The new Nissan Tiida (Versa)... ?!

The new Nissan Tiida (Versa) was caught during testing in China last week (earlier post) and now those images come again from China. Is this the new Tiida, or Sunny or whatever is going to be called?! If it is, I was hoping for something better...

Prius gets naughty!

Toyota marks 10 years of Prius in the UK with this special edition model called Generation "X".

• Special features include body kit, 17-inch multi-spoke alloys, rear privacy glass and embossed black leather upholstery
• Production limited to 1,000 examples
• White Pearl or Astral Black exterior paint finishes available
• Available to order now, price £26,150

New Infiniti G (Skyline) Coupe coming...!

If you think that Japanese automakers are only focused on green cars, then think again. The Infiniti Performance Line (IPL) will expand and one of the first steps will be the introduction of the new Infiniti G Coupe (known as Skyline Coupe in Japan).

[Source: Best Car magazine]

New, lighter Honda Fit coming in 2013

The new Honda Fit (Jazz) is expected to be introduced in 2013 and the overall weight of the car will be reduced by 8-10%, compared to the current generation. This translates to around 100 kg, since the weight of today's Fit is around 1000 kg. Honda seems to follow Mazda's philosophy, which makes sense in order to improve fuel efficiency and reduce the CO2 emissions, but at the same time, it is a challenging target since lightweight materials are expensive to use.

Nissan releases new Fuga Hybrid in Japan

Nissan announced today the launch of the new Nissan Fuga Hybrid (known as Infiniti M35h outside Japan), which goes on sale November 2nd at Nissan dealers nationwide in Japan.

The new Fuga Hybrid adopts Nissan's original one-motor two-clutch parallel hybrid system named 'Intelligent Dual Clutch Control', connecting the high-response electric motor and the 3.5-liter VQ35HR V6 engine directly to the transmission, without the use of a traditional torque converter. One of the two clutches completely disconnects the motor from the engine, realizing a quiet and highly efficient EV mode. Compared to traditional hybrid systems, the electric motor driving range is expanded for high-speed driving (up to over 100km/h on a level highway) and the EV mode is frequently applied.

The Fuga Hybrid's sport performance feel is enhanced by the use of double-piston shock absorbers, and the first-ever application of both the advanced Electro-hydraulic Power Steering system and Electric Driven Intelligent Brake system.

Pirces range from 5,775,000 ¥ to 6,300,000 ¥.

Main Features of Nissan Fuga Hybrid
● Exterior

• 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with chrome color coating
• Available in a choice of seven body colors, including a new Eternal Snow White (a special Titanium Metallic color with Scratch Shield)

● Mechanism and equipment

• Nissan original one-motor two-clutch parallel hybrid system, 'Intelligent Dual Clutch Control'
• High-output lithium-ion battery with a quick charge/discharge function
• Advanced 'HM34' electric motor with maximum power output of 50kW（68PS） and maximum torque of 270N・m（27.5kgf・m）
• Special engine for hybrid 'VQ35HR' with maximum power of 225kW（306PS）/6800rpm and maximum torque of 350N・m（35.7kgf・m）/5000rpm）
• Electronic 7-speed hybrid transmission with manual shift mode

Subaru Forester tS STI... for Japan only

Subaru will produce an STI version of the Forester tS. Fancy one? Well, only 300 cars will be built and before you run to your local Subaru dealer, bare in mind that you have to live in Japan in order to get one...

Production is scheduled to run from now until the end of March 2011 and all cars will be fitted with a 5-speed automatic transmission. The 2.5L engine will produce 263 ps and 347 Nm of torque. STI tuned dampers, springs, body bracing will be fitted.

The STi version costs 3,600,000 ¥.

Nissan Juke on the streets...

On Saturday night, I got the chance to see the Nissan Juke for the very first time and actually, I saw four of them parked next to each other (I took those shots with my mobile phone and thus the low quality). There should have been an event somewhere, cause they  were demo cars.

When the first official photos were released back in February, I was rather shocked. Some kind of typing mistake should have been made. The name should be Joke and not Juke... However, seeing the car out in the real world left me with mixed feelings. The first thing I noticed was the fact that in the reality, it's smaller than what I expected. The front end is definitely weird and people will need a bit of time in order to get used to it, while the rear end (where some Volvo design elements are evident) looks better and it matches the overall design of the car. In general, I believe that it is not a nice car to look at, there is no doubt about that, but at the same time it's just different from what we have been used to. Since each car was in different colour (silver, red, black and white), I found silver and white to suit best the car's design.

What really surprises me with Nissan is the fact that it's the first Japanese manufacturer to follow the trend of turbocharged engines with the DiG-T engine. Japanese automakers still try to avoid using turbocharging and one good example is Mazda with its new SKYACTIV technology (earlier post). I believe that there is a good reason behind this, as we are talking about mass produced cars, and it is a good practice to keep the design with as few parts as possible. Avoiding complexity is a basic principle if you want a reliable product.

Considering that prices start from €17k, it should sell well and Suzuki's SX4 is now in big trouble...

Honda HSV-010 takes 2010 Super GT title

The HSV-010 won the 2010 Super GT championship in GT500 class following a second place of the Dome team in the Motegi race. Well done Honda!!!