First Drive: 2011 Lexus LFA

It's taken nearly four days to wrap my head around the 2011 Lexus LFA, and if I'm honest, I'm still not halfway there. The combination of a decade-long gestation, a half dozen prototypes comprised of two different materials, a high displacement V10 that cuts fuel at 9,500 RPM and a $375,000 price tag has left me incapacitated and trembling in a caffeine and nicotine-fueled fetal position for the better part of a week. I can't make heads nor tails...

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Ram hybrid coming in 2010

According to The Detroit News, the big joint development program formed several years ago between General Motors, Daimler, Chrysler and BMW to develop a two-mode hybrid system for light duty vehicles is over. With all four automakers now having launched versions of the gas-electric system, the joint program is being wound down and the Troy, Michigan office where engineers from each company collaborated will be closed by the end of this year. Most...

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Tokyo 2009: Should Honda bring the Freed MPV to America?

Here in Tokyo, we were hanging around with some American Honda Motor Co. officials when they got their first up-close look at the Freed. The Freed is a compact minivan/MPV based on Honda's Fit architecture. For reference, the six-seat, three-row Freed is about 15 inches shorter than a Mazda5 and about 4 inches longer than a U.S.-spec Fit.Freed's third row seats fold up against the sides of its body, leaving a completely flat load floor. At least...

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Tokyo 2009: Toyota FT-EV II concept

Toyota has revealed its latest plug-in electric concept car here at the Tokyo Motor Show. The FT-EV II is a followup to the iQ-based FT-EV that we saw in Detroit earlier this year but appears to be a ground-up design that takes advantage of the electric drive architecture. The iQ is promoted as a 3+1 layout because the presence of the steering column and instrument cluster force the driver's seat to be further back � limiting the already small rear...

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Tokyo 2009: Toyota Prius claims Japan Car of the Year title

For the past 30 years, Japan has declared a car of the year, an award given to newly released or redesigned vehicles released from November 1st of the previous year to October 1st of the current year. More than 60 jurors composed of Japanese journalists receive an allocation of votes, and the car with the most votes comes away with the crown.This year the Toyota Prius narrowly edged out the Honda Insight, continuing the recent trend of environmentally-friendly...

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Tokyo 2009: Subaru Legacy B4 GT300

Our jaws literally dropped when we spotted this car in the Subaru booth here at the Tokyo Motor Show. The concoction of carbon fiber spoilers, wings and widened fenders seen here is the Legacy B4 GT300 racecar that is set to compete in Japan's Super GT series next year. The car actually made its racing debut at Fuji Speedway last month, and even though previous driveline problems prevented this racer from making an even earlier debut, the B4 GT300...

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Tokyo 2009: Caterham CSR 175

It would be tempting to call this year's Tokyo Motor Show an entirely domestic affair, but that's not entirely accurate, as a few smaller specialty automakers like Lotus and Alpina took advantage of a surplus of available square footage by nailing down prime floor space for themselves. As a belated addition to the festivities, Caterham, England's merry band of Colin Chapman acolytes marked the occasion with the world debut of its CSR 175.The new...

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Tokyo 2009: Mazda RX-500

One of the coolest concept cars here at the Tokyo Motor Show isn't even new. In fact, it's almost forty years old. Originally displayed at the Tokyo show in 1970, this Mazda RX-500 Concept features styling similar to the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO Breadvan, gullwing doors that swing forward, and a 491cc rotary engine just behind the seats. Weighing in at just 1873 pounds, the 247-horsepower concept was said to have reached nearly 150 mph on Mazda's...

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Tokyo 2009: Nissan Fuga

We've always thought that Infiniti's current M35/M45 sedan deserved greater consideration from American consumers than it has typically received. With a strong VQ-series powerplant and entertaining rear-wheel drive handling, there has always been a lot to like from behind the wheel, but its restrained styling has seemingly always failed to convey the sort of emotion delivered by the driving experience. Thankfully, judging by its just-introduced Nissan...

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Tokyo 2009: 2010 Toyota Sai hybrid

Toyota has rolled out its new Sai hybrid here at the Tokyo Motor Show, and if it looks familiar, that's because you've probably seen something very similar wearing "Lexus" and "HS250h" badges.The overall aesthetic of the Sai is very similar to that of its premium sibling, but it features different light fixtures front and rear, along with bespoke fascias on both ends as well as a unique hood and trunk lid.The Nippon-market dedicated gas-electric...

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Tokyo 2009: Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo LWB

The Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo long wheelbase revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show today doesn't add anything to the less well-endowed Alpina B7 we saw at Geneva except length, but isn't that enough? The double-turbo'd 4.4-liter V8 brings 507 romping horsepower and 516 lb-ft. of torque � all of which is enough to get the white whale to sixty in 4.8 seconds.Alpina's custom 21-inchers support an interior package touched up with the tuner's logo throughout. Our...

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Tokyo 2009: Mitsubishi i-MiEV Cargo

You can make anything bigger and better if you just add a hump, and that's what Mitsubishi has done to its i-MiEV to create the i-MiEV Cargo.For those who find Ford's Transit Connect simply too monstrous and don't want to pay for gas � like, oh, a commercial concern in Tokyo � Mitsu's battery-powered i-MiEV could be the perfect solution. Growing only in height compared to its hatchback sibling, the thing is tiny but still packs 62 cubic feet of cargo...

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Tokyo 2009: Suzusho Supasse-V

The concept behind the Suzusho Supasse-V is a good one. Take a lightweight chassis, a Le Mans-inspired body, then stuff it with the turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-4 from the Mazdaspeed3 and a 6-speed transmission. How can that go wrong? Well, we wouldn't say the Supasse-V is a failed attempt at the formula, but it fell short of our expectations from when we first learned about the car a few weeks ago.In person the Supasse-V looks like...well...a kit...

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Tokyo 2009: WRX STi Carbon

Most people we talked with don't seem to understand the point of the Subaru WRX STi Carbon unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show � but it's a JDM-only car, and frankly, there are a lot of things that outsiders don't understand about the Japanese market.The carbon-roofed A-Line will come with two choices of engine, but since the model isn't earmarked for America, we probably don't need to worry about it. That said, the powerplants are as intriguing as...

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Tokyo 2009: Honda SkyDeck

Unlike the CR-Z which is nothing more than a thinly veiled preview of an upcoming production model, the Honda Skydeck remains a pure design study at this point. While most automakers would provide a full list of specifications for a concept that is nothing more than a fiberglass buck, Honda isn't bothering with even that. The only thing the automaker says about this Tokyo Motor Show star is that it's a theoretical hybrid.The SkyDeck is a six-seat...

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Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu Basket concept

We're sure it wasn't meant this way, but standing beside the Daihatsu Basket concept, you do feel like you could throw things in it, pick the thing up by its t-top crossbar, and take it to a picnic. And carrying it that way would probably be better than driving it. A thoroughly JDM offering, it is described thusly: "the slow pace of life open four-seater model with a wide rear deck is designed for full enjoyment of life, such as for trips to the...

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okyo 2009: Honda EV-N concept

Honda's new CEO Takanobu Ito started off his tenure at the head of the company today by unveiling a new plug-in battery electric concept. The EV-N showcar hides its futuristic electron pumping powertrain in a decidedly retro bodystyle thanks to a design reminiscent of the subcompact 600N of the Sixties.Honda has yet to reveal much in the way of technical details about the diminutive hatch, but we do know it uses lithium-ion batteries and the electric...

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Tokyo 2009: Subaru Hybrid Tourer concept

The Subaru Hybrid Tourer is sharp-nosed and an all-out sharp piece of car. The car's flat floor hides two electric motors, one aft that powers the car in low-speed acceleration and assists with acceleration, and one up front connected to a direct-injection turbocharged gas engine. The Tourer is also fitted with Subaru's trademark symmetrical all-wheel drive system and a Lineatronic CVT transmission.As for its design, Subie officials tell us that...

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Tokyo 2009: Lexus reveals $375,000 LFA supercar

It seems like the Lexus LFA has been around forever. In reality, the first concept version was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in 2005, but that's a long time in the automotive world. Additional concepts followed in 2007 and 2008, and the on-off rumors of a production version haven't help. Nevertheless, the production version of the LFA is finally here at the Tokyo Motor Show, and it is glorious. All of which makes it harder to stomach that the...

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Tokyo 2009: Honda CR-Z concept 2009

Honda fans of all sorts have cause to celebrate today with the reveal of the 2009 iteration of the CR-Z coupe. In typical Honda fashion, this CR-Z remains a concept in name and detail only. What you see here is essentially the production coupe that will go on sale in Japan next February and then arrive in North America in the Fall.The cool scoop-like grille from the original 2007 concept has been largely carried over, with the biggest changes being...

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Tokyo 2009: Toyota unveils FT-86 Concept

We got a sneak peak of the FT-86 earlier this month, and now Toyota has just officially revealed its new 2+2 concept here at the Tokyo Motor Show. It's been a while since the Japanese automaker has offered anything resembling a sports car � especially one with rear-wheel drive � so there was plenty of excitement when the covers were pulled off the FT-86. The coupe looks stunning in person, and we particularly like the details like the carbon-fiber...

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Tokyo 2009: 2010 Nissan GT-R

Without much fanfare (okay � zero fanfare), Nissan has rolled a tweaked version of its home-market GT-R onto the show floor here at the Tokyo Motor Show.While you're not likely to notice any exterior differences, JDM buyers should appreciate that Nissan has fettled the suspension, fitted higher-flow cats to the exhaust system for improved low- and mid-range response (as if this were a problem before), and they've also added a next-generation hard-drive...

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Tokyo 2009: Lotus Exige Stealth

Lotus has unveiled the latest special edition of its maximum performance, minimum everything else Exige today at the Tokyo Motor Show. We took a moment to check out the Exige Stealth (known as the Scura in Europe) on the show floor and managed to curry some time with Lotus vehicle development director Roger Becker.The new model gains a set of comely forged alloy wheels, but the big news with the car is the unique paint. We asked Becker about the...

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Tokyo 2009: Nissan Land Glider Concept

At the Tokyo Motor Show this morning, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn rolled silently onto the stage in the company's latest battery powered concept, the Land Glider. Like Volkswagen's One-Liter concep from the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Land Glider is a narrow-gauge tandem two-seater. However, that's where the similarities end.The Nissan is purely battery powered, with a pair of rear-mounted electric motors receiving juice from a sub-floor lithium-ion battery...

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Tokyo 2009: Nissan confirms three EVs for production, including Infiniti

We're here at the Tokyo Motor Show, where CEO Carlos Ghosn has just confirmed that Nissan, Renault's Japanese alliance partner, will boast a lineup of at least three electric vehicles in the next few years � and a fourth vehicle is also possible. We already know about the Leaf hatchback (above) that was unveiled back in August. In addition, Nissan will build an electric version of the NV200 light commercial van that debuted at the Geneva Motor Show....

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Tokyo 2009: Mitsubishi Concept PX-MiEV

Mitsubishi has put its plug-in hybrid Concept PX-MiEV crossover concept on a pedestal here at the Tokyo Motor Show, touting the CUV's "environmental and on-road performance," as well as its serial and parallel modes and wireless charging capabilities.The crossover's design language represents another refinement for Mitsubishi, and although it's markedly less provocative than the newly re-shnozzed 2010 Outlander, it presents a pleasing collection...

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