Refreshed Mazda Demio goes on Sale in Japan

Mazda announced today that sales of the facelifted Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as the rest of the world knows it, have begun in Japan. The new Mazda2 is the company’s supermini and the target sales for its home market is 6,000 units per month. Read more »

Nissan Announces New Midterm Business Plan, will Introduce a New Vehicle Every Six Weeks for Six Years

Japanese carmaker Nissan Motor Co. revealed on Monday its new midterm business plan dubbed “Power 88”, with which it aims to boost both its global market share and profit margin to 8 percent within six years – hence the “88” reference in the name. Last year, Nissan, which is 44.3 percent owned by French partner Renault, had a 5.8 percent global market share.

The new plan calls for the introduction of 52 new cars for fiscal years 2011 to 2016, or about one new vehicle every six weeks.

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Ford Gives Japan Special Edition Mustang V6 Sport Appearance

America’s second favorite muscle car after the Camaro (in terms of 2011 sales as Chevy’s model has outsold Ford’s pony car by around 33 percent through May, according to the latest data), is being offered in Japan in a limited edition version called the “Mustang V6 Sport Appearance”. Read more »

Toyota Avensis Tourer to be exported from UK to Japan

Toyota plans to add another country to the 47 that it already exports the Avensis, which is built exclusively at its UK factory in Burnaston, Derbyshire: its own home market, Japan. The company said demand for European styling and engineering from Japanese customers prompted its decision to bring the mid-size model. Read more »

Go-Fast Porsche Cayman Driver Smacks Ferrari 360 at Supercar Gathering in Malaysia

A couple of mishaps involving private supercars marked this past weekend’s 2011 SuperGT race at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

The first incident occurred on the tarmac during a parade of sports and super cars when an overly enthusiastic but sloppy driver of a winged Porsche Cayman rear-ended a Ferrari 360 as it slowed down in front of the crowd. The red Ferrari then bumped into a silver Ferrari California that was in front of it. You’ll have to jump 52 seconds into the first video to see the very expensive fender benders.

The second mishap took place outside the track as the supercars were leaving. It involved a kitted-out Lamborghini Murcielago and a BMW M5. An eyewitness told Jalopnik that he saw the Murcielago and an BMW M5 chasing each other before the crash. You can see what happened to the Lambo in the video after the break.

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Toyota Presents the Successor to Last Year’s MR2 Study with the New GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II

At last year’s Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota showcased a concept study of an all-wheel drive hybrid sports car (see here) loosely based on the now obsolete MR2 roadster, developed in partnership with Japan’s GAZOO Racing.

Now the time has come for Toyota to unwrap its successor in the form of the GRMN SPORTS HYBRID Concept II that will receive both its public and racing debut at this weekend’s highly anticipated 39th Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany.

The name “GRMN” stands for GAZOO Racing tuned by Meister of Nürburgring, in honor of the late Hiromu Naruse (1944-2010), the Toyota chief test driver and head of the GAZOO Racing team who died in an accident last summer driving a prototype of the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition in Germany.

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