of cranks and gears that made no sense at all. Admittedly, it didn't stop us from enjoying the first movie.

But the work of a Japanese modeler is what we've been looking for: his Transformer takes us all the way back to the original eightes series when Bumblebee was a Volkswagen Beetle. This is version eight, fitted with 22 servo motors - it even throws punches and does a jig - and we're told that version nine is on the way. We'd like to humbly request that all research on flying cars stops, and every resource be poured into a production version of this right now. Scroll down to check out the video.

Continue reading Japanese man makes the best Transformers model we've ever seen

Report: Ford says Japan should reduce size of auto industry before trade talk participation

Ford is crying foul over Japan's desire to join a proposed free trade agreement among Asia-Pacific countries. The Trans-Pacific Partnership aims to reduce regulatory hurdles among its participants, but Steve Beigun, Ford vice president for international government affairs, claims the Japanese auto market is "the most protected automotive market in the developed world," and that the industry is unnecessarily dependent on exports to survive. Beigun's solution? Force the Japanese auto industry to restructure before allowing Japan in on the TPP. In industry speak, that means closing down factories.

That's an odd claim given that Japan can't possibly have a lower tariff on imported cars: zero percent. For comparison's sake, importers looking to bring vehicles into the U.S. face a 2.5 percent tariff. But Beigun says Japan uses non-tariff barriers and currency manipulation to discourage imports. Beigun declined to elaborate on what those "non-tariff barriers" are. William Duncan, the director of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association, has been quoted as saying Beigun's assertions are "rather bizarre."

If Japan is guilty of currency manipulation, it's doing a poor job. The yen is currently at a near all-time high against the U.S. dollar, and Japanese manufacturers have steadily worked to move production out of their home country over the past two decades. All told, 70 percent of the machines Japanese automakers sell in the U.S. are built on American soil. So, why is Ford up in arms over Japan? It could be the manufacturer wants to put the country, and its manufacturers at a disadvantage in the markets covered by the TPP.

Report: Renault-Nissan moves to take control of Russia's largest automaker

Renault-Nissan aims to increase its stake in Avtovaz, giving the alliance majority control over Russia's largest automaker. The deal will likely see Renault and Nissan vehicles manufactured beside Lada models in the near future. Avtovaz recently finished a new production facility in Togliatti where the three brands plan to produce up to 1.6 million units per year. That move would make the Togliatti plant one of the largest automotive manufacturing facilities in the world. The companies expect the agreement to become final by 2014.

Technically, the deal is structured under a joint venture between Renault-Nissan and Russian Technologies, a state-owned corporation. Under a recently-signed memorandum of understanding, Renault-Nissan will own 67.13 percent of the venture, which will own 74.5 percent of Avtovaz. The alliance already holds a 25 percent stake in Avtovaz.

Under the MOU, Renault will invest around $300 million in the joint venture, while Nissan will put in $450 million.

Video: Japanese owner of Harley-Davidson that washed up on Canadian shore found

As far-fetched as it may seem, the owner of the Japanese Harley-Davidson motorcycle that washed up on the coast of Canada has been found. Beachcombers sent photographs of the bike to Harley-Davidson, which managed to track the registration to Ikuo Yokoyama in Miyagi Prefecture. Yokoyama lost three family members and his home in the tsunami that struck Japan a little more than a year ago and assumed his bike was gone forever. But the beachcombers have extracted the bike from the remote shore, and at its own expense, Harley-Davidson reportedly plans to have the machine shipped back to Miyagi, where it will be restored and returned to its rightful owner. Yokoyama is still living in a temporary shelter.

The bike drifted some 3,100 miles across the Pacific ocean in the back of a cube van. Yokoyama was using the box as storage for the bike on his property. Harley-Davidson says that despite plenty of corrosion, the motorcycle is in surprisingly good shape given what the machine has endured.

Miyagi Prefecture was one of the hardest-hit areas of Japan, where the disaster left 11,000 people dead or missing. Click past the jump to watch a CBC report on the remarkable story.

Continue reading Japanese owner of Harley-Davidson that washed up on Canadian shore found

Video: Honda shows off greatest hits in new Japanese ad

Honda is looking toward the future. A new Japanese ad for the company has made its way to YouTube featuring some of the most important models in the automaker's past. From lowly bicycles and small-displacement motorcycles to the ever-sexy 1965 RA272 F1 car and perfectly proportioned S800, the ghosts of yesterday are all lined up behind the new Acura NSX Concept. The spot spends plenty of time talking about the power of dreams and determination before finally ending on the rally cry of "Let's surpass yesterday's Honda!" The simple spot is titled "We won't be beaten."

At least that's according to the subtitles. The announcer could be reading us his grocery list for all we know. If the translation is accurate, though, it sounds like Honda is tacitly acknowledging that it needs to pull itself up by its bootstraps and get back into fighting shape. Let's hope they figure it out. Scroll down to watch the video for yourself.

Continue reading Honda shows off greatest hits in new Japanese ad

Video: Harley-Davidson lost in Japan's tsunami washes up in Canada

With the longest coastline in the world, Canada is bound to get all sorts of weird things washing up on its shores from every which direction. But a Harley-Davidson motorcycle? That's what one Peter Mark found while riding his ATV on a secluded island off the Pacific coast of British Columbia. It's origin? Japan.

The bike - enclosed along with other random items in what appears to be the compartment off a moving truck - appears to have traveled some 3,000 miles across the North Pacific from Japan's Miyagi Prefecture to the Canadian province of British Columbia. That's where Mark found it, rusted but recognizable inside the white cube that was apparently washed out to sea by the tsunami that struck the island nation one year ago.

The finder of the piece of iron driftwood left it where he found it and contacted the Japanese consulate in Vancouver which is trying to track down the original owner whose fate remains unknown. Scroll down to watch the fascinating video report.

Continue reading Harley-Davidson lost in Japan's tsunami washes up in Canada