| Japan Report: Mitsuoka Offers Eight-Headed Serpents for the Driveway | | Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 10:46:23 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO — Mitsuoka of Japan has revealed a production version of its sexy Orochi concept from 2001 and will be selling 400 copies to the in-the-know enthusiasts who are Mitsuoka's market niche. Although its products are available in North America, Mitsuoka is only known in the U.S. to a limited group of enthusiasts. To date, it has offered rebodied Nissan cars — which channel the style of 1960s classic British sedans — and tiny microcars. In 2001, the company distinguished itself when it shocked the automotive world with the sexy Acura NSX-based Orochi coupe concept. Now a production version has just been revealed at the same time as a new micro-racing roadster. We are glad to report that the curves and individual touches of the Orochi concept have been retained. The midengine, rear-wheel-drive sports car — which was named after an eight-headed serpent — has received a new power plant: It is a reliable, albeit slightly dull, 230-horsepower 3.3-liter V6 from Toyota, mated to a five-speed automatic transmission.... | |
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| | | Japanese Domestic Market Speculation: Worthy of Seppuku? | | Posted Thursday, October 05, 2006 10:46:04 PM by Blog57 Team | | Few publications around the world provide highly-improbable speculation better than the magazines that come out of Japan (AutoBild holds down the fort in Germany). While most of the information is easily dismissed as rumor mongering and baseless conjecture, a few gems often reside in the rough.So with that said, our friend 'S' and the peeps over at the Temple of VTEC let loose some scans from the oh-so-Japanese entitled, HolidayAuto magazine. The details and stories foretell the future of Honda's lineup, albeit with information that is, at best, dubious.Follow the jump to see all the scans and read deets translated by the original author's girlfriend. Enjoy with a grain of saltFirst up is the Acura NSX, which sorely lacked a redesign towards the end of its life, but will probably be a serious contender in its next iteration.... | |
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| | | ACURA RL This car goes. | | Posted Thursday, September 07, 2006 12:45:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | For more than 15 years, Acura's top-of-the-line sedan has been one of those cars that oozes conservative luxury -- genteel, rounded, inoffensive, unaggressive, yet smooth, refined and imparting the idea that, yes, this car will quietly get up to three-digit speed without much fuss. We're talking about the second-generation Legend (1991-95) and its successor, the RL (1996-2004), both of them front-wheel-drive. It was difficult to find anything terrifically wrong with these cars, except, perhaps, the ongoing lack of power (engines ranging from 200 to 230 horsepower) and the fact that they seemed, in a highly competitive industry that was trying to graft flash onto the flanks of its luxury cars, a bit stodgy by comparison, a bit bland. Maybe, after all, they were just upmarket Accords and nothing else.... | |
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| | | Tuner Special: A Japanese Curve for BMW M6 | | Posted Sunday, September 03, 2006 6:46:04 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO — If you thought Hamann was the only tuner putting gullwing doors on hot cars, cast your view farther afield to a small Japanese specialist called Curve Auto Design. Curve has just created a version of its S2 Spec gullwing door kit for the BMW M6 and 645CSi. But the company prides itself on being able to convert nearly any product from conventional doors to scissor doors. Curve also makes door kits for such cars as the Lotus Elise, Chevrolet Corvette, Acura NSX, Mazda RX-8, Audi TT and Nissan 350Z. The company offers conversions for older models as well. Curve provides body pieces for various models, including front and rear spoilers, wings, air intakes and other components. For more information, see the Curve Web site. What this means to you: Great new party game: Picture what a car of your choice — say, a Shelby GT500, for example — might look like with custom doors.... | |
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| | | Smoke show: The dying breed | | Posted Sunday, August 13, 2006 8:45:47 AM by Blog57 Team | | Like just about everything else in the World, things come and go in cycles. One of the most exciting trends is supercars. Every 20 to 25 years, enthusiasts are treated to fantastic road and track machines that dreams are made of. Although many continue to be built, the great ones come and go.Two decades ago, I was drooling over the Ferrari 288GTO, the Lamborghini Countach LP5000 and the Porsche 959. Does anyone remember the Jaguar XJ220 or the McLaren F1? How about the ill-fated Vector cars? These cars were exceptional in design and performance but they did not last. In the course of the 90s, Ferrari was down to three models and both Lamborghini and Porsche were limited to just one. Fast forward to 2005-06 and each of these builders are soaring to new heights. Porsche and Ferrari are creating ultra exclusive cars available in very limited numbers and Lamborghini has just introduced a third car in its line-up.Although the ultra-luxury super-sports car business is doing well, many of them are leaving us as these lines are being read.... | |
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| | | American Honda Sets July Sales Records | | Posted Friday, August 11, 2006 10:45:56 PM by Blog57 Team | | Posting increased sales of its best-selling Accord and Civic models, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced record July results of 151,804 Honda and Acura vehicle sales, an increase of 10.2 percent over July 2005. American Honda posted July light truck sales of 67,853, up 11.0 percent for a new all-time record, while year-to-date American Honda total vehicle sales of 893,031 were up 7.5 percent on a daily selling rate basis. The Honda Division posted its seventh consecutive record month of total sales, delivering 133,601 cars and light trucks to consumers; an increase of 12.7 percent over year-ago results. A new all-time record for light trucks of 63,049 units represents a 12.9 percent increase over same period last year. Record months for the Pilot, at 19,490 units, and the Odyssey, at 18,322 units, reflected increases of 37.6 and 10.7 percent, respectively.... | |
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| | | Without RSX, Acura loses personality | | Posted Friday, July 21, 2006 8:45:57 AM by Blog57 Team | | It's official: Driving enthusiasts can now strike Acura off their gotta-have-it lists. Because, following last year's dismissal of its groundbreaking NSX mid-engined sports car, Acura has confirmed that its lively RSX sports coupe has been given the bum's rush as well. As the last nut and bolt of personality left in Acura's lineup, enthusiasts forgave Acura's marketing gurus for ditching the legendary Integra badge with the more corporate brand-friendly alphanumeric RSX when the car debuted in 2002. The RSX's predecessor, the front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder Integra, through four generations beginning in 1986, established Acura's credibility with enthusiasts - particularly with the legendary Type R, which is still coveted by those in the know. Although not as raw as the Integra, the new RSX was, and still is, one of the best-handling front-wheel-drive cars extant.... | |
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| | | Acura Announces June Sales Results | | Posted Wednesday, July 19, 2006 10:46:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | TORRANCE, Calif., July 3 -- Fueled by a June record for the TSX sports sedan and continued steady sales of the TL performance luxury sedan, Acura sold 15,107 units during the month, the division announced today. In addition, year-to-date sales reached 96,301 units. The TSX sports sedan continued its sales momentum in 2006 with record-setting June sales of 3,162 units, breaking the previous record, set last year, by 2.5 percent. Year-to-date TSX sales reached 19,826 -- up more than 11 percent versus 2005. Additionally, the TL performance luxury sedan maintained its position as the top-selling Acura, with 5,541 units sold in June, bringing year-to-date TL sales totals to 36,297. "Gasoline prices are affecting all but the hottest models," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president, sales.... | |
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