Japanese Car News

[iRage]

21 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Oooh ! and that was such a run-away success for Honda ! How did they find the brilliance to do it again

[Gummybr]

Is Nissan going fully on the EV Bandwagon??

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motorsport-news-formula-e/nissan-reveals-ariya-inspired-single-seat-ev-racer-concept

Then a couple of days back these came up. Max-Out the Sports Coupe, Surf-Out the Pickup and the Hang-Out the SUV/MPV thing. 

[iRage]

1 hour ago, Gummybr said:

Is Nissan going fully on the EV Bandwagon??

Yeah...it does seem like they have this huge concept of going all electric...would be interesting to see what happens....

[Gummybr]

3 hours ago, iRage said:

Yeah...it does seem like they have this huge concept of going all electric...would be interesting to see what happens....

Would be good if they can deliver just the Ariya.

[iRage]

Toyota USA : GR Corolla second teaser !

Some points to note:
1. The front grill does not seem to have the squarish, bulging shape of the GR Yaris. It could be that the camo hides it quite well or not there because its still a development model.

2. The container says NA G16 GR Four...does that mean there is a NA G16 as opposed to, or in addition to, the Turbo charged G16 ?

Pics courtesy of ToyotaUSA and Creative311 for the blow-ups

[iRage]

Toyota's new EV future...
30 EV models by 2030...100% of Lexus global sales (EU,US, China ?) being EVs by 2035...interesting times ahead...
The 15 concepts that were showcased do look good...well..most of them...

[Gummybr]

1 hour ago, iRage said:

Toyota's new EV future...
30 EV models by 2030...100% of Lexus global sales (EU,US, China ?) being EVs by 2035...interesting times ahead...
The 15 concepts that were showcased do look good...well..most of them...

3 Sports cars and a FJ Cruiser and an EV Double Cab. Seems like the whole range is covered except for the big LC. Interesting indeed.

[iRage]

15 hours ago, Gummybr said:

3 Sports cars and a FJ Cruiser and an EV Double Cab. Seems like the whole range is covered except for the big LC. Interesting indeed.

Yeah...Akio TOyoda had always kept on saying that existing EV tech does not suit a large frame SUV/Truck. O perhaps they are still in the process of developing something htat is actually viable. 

[Gummybr]

4 hours ago, iRage said:

Yeah...Akio TOyoda had always kept on saying that existing EV tech does not suit a large frame SUV/Truck. O perhaps they are still in the process of developing something htat is actually viable. 

Maybe so, I dont think the new LC300 is well received by people just like in the below video I saw,

But then again there is a Land Cruiser type compact EV in the line up so maybe they have planned out something. Autocar says that Lexus has a full size EV in the line up a 7 seater I think.

 

On the above video its unbelievable the Australians still get the old Patrol with the old interior, but they still like the fact that its nice to drive, shame the diesel would have been a good option for Australia.

[iRage]

19 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Maybe so, I dont think the new LC300 is well received by people just like in the below video I saw,

It seems to be a split as it always has been. When the 200 came out people didnt like that too but still it did quite well. Drove a diesel GR Sport...it is a much nicer car to drive (on the road) so many people actually might like it.

19 hours ago, Gummybr said:

But then again there is a Land Cruiser type compact EV in the line up so maybe they have planned out something. Autocar says that Lexus has a full size EV in the line up a 7 seater I think.

It is planned...it is just that they don't seem to have a viable solution just yet...the Tundra has a Hybrid option so since it is based onthe same platform as the Lexus LX and the LC300, it won't be too long before the LC300 gets a Hybrid option (In Japan it was mentioned 2023 ?). Just that they have not perfected it to be a full EV.

[iRage]

19 hours ago, Gummybr said:

On the above video its unbelievable the Australians still get the old Patrol with the old interior, but they still like the fact that its nice to drive, shame the diesel would have been a good option for Australia.

Strange...probably they find comfort in the fact that it is old...kind of like a lot of Aussies and South Africans prefer the LC100 because the funcitons, etc..is old and they do not want to change from what they are used to  After all even this reviewer siad he wishes Nissan keeps the Patrol as it is...and the main argument for it seems to be that it is old.

As for the Patrol...still prefer the old one much much better. Been a passenger in this one over a long drive....it just felt like an elephant wollowing along....and the car does need to be pushed hard. If not it just felt very...lazy and hazy..probably to keep the car smooth and quiet.

Edited December 16, 2021 by iRage

[iRage]

The new Noah and Voxy....and their GR and Modellista kits.
Maybe I am old but I do like the Noah's looks better.
Seems to have gotten pricey...gasoline variants seem to hover around 2.9mil yen withthe Hybrids going up to 3.9ish (so nearly 4mil on road price).

[iRage]

Then last year, end of November; Suzuki out of the blue released the next gen Alto. The sporty variants are not in the line up right now but might be introduced later on. Delivery started around mid December and by ealy January it already gota recall for airbags or seatbelts or something. But since then it seems to be doing okay.

Nothing new...Hybrid claims something like 27kmpl and the ene-charge something like 25kmpl...then there is TECT and Heartect...prety much their weight reducing structural rigidity enhancing method. Suzuki claims that these methods plus improvements in the suspension, etc..has made the car significantly more comfortable than the previous one. For now all the variants seem to be CVT.

[iRage]

Toyota offerings at the Tokyo Auto Salon (no..I did not make it out there because of the pandemic situation here...so all pics are from friends and internet)

GRMN Yaris

After much hype...it is a bit of a let down for existing owners of the car. The GRMN is offered in 3 variants; Standard, Circuit Pack and Rally Spec GRMN Yaris. There is no power upgrade over the GR Yaris (JPN spec) except for a bit of torque increase. So where does the extra performance come from ? Well..they have reduced the weight of the car by turning it in to a 2-seater. Plus additional carbon body panels. But the biggest contributor would be the short-ration gearbox. interestingly fact most of the upgrades to the GRMN have been available as upgrades to the GR Yaris but made standard for the GRMN variant. The prices range from 7mil to 8.2 mil yen, which is 4-5mil over the rally spec GR Yaris RC grade and about 2-3 mil over the high spec GR Yaris RZ High Performance edition. the centiment amongst many is that this caters more to the performance enthusiasts who are seeking nothing but JDM exclusivity. Exclusivity ? Well only 500 will be made for the Japanese market and 50 of them will come in the exclusive grey color. The car will be sold by lottery.

The grey car is the Circuit Package and the red one the Rally Spec.

 

I do like the different cluster. The normal one doesn't have that red line and the circular black recess lines that it encapsulates or that carbon weave pattern. 

Edited January 14, 2022 by iRage

[iRage]

In other news....Toyota unveiled the much anticipated GR GT3 concept. Many people were speculating that it might be the one of those things Toyota is working with Mazda because the earlier silouhette teaser images made the car look like the Mazda Vision concept. Is it ? This is supposed to be the base for their GT3 racer. Toyota's claim is that like the GR Yaris, this will be a car desgined for sports that will be adopted for street use.

 

They are also showcasing the Toyota bZ4X GR Sport Concept

 

[iRage]

Ralliart was revived in SEA a few years ago with the statement that is merely cosmetic and modest mechanical upgrade parts...well Rallart is back in Japan....have they changed their stance and moved in to tuning and building actual performance models ? We yet have to see...

Well..here is the Vision Ralliart concept...(yes the Vision was the concept base for the new Outlander)

 

[iRage]

We also see the official reveal of the Civic Type R production prototype we have been seeing for a few months...

[iRage]

Nissan unveiled the Fairlady Z Proto Spec limited edition model. Only 240 units will be made at a price of 6.9mil yen (~61,000USD). The orange one with the custom body kit does look nice...

[iRage]

The wait is finally over !
"The world premiere of a TOYOTA GAZOO Racing sports car is coming Thursday night, March 31, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time." - Toyota-USA Pressroom. 

The reveal will be at 10.30am 1st April, Japan time (sincerely hope this isn't one of Toyota's elaborate April fools pranks which they are quite known for).

It seems like the bestcar magazine rendering was pretty close (again).

[iRage]

and its launched !

Mechanically it is what we expected (GR Yaris engine and drive train with more power), the hideous triple exhaust is there for a purpose (but really ? wasn't there any other way ?).

Comes in two trim levels for the US market...the CORE (i.e. standard variant) without a carbon roof or aggressive rear spoilers (and no LSDs ?). The second is a launch only limited circuit edition; hich comes with the carbon roof, LSD, hood vents, etc...

I like the CORE...sems like it ill be a fun family run around....the Circuit edition...looks a bit of a clown car to me....

Its supposed to hit the other markets too (as I predict it probably would be when the GR Yaris sales start to taper down).

I can't get the official press images because the server is overloaded. Here are screen grabs...

[iRage]

[Gummybr]

Nissan launches the Sakura (named after the flower) an EV Kei offering with 180kms of electric range, coming out at Yen 1.7mil after subsidies. Does seem to look nice but its got a small battery pack. Got better power than the 650cc kei cars so should be an ideal city run about. I cant just wait to see the local EV guys go mad.

 

[iRage]

6 hours ago, Gummybr said:

EV Kei offering with 180kms of electric range, coming out at Yen 1.7mil after subsidies

Nissan used this as a marketing hook but after checking it out...I can safely say that it is not at 1.7mil yen. At 1.7 mil yen what you get is the poverty spec car...you just get the very very basics in terms of safety (i.e. what is required by law which includes auto braking, acc, and something else). Does not even have carpets a that price. The price can creep up closer to a bit under 2.5mil yen once you put the stereo and carpets and stuff, which also includes the color scheme (default - non paying color is more or less a very small color palette (can't remember but I think it was all single color as well). Having said that the dealers are suposed to be offering some launch campaigns so there might be heavy discounts during the first purchase period.

The second grade comes in close to a bit less than 3mil yen with carpets, stereo, etc...and comes with the full safety suite which includes Pro Pilot 2. 

6 hours ago, Gummybr said:

Got better power than the 650cc kei cars so should be an ideal city run about

Torwue figures are supposed to be literally double that of a kei car  Looking forward to getting to test one out.

But I am still not sold on the price....

[Gummybr]

5 hours ago, iRage said:

 

Torwue figures are supposed to be literally double that of a kei car  Looking forward to getting to test one out.

But I am still not sold on the price....

Looks like someone is interested.

Machang on the price EV tech is expensive, read somewhere that for batteries 1kW is $128 which is going to go up further in years to come and gradually drop.

ICE is refined to the max over the years and it's cheap to make. So yes EV's will still be expensive than the ICE vehicles.

Question is do they still get the kei car tax in Japan since it's more powerful but sticks to kei dimensions? What about the Honda e?

[iRage]

On 5/22/2022 at 1:21 AM, Gummybr said:

Looks like someone is interested.

Well...we are looking for a practical daily car for just running around. The Corolla wagon has the space but lacks he safety and even the efficiency and ease of driving. The Yaris is safe and very funbut not very practical for daily use.

On 5/22/2022 at 1:21 AM, Gummybr said:

ICE is refined to the max over the years and it's cheap to make. So yes EV's will still be expensive than the ICE vehicles.

I wasn't comparing it to the ICE prices...for starters I am not convinced on the 1.7mil yen price (spec''d out a base spec Mitsubishi variant without anything other than the safety package and it came to 2.2mil yen..like that is all it had). Then on the other hand, when you look at the monthly payment with more or less the same down payment (500,000yen) the Leaf (which even in basic form has more safety features than the Sakura) comes in at about 22,000yen and the Sakura at 16,000 yen. So for 6000yen more you get twice the car (considering the monthly mileage we put it does a pure EV vehicle at that price makes less sense than a standard kei car). 

The attraction with the EV kei car is that it is a step towards the Japanese policy of 0 ICE by 2030. The price component is mainly a sales hook to get people in through the door. The second attraction is for most people, epecially in the city, their parking spots only accomodate kei cars. So this would be an attraction for them.  Granted...strictly looking at sticker prices, this so far is THE cheapest kei car on the market. But then with Sony and Toyota coming out with EVs it will be interesting to see what will happen (albeit Toyota is not too interested in kei cars so most of them might actually end up being Daihatsus) 

On 5/22/2022 at 1:21 AM, Gummybr said:

Question is do they still get the kei car tax in Japan since it's more powerful but sticks to kei dimensions? What about the Honda e?

Kei cars have more or less near to nothing road taxes. It is like 4000something yen (compare that with 36400 yen for a 1600cc new car). Plus shaken costs every two years which is almost as much as a normal car (about 60-70K). The EVs will have the same road taxes (except that for the first two years or so you get some goverment rebates which make it more or less 0 yen). Shaken costs, I beleive and I might be wrong, are going to remain the same.

Honda e is ridiculously expensive. A decently spec'd car comes to about 5mil yen. Segment wise it is a bit smaller than the Leaf, which costs about 2mil yen less.

Checked out a BZ4x...Toyota only gives it under its KINTO subscription service. 700,000yen down with a 99,000yen (+tax) monthly subscription fee. The fee includes all service, taxes, potential repair fees. So the user/owner only has to charge and drive. Toyota is giving it only through KINTO so that they have control over battery maintenence.