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19 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Is that a rebadged Suzuki? I know they have this rebadging game going in Japan for Kei cars. The Believe the Dayz / ekWagon were originals.

Uhh...no....it is based on the eK/Days platform. In fact it is slated to be the replacement (or variant or something) of the eK X Space.

THe rebadgings are mostly as follows : Suzuki with Mazda, Daihatsu with Toyota and Nissan with Mitsubishi.

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On 4/9/2023 at 7:54 AM, iRage said:

Uhh...no....it is based on the eK/Days platform. In fact it is slated to be the replacement (or variant or something) of the eK X Space.

THe rebadgings are mostly as follows : Suzuki with Mazda, Daihatsu with Toyota and Nissan with Mitsubishi.

I have seen the Suzuki Every being rebadged as Nissan NV and Mitsubishi Mini Cab. What made me think was the front A Pillar which is very similar to that on the Suzuki Spacia.

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4 hours ago, Gummybr said:

I have seen the Suzuki Every being rebadged as Nissan NV and Mitsubishi Mini Cab. What made me think was the front A Pillar which is very similar to that on the Suzuki Spacia.

They did that sometime ago for the NV100....they don't do it now (I don't think it did that well). 

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  • 1 month later...

The world has a new baby crossover ! Thank you Lexus 😕

Lexus LBX, i.e. Lexus Breakthrough X-over <according to Toyota's press release>.

Based on the GA-B platform, the LBX is the Yaris Cross' tech loaded lux'd up sibling (I believe it has a slight power bump).

As for looks...kind of like a Crown Crossover had a love child with a Mazda CX-30.

Interesting choice of rear suspension for a luxury car...a torsion beam (no...it was not good even on the A-class...it made the rear jittery...as it does on the Yaris Cross). The Yaris Cross has a torsion beam on its 2WD variant and double wish-bone setup on the AWD. I suppose Lexus will do the same if an AWD was introduced. <Why does Toyota do that ? Does it save that much money? Even the Corolla Touring has two different setups for the gasoline and Hybrid variants.

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Totally loving the old school LC look. Even the interior (dashboard) looks rugged and old schoolish (has the old 70s series flare to it). Since the GX has always been a dressed up and softned down version of the Prado, one has to wonder what the Prado will look like (rumors in Japan is that there will be a soft looking version plus a version with a bit of a rugged look like in the RAV4 and that the squared off headlights will house rounded headlights as a homage to the old school LC70s..again..only rumors...)
For now the US market gets a 3.4L Twin Turbo V6 (349hp?) mated to a 10 speed AT and a Hybrid headed in the future. 
Manufacturers and the use of numbers in the car names...back in the day the numbers actually meant something. Now it just seems to be just a soul-less number used to keep the practice alive. 
 

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Lexus also released the all new 7-seater TX (replacement for the horrendous 7 seater RX they had..with the TX Lexus claims that kids with legs can actually ist in the back and that the rear will not be wagging like a dog's tongue). The TX comes in three configurations;  a 249hp turbo charged 2.4L engine (TX350); twin motor setup with the same 2.4L turbo charged engine pushing 362hp (TX500 F Sport) or PHEV using a 3.5L V6 pushing 42024-lexus-tx-350-luxury-exterior-105-6481f668ba8c2.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*2024-lexus-tx-350-luxury-exterior-102-6481f668867e5.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*2024-lexus-tx-350-luxury-exterior-103-6481f66891c00.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*2024-lexus-tx-104-647f49acd59d3.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*06hp (TX550+). but lets face it...the GX is more exciting..the TX is just another pavement princess crossover.

 

Edited by iRage
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***hmm...the pictures of the previous posts seem to have dissapeared...oh well***

A few days ago Mitsubishi Europe revealed the new Mitsubishi Colt, reviving the badge after a long time in many parts of the region. Well...it is simply a rebadged Renault Clio/Leticia. The Colt the other parts of the world have been having for the last few generations have been a segment smaller, so no idea if they will have the same Renault based car as the next gen Colt for the rest of the world as well.

240233.jpg240235.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Well...today's hot buzz was the reveal of the new Prado and the updated Land Cruiser 70.

First glimpse of the new Toyota LandCruiser Prado 💕 and as bestcar web predicted, there are two different faces.
 
According to Toyota Japan's website there are 5 power trains (including Hybrid which is at present only confirmed for the US and Chinese markets). But Japan is only going to get the standard 1GD 2.8L diesel and 2TR 2.7L Petrol ??? WTH ? That Petrol engine sucked in the old one (there is no improvement in power or torque !).
 
In the US the circular light one is called the Land Cruiser 1958 (or something in the 50s) and the other one the standard Land Cruiser. They also get a Launch Edition which has the circular lights.
 
Called the Land Cruiser 250, it is uncertain if the PRADO name will be kept or not. Without the Prado name it is going to be confusing in a lot of markets where you get both the full sized Land Cruiser and the Prado. The fact that Toyota has been officially calling it Land Cruiser 300 could be a sign that the Prado name will be dropped and this be called the Land Cruiser 250.
The car will go to sale the first quarter of 2024.
 
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Next big buss was the reveal of the updated Land Cruiser 70. Japan was especially excited because Toyota confirmed that the LC70 will be sold in Japan as a continuous/standard model in its JDM lineup (the 70 series was retired from Japan nearly 10 years ago and a limited edition was sold for 1 year for its 40th ? anniversary).

The JDM variant will get the 2.8L 1GD engine found in the current Prado with a 6AT. Export markets will retain some of the engines in updated form with both an AT and MT option. 

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1 hour ago, Gummybr said:

Seems like they kept that spot to fit a snorkel. Not digging the bonnet hump though.

Which spot are you talking about ? That black plastic vent like thing ?

That is the filler cap for AdBlue.

アドブルーはボンネット横に注入口がある

But yes..the height increase in the fenders might make it easier to run a snorkel (especially inside the engine bay as now you have more space on top of the engine.

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14 hours ago, iRage said:

Which spot are you talking about ? That black plastic vent like thing ?

That is the filler cap for AdBlue.

アドブルーはボンネット横に注入口がある

But yes..the height increase in the fenders might make it easier to run a snorkel (especially inside the engine bay as now you have more space on top of the engine.

Oh... I genuinely thought it was a blanking for a snorkel. All the European cars have the ad blue tanks at the rear as it is used to clean the exhaust, any reason why they would place it near the engine? 

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1 hour ago, Gummybr said:

Oh... I genuinely thought it was a blanking for a snorkel. All the European cars have the ad blue tanks at the rear as it is used to clean the exhaust, any reason why they would place it near the engine? 

I think it is because depending on the configuration of the truck the exhaust location would be different. So it probably is easier to have the AdBlue tank closer to the head-end ?

I don't know...I am just guessing here.

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Nissan has introduced a Limited edition (only 1000) Nissan Skyline Nismo (ok it aint the GTR but a tuned version of the sedan) with 420hp, 550Nm of torque. It brings back the GT badge to the Skyline.

 

More info on features can be accessed here, including how aerodynamics work

https://www3.nissan.co.jp/vehicles/new/skyline/specifications/nismo.html

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2 hours ago, Gummybr said:

It brings back the GT badge to the Skyline.

I am 99% certain this isn't the case. The Skyline's base grades at intro used to be ones like 350GT, 200GT-t, etc.. Then with the mid-cycle refresh and the introduction of the 400R the grades became GT, GT TypeS, GT TypeS P, etc...

Here is my gripe with Nissan and NISMO variants...

The VR30DTT engine is wonderful ! Nice, smooth, responsive, has plenty of grunt even in stock form. It actually puts the Toyota V6s to shame (and I love Toyota cars with the v6 engines). Let down...suspension and steering. The suspension recoil is a bit jello-ish. You go over a bump the car does a wierd bouncey motion to settle back in. Worst is the car is not shy about understeering. Even in sports mode it understeered/ The 400R made it a little better but not totally. Hopefully NISMO variant is better. The biggest let down is the steering. Steer-by-wire. No no no. The steering feels totally disconnected. The drive modes change the weight on the wheel but really doesn't do anything. Also, there is no linear feel to it at all. 

This leads to my gripe with Nissan and NISMO. They do not do anything to actually improve their cars. They just do some superficial tweaks, stick some body parts to it...and that is it. Then they beg and try to appeal to consumers' sense of nostalgia to sell them by bringing up loved badges like GT, 400R, etc...even their local TV commercials do exactly that.

Quite sad actually.

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3 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Nissan has introduced a Limited edition (only 1000) Nissan Skyline Nismo (ok it aint the GTR but a tuned version of the sedan) with 420hp, 550Nm of torque. It brings back the GT badge to the Skyline.

 

More info on features can be accessed here, including how aerodynamics work

https://www3.nissan.co.jp/vehicles/new/skyline/specifications/nismo.html

After seeing this ad, I have fond memories of my old V35 250GT skyline which I owned for over 4 years in the mid 2000's. I recall some of the commercials were very similar and went on the whole nostalgic vibe of showing previous generations of the car. Was a very nice car to drive at the time. 

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On 8/8/2023 at 10:58 AM, iRage said:

I am 99% certain this isn't the case. The Skyline's base grades at intro used to be ones like 350GT, 200GT-t, etc.. Then with the mid-cycle refresh and the introduction of the 400R the grades became GT, GT TypeS, GT TypeS P, etc...

 

Ah no I meant they are putting the GT badge (like on the original Prince Skyline) on a Skyline again.

Atleast they have made some effort to ad 15hp more and more torque + they say the engines are hand built like the GTR, they want it to be more of a Gran Tourer rather than an out and out performance model. The body styling which they claim to improve aero and the Recaro seats are a good addition. Being limited to 1000 units means that they are going to make money out of it with a hefty price tag. But I do believe they have tried a bit more than normal this time with few performance tweeks, dont know how much better the car is during day to day driving given the premium you pay.

 

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18 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Ah no I meant they are putting the GT badge (like on the original Prince Skyline) on a Skyline again.

Aha !

18 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Atleast they have made some effort to ad 15hp more and more torque + they say the engines are hand built like the GTR

and like I said...those engines are beautiful. I believe the engine is as tunes for the Fairlady Nismo ?

Sadly, there isn't much buzz over here. There was a huge promo thing with teaser images stating that there will be a new car released on the 8th of August. People barely realized that this new model was the Skyline NISMO :) Some publications even wrote that they will write about the new model as soon as it is launched later in the day after writing about the NISMO :D 

Last I checked most of the 900 NISMOs were allocated and 100 of the Nismo Limited lottery getting filled up quickly (compare that to the GR Corolla, Civic Type R, etc...got 5000+ lottery entries and orders within a day). No doubt they will sell them all.

Yes..they tried with the Skyline...and that is the thing...they always "try" (putting bits and pieces that actually make those subtle differences which other manufacturers do not get) but never actually do the heavy lifting to fix what really matters. E.g. The old Fairlady was a good car but was considered to be heavy. They could have done a lot more to make the new one lighter. Instead, they increased the weight, yes there is more power, but the thing is that doesn't change the fact that you are not going to feel the weight mid-corner (an issue with the GR Corolla too). But here is the thing...the Fairlady moves like a bat out of hell and looks a lot more elegant and refined than every other Japanese sports car on sale right now. Even with the Fairlady Z, that car should have a lot more buzz than what it currently has. Nissan simply does not give enough for the buzz to actually keep going and prove that any hype it gets is real.  Equally annoying is Toyota on the other end of the spectrum, they take a car stick a new color on to it and creates a whole lot of unnecessary hype and absolute fluff around it. 

Whenever Nissan does give us a completely new, modern product, people go crazy over it. The Leaf, Note, Sakura EV, the new X-Trail all have proved that. Sadly I feel it all boils down to money. Money which Nissan does not have.

But here is the thing...it is strongly believed that this is the end of the Skyline sedan  and that this is sort of the swan song version. Nissan has neither confirmed or denied this with only responding with them having exciting plans for the Skyline badge. On the other hand, the Inifnity Q50 is definitely getting scrapped from the US market we no replacement planned. Considering this is where most of the sedan's market was held, it is unlikely Nissan will manufacturer a sedan just for Japan (when Japanese seem to not like sedans anymore)

Edited by iRage
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Mitsubishi Indonesia revealed Mitsubishi's latest mini crossover, the Mitsubishi XForce. The car is apparently designed and built in Indonesia.  After its Indonesian launch, the car is supposed to get introduced in other markets.

The car comes with a 1.5L engine mated to a CVT and is available only in FWD. Interestingly it comes with a drive selector for Wet, Gravel, Mud and Normal along with Active Yaw Control :)

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