Japan pushing adoption of fuel cell vehicles by 2015

Japanese automakers may be investing a lot in EVs, but this doesn't mean that they have given up on fuel cell tech. According to a report published by The Nikkei, the Japanese government will launch a public-private initiative aimed at applying hydrogen used in oil refining to power fuel cell vehicles.

It states that with Japan moving towards the adoption of fuel cell vehicles by 2015, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry wants to secure a steady supply of high purity hydrogen - the hydrogen used in fuel cells is 99.99% pure, while the hydrogen that is used by oil distributors is about 90% pure.

Now technology will be developed to extract the high purity hydrogen with the aim of creating a new source of income. The undertaking will cost around 500,000,000 ¥ over a three-year period from fiscal 2011 onwards with the ministry to pay around half these costs.

[Source: Nikkei via TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk]

Yet another shot of BC's 2011 Nissan Tiida rendering

This is not a new rendering, but it's another shot from the latest issue of Best Car magazine. The new Tiida successor will make its debut in 2011 and the top version, probably badged as GT, will be powered by the 1.6 L turbocharged MR16DET engine (earlier post). The weight is expected to be around 1,100 kg and thus performance shouldn't be bad at all.

Already, some prototypes have been caught during testing and some shots revealing the interior have already been posted (earlier post).

[Source: IMP-X's blog]

Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2011!!!

2011 is at the door… Remember life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

I would like to wish all my blog readers a Happy New Year 2011 - enjoy the festivities!!!

Info on upcoming Honda NSX and S2000 successors!!!

A TOV member came back from Japan and managed to get hold of a BC magazine copy, which had the rendering posted (earlier post) a couple of weeks ago. So, it seems that perhaps neither the term NSX successor, nor S2000 successor are correct. A new sports car is under development, but don't expect something like the old S2000 or NSX. Times have changed and thus it makes sense to follow a different approach this time.

It is mentioned that the new sports car (replacing the S2000) will get a 4WD system, similarly to the Audi TT, and it could be based on the Accord, which is being sold in the States as a coupe as well, but it will differentiate itself from it. The new car could be sold in the States as an Acura, which makes sense.

In terms of the NSX replacement, Best Car claims that if there is a successor indeed, power could come from a 3.5 L V6 engine plus the under-development hybrid system designed for mid-large size vehicles.

[Source: TOV - AznSupastar (translation by chuchurocket)]

LFA's V10 engine wins "Best Engine of the Year" award by Evo UK!

Evo UK's January 2011 issue features the magazine's selections for 2010, including the "Best Engine of the Year". The winner? Lexus LFA's 4.8 L V10 engine!!!  Lexus managed to win over SLS AMG's V8, 458 Italia's V8, GT-R's V6, LP570-4 and R8's V10, Porsche GT2 RS and GT3 RS H6, Evora's V6 and Focus RS500's I5 engines.

Some of the comments regarding the LFA's V10 were "A mix of road and racing engines: Lexus LFA's utterly intoxicating 4.8 Liter V10.", "There is the noise it makes, for a start, a dense shriek like a V10 F1 car's", "Then there's the wall of torque from 5000 rpm to 9000 rpm and a strong thrust even before that", "Lighter than an average V6 and it even meets the Euro 5 emission standards", "It is hard to imagine that such an engine's career will be over when all the LFAs are built, given the love that has gone into it. We certainly hope not".

[Sources: Twitter, Toyota Nation - silver04rolla]

First details about new Suzuki Swift Sport emerge

Almost one month ago, it was reported (earlier post) that the launch of the new Suzuki Swift Sport has been postponed until next autumn. Now, an article published by a Japanese magazine claims that the engine is going to based on the one fitted in the previous generation, M16A with dual VVT, and power will go up to 135 hp. Still no info regarding the available gearboxes, if there is a choice.

The price is expected to be around 1,700,000 ¥.

[Source: IMP-X's blog]

Honda CR-Z JCOTY special edition

Honda CR-Z has won the 2010-2011 Japan Car of the Year (JCOTY) award (earlier post) and in order to celebrate this award, Honda has launched a special edition called "Memorial Award Edition". It comes in conduction with both available transmissions (6MT and CVT) and in terms of special features, it includes the following: Special Pearl Deep Sapphire Blue body colour, dark grey 16" aluminium wheels, metal pedals, JCOTY stickers, Honda's HDD and ETC.

In total, 1000 "Memorial Award Edition" CR-Zs will be made costing 2,794,000 ¥.

Become a champion in your region by driving a LEAF...

Hmm, I am really wondering where we are heading to next... Nissan has created a system, called CARWINGS (カーウイングス), which connects all LEAFs to a network, wirelessly feeding their economy statistics. The point of all that? Well, there is a regional ranking system comparing the driver's energy economy to other LEAF drivers, and the winner gets... a gold medal on the navi screen.

At the moment, CARWINGS is only available in Japan and it includes also other services, such as 24-hour driver support.

[Source: Mashable]