Japan auto news

Report: Troubled Mazda looking to raise $2B in shares, fund Mexico plant

Mazda once again finds itself in dire financial straits after warning its investors to expect a loss in 2011 of 100 billion yen ($1.3 billion). In an effort to keep itself afloat, the Japanese automaker is rumored to be considering a new issue of as many as 690 million shares, which would raise about 100 billion yen while diluting current share value by a massive 38.7 percent.

In addition, Mazda is thought to be seeking loans of 70 billion yen from a number of Japanese banks. A good portion of these funds are necessary to bolster Mazda's overseas production facilities. At present, 70 percent of all its vehicles are produced in Japan and 90 percent of those are exported. In order to combat the high value of the yen, Mazda is seeking to renovate a production site in Thailand and build a new one on Mexico.

Only time will tell if Mazda, Japan's fifth-largest automaker, is able to remain an independent company or if it will be forced to partner up with a larger partner, as it once had with Ford.

Video: eGarage interviews Akira Nakai of RWB in latest video

Akira Nakai is the man behind the tuner RWB - Rauh-Welt Begriff, which is loosely translated as "Rough World Concept," and he doesn't often climb out from under one of the 930 or 964 Porsches he's working on. His original shop in Japan is now 20 years old and he still works in the same building, even though his tuning ethos has caught on hot enough to provide other shops around the world.

He's a car nut, simply, and he makes nutty - in a good way - cars. The guys at eGarage got him away from a project long enough to say a few words about what he does, what he thinks, and what he'll be doing until he dies. Even though he speaks a different language, he sums all of us up nicely. Check him out in the video premiering exclusively on Autoblog after the jump.

Continue reading eGarage interviews Akira Nakai of RWB in latest video

Report: After another bad year, Mazda hunting for partners, could license Skyactiv

Mazda builds and exports more vehicles from Japan by percentage of total volume than any other automaker, which means it has been hit harder than most by the strength of the Japanese yen. Compounding matters further, between 2008 and 2010, Ford reduced its stake in Mazda from a controlling 33-percent share to less than four percent, meaning the automaker doesn't have any extra-deep pockets to help bridge the financial gap until profits improve and a North American factory located in Mexico is completed.

The results of this perfect financial storm have been predictable: Mazda posted a net loss in 2011 of about $1.29 billion, marking the fourth consecutive year of red ink and the largest loss since 2001. That's all very bad news for any automaker, but especially so for one as small and independent as Mazda. As such, it's no surprise that Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi has said that his company is "actively" seeking partners and that "every option" is being considered.

Naturally, considering "every option" includes the potential of licensing its lightweight and efficient Skyactiv fuel-saving technology to other automakers. In any case, after already losing the rotary (for now, at least) the thought of an automotive world without the MX-5 makes us shudder. Here's hoping Mazda regains its financial footing before anything drastic happens.

Report: Toyota GT86 offered in stripped down RC flavor... in Japan

It's getting harder and harder to purchase a genuine stripped down vehicle these days. Manufacturers have discovered that it's both cheaper and easier to offer every model with a surprisingly high level of content rather than build multiple variations on the same theme. That's why tricks like power locks and windows are all but ubiquitous, even on bargain-basement models.

Not so in Japan. Toyota is offering buyers a stripper version of the company's new GT86 sports coupe. The vehicle comes as a blank canvas just waiting for your personal touch. Outside, the stock 17-inch alloy wheels are replaced with 16-inch steelies, and the bumpers, side mirrors and door handles all arrive unpainted. Don't expect to find any fog lights, either.

Indoors, niceties like a stereo, air conditioning and even trim work around the steering wheel and shifter are nowhere to be found. Toyota even went so far as to ditch the plastic intake cover under the hood. The vehicle doesn't come with a limited-slip rear differential, but the sacrifice seems worth it to us. For starters, the GT-86 RC carries a price tag of 1.9 million Yen, or $24,601 at current conversion rates. That's significantly less than the standard model. Then there's the fact that the RC weighs nearly 100 pounds less than the base GT-86.

Sadly, we doubt either Scion or Subaru will offer a similarly stripped-down version of their respective FR-S or BRZ models, though history disagrees with us. Scion did, in fact, offer a stripper version of the tC back in 2007 called the tC Spec Package.

Video: Pair of Toyota GT86s duel in parking lot drift battle

There is likely no end to the amount of fun one can have with an empty parking lot, a few cones and a willing vehicle. Add two capable machines to the mix and the enjoyment increases exponentially. When those happen to be two Toyota GT86 coupes, all that's missing is the not-so judicious application of one's right foot. Two pro drift drivers recently got the chance to fling the GT86 around in a quick battle, and the result is a video that shows just how controllable the GT86 is right out of the box.

While we could think of a handful of other sports cars that are as capable right from the showroom floor, the list of those with price tags as slim as the GT86 and its Scion and Subaru brethren is considerably thinner. Hit the jump for a few lessons in car control.

Continue reading Pair of Toyota GT86s duel in parking lot drift battle

Video: Pair of Toyota GT86s dual in parking lot drift battle

There is likely no end to the amount of fun one can have with an empty parking lot, a few cones and a willing vehicle. Add two capable machines to the mix and the enjoyment increases exponentially. When those happen to be two Toyota GT86 coupes, all that's missing is the not-so judicious application of one's right foot. Two pro drift drivers recently got the chance to fling the GT86 around in a quick battle, and the result is a video that shows just how controllable the GT86 is right out of the box.

While we could think of a handful of other sports cars that are as capable right from the show room floor, the list of those with price tags as slim as the GT86 and its Scion and Subaru brethren is considerably thinner. Hit the jump for a few lessons in car control.

Continue reading Pair of Toyota GT86s dual in parking lot drift battle

Report: Two Japanese suppliers plead guilty for bid-fixing, will pay record fines

Two more Japanese auto industry suppliers, Yazaki and Denso, have been fined by the U.S. Department of Justice and four executives from Yazaki will go to jail, according to reports in the New York Times and Automotive News. Yazaki's $478 million fine and Denso's $78 million fine come on top of the $200 million penalty paid by another Japanese supplier, Furukawa Electric Company, last November as part of a probe into price fixing. Three Furukawa execs also were sentenced to prison.

The DoJ opened the investigation two years ago into collusion among firms setting prices for parts like wire harnesses and ECUs, but is said to have found evidence of such practices since 2000. Yazaki was charged with three felonies, fixing the prices of wire harnesses, instrument panel clusters and fuel senders. Denso was charged with two felonies, conspiring to fix the prices of ECUs and heating control units. Four Yazaki employees, working mainly for its North American operations in Ohio and Kentucky, were charged with violating the Sherman Antitrust Act and will serve from 15 months to two years in prison.

Both companies have pledged to retrain their employees and bolster their antitrust compliance, and both Yazaki's Chairman and CEO said they would return half their pay for three months. The Justice Department investigation continues, and said the CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, "I'm dead certain that there has to be a lot of concern out there."

Feel free to read over the official statements from both Yazaki and Denso after the break.

Continue reading Two Japanese suppliers plead guilty for bid-fixing, will pay record fines

Video: First Toyota FT-86 coupe dyno'd

Well, that didn't take long. The First Toyota FT-86 (a.k.a. Scion FR-S) has made its way to the dyno courtesy of the good people at HKS. How'd it do? The vehicle managed to spin the rollers at 170 rear-wheel horsepower, which dovetails with the 200 crank horsepower announced by Toyota and Subaru after calculating a 15-percent driveline loss. Of course, whenever HKS gets involved, you can feel safe betting your lunch money that forced induction won't be far behind. True to form, HKS showed off its handiwork on a drift car version of the new sports coupe from Toyota.

The FT-86 looks more than happy to dance through a few chicanes sideways, and we can't wait to see the vehicle go fender-to-fender with the best of them. Click past the jump to check out the dyno video for yourself.

Continue reading First Toyota FT-86 coupe dyno'd

Official: Nissan March Nismo concept debuts at Tokyo Auto Salon [w/video]

With press days for the Detroit Auto Show now behind us, our focus is shifting eastwards. Make that Far East, as the tuners have rolled in for the Tokyo Auto Salon, where Nissan performance tuning arm Nismo has taken on its third compact and given it an attitude adjustment.

Following the recent debuts of the Leaf Nismo and Juke Nismo comes this March Nismo, based on the small hatchback also known as the Micra or (in Taiwan) as the Verita. Nismo has given it a enhanced sportiness through lightweight wheels, updated grille and aero kit, new door mirrors and sportier seats and steering wheel inside.

It's all capped by a pearl white finish with red highlights, but while the Nismo parts catalog is sure to offer bolt-ons for the March, this particular configuration is strictly a concept. Check it out in the pair of high-resolution images along with the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Nissan March Nismo concept debuts at Tokyo Auto Salon [w/video]

Video: Classic Toyota 2000GT turned into solar-powered EV

Saying the Toyota 2000GT holds a special place in our hearts is akin to calling oxygen and water kind of important to our survival. The long-nose two-door was envisioned as a suitable competitor to the likes of the European sports cars rolling out Italy and the UK at the time, and in many ways, the Toyota was far superior. Built at a time when Japan Inc. wasn't exactly known for beautiful automobile designs, the 2000GT may have been influenced by European cars of its day, but it has stood the test of time as one of the country's all-time design greats. The low-volume coupe is a piece of automotive legend, which is exactly why choosing to use a 2000GT as a platform for an electric conversion strikes us equal parts blasphemous and awesome. But that's exactly what Japan's Crazy Car Project has done.

The engineers behind the exercise ditched the standard 2.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine in favor of a 161-horsepower electric motor. A 35kWh lithium-ion battery provides the system with power, and the hood has been covered with photovoltaic cells to help keep the car going. Likewise, the back glass is covered in a transparent solar panel. All told, the system can propel the vehicle to around 124 mph.

Inside, the 2000GT SEV features a modernized interior with plenty of tech-laden gadgets. The vehicle was built in cooperation with Toyota and debuted at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon. Let's hope they started with a real basket case, eh? Hit the jump to see a video of the car in action.

Continue reading Classic Toyota 2000GT turned into solar-powered EV