Japanese Cars

Japanese auto giant Toyota has again come out with a new model for the highly successful Corolla series with the 2010 Toyota Corolla. Its a basically a no-nonsense and straightforward vehicle - not too much frills, adequate power and features. Economy is primary with the new Corolla, as usual standard features like power lock and power windows and remote keyless entry are not present with entry level models; what’s more, the Corolla series boasts of at least a 29 miles per gallon fuel consumption. The price range is also fairly decent, with prices ranging from $15,000 to $21,000 per unit. The Corolla is perfect for the kind of people who just drive to get from place to place - it gives ample performance for both highway driving and maneuvering through city streets. It’s not much of a family car though, as it can get cramped when too many people get in.

The recession hits and even the mighty Japanese auto industry reels from dismal sales and not so favorable forecasts. They are still the most selling brands according to motor trend which shows Japanese auto makers leading the pack in sales above all other brands. With many suffering losses in the billions, they still manage to get a huge percentage of the auto sales in the global market. Toyota Motors, the recently crowned world’s leading auto maker suffered billions of dollars in losses and so have Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and the many other brands but compared to the Europeans and Americans, they have it easy.
Most of these auto makers are fast-tracking the development of their own hybrids to complement their already swelling product lines to boost sales in the US as the economy recovers. Strict laws regarding pollution control and the development of better engines are driving them to do so at a rapid pace. Though they have decided to some trade-offs such as withdrawal from formula one racing and many other flamboyant excesses to turn their focus onto the support of hard hit manufacturing plants across the globe. They are managing to survive without much a talk of the foreclosures and dissolution in the other arenas of the auto industry that may see the end of many long standing brands and models as the economic downturn affects all.

The brand of cars under the Civic Badge has had a long history and today’s model would be the 8th. Generation and promises to continue its rule as one of the best compact/sub-compact Japanese cars. The first generation of the model came out in 1973 and was seen as a typical Japanese car that was very much underpowered for most Western drivers. Vtec was introduced in the fifth generation to cater to US drivers need for speed and has continued to grace most models of the brand as one of the most powerful engines in its class. Vtec technology or Variable Valve Timing and Electronic Lift Control is the first of its kind when it was introduced by Honda that uses an electronic sensor that detects a need for increased load that activates electronically a solenoid allowing an additional boost of power.
This first worked on the intake manifold for the first generations of DOHC engines but the later variants of the engine had the feature incorporated to both intake and exhaust manifolds. Similar systems have since been released by other manufacturers although using different names to differentiate, MIVEC for Mitsubishi, VVL from Nissan, VarioCam Plus from Porsche and VVTL-i from Toyota.

Image Source:edmunds.com

Nissan Z remains to be the lone model that reflects the soul of a whole automobile company. And it involves the full line of offerings the car company provides in important market segments. This is Nissan. Nissan Z has a special place in the hearts of millions of Z owners in the entire world from the time it was first released up to the present. The president of Nissan unveiled the newest 350Z. He recalls the time The Z was ever released, in the fall of 1969. It was a car with European style and American muscle and most especially, Japanese quality. Datsun 240Z was the brand that was used for the North America and Europe market. As we can recall, Nissan Motors was the pioneer Japanese company that released sports cars in the US.

Image Source: image.automotive.com

New Mitsubishi Evolution was launched in Japan. Car enthusiasts will enjoy a tweaked Evolution for the 2009 year model. It revised its interiors and has a new GSR Premium model that borrows some equipments from the MR line model. The GSR Premium option packs a set of 18-inch BBS wheels, Bilsten suspension and fender outside. Inside, the GSR is fitted with a pair of leather wrapped the all time favorite Recaros and a Rockford Forsgate GPS and audio system hooked up to a whopping… nine speakers. Unfortunately, Japan’s updates are not readily available in America. The GSR five speed manual costs around $48,000.

There is no doubt that the 2 leading car manufacturers today are Toyota and Honda. If you are to buy a car what car make would you get? Both cars are well made and have there own technological advances. They also lead the race for the most fuel efficient cars. Between the two I would say that Honda cars are more durable. They will give you 5-10 trouble free years provided you comply with the manufacturers scheduled maintenance checks. I’m not saying that Toyota cars are not durable Honda cars are just made of sturdier stuff. On the down side, Honda’s design is redundant and parts are expensive. Toyota’s simpler designs make it easier and cheaper to maintain than Honda’s. This allows Toyota cars to be in top shape far longer than their competitors. Verdict: buy a Honda. If it reaches 10 years you really have to get a new car anyway.

Image Source: www.tuningnews.net

Honda created a 2009 version of its mid-sized SUV Honda Pilot. 2009 Honda Pilot is just a little heavy compared to the early versions, but it is definitely worth the weight. 2009 Honda Pilot can carry 8 passengers because it has 3 rows of passenger’s seats and still has a 4×8 foot wide cargo space at the back. As long as it’s carrying less than or equal to 2000 tons, It will definitely drive fine and smoothly. It also has eight cargo pockets and 6 cup holders at the second row for those who want to stay awake for the whole ride. 2009 Honda Pilot can maneuver in snow and it stops and change direction like the front-drive versions, even if it uses the same breaks and tires. And if you get old and it was the year 2015, you can recycle 95 percent of the whole 2009 Honda Pilot.

Why are antique Japanese cars not given enough attention by the car collecting world? This article from Japanese Nostalgic Cars.com tries to provide the answers. “Vintage Japanese cars have always had a small (and growing) following, but they are mostly neglected by mainstream collectors. There are many reasons, but the main ones are a perceived lack of heritage and/or prestige and timing. Traditionally, the most valuable and collectible cars have come from Europe, where they started as custom-built coaches for the very wealthy. In the US Japanese cars are relative newcomers, having mostly arrived in the 1960s. Because it usually takes a car at least 20-25 years to become somewhat rare, the idea of a Japanese classic car simply has not been in the American consciousness for that long.”

Being the world’s largest automobile producer and exporter, it (not surprisingly) has six of the world’s ten car makers such as Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Toyota. The Japanese business conglomerates began making their first cars during the 1910’s. It was either to make their own trucks or become partners with a European brand to be able to market their cars under license. The manufacturers were given the freedom to design and create their own models when the war’s demand on vehicles increased. Since then, the Japanese car industry has been an entrenched superpower in the world of automobile manufacturing.

We are all fond of top ten’s. Some use it as guides while some use it for humor and some opposes it. For those people using Top Ten’s as guides, a legitimate question to ask is, what can be the top 10 Japanese Cars. AskMen.com was able to come up with its own Top 10 Japanese Cars and was also able to invite oppositions from its readers. There are some cars listed there that doesn’t sound familiar to me, while there are cars that are so common like the Honda Civic and of course the Toyota Corolla. Visit the site to view the top 10.

Source: http://www.askmen.com/cars/car_lists_200/212_car_list.html