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Honda Insight wins Japan Automotive Hall of Fame Car of the Year

Here in the United States, there are more Car of the Year Awards than you can shake a stick at, and apparently that's also the case in Japan. Just last week at the Tokyo Motor Show, the 2010 Toyota Prius won top honors in the 30th annual Japan Car of the Year voting. Now, Honda has sent out a notice that its revived Insight has won the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame Car of the Year. According to Honda, there were three chief reasons the Insight won the award: The strategy of affordable pricing Honda used in marketing the hybrid ... Read more →

Mitsubishi iMiEV wins Japan Automotive Hall of Fame's "Car Technology of the Year" Award Sam Abuelsamid

Mitsubishi was one of the first and most aggressive of the major automakers to jump back into the battery electric vehicle fray in recent years. The Japan Automotive Hall of Fame has honored the ...

Toshiba to build second plant for automotive lithium batteries Sam Abuelsamid

Toshiba, like most other battery manufacturers, has decided that the market for automotive grade lithium ion cells is going to be huge in the next decade. As a result it has decided to build a ...

REPORT: Toyota develops its own flower species for cleaner air at Prius plant Jeremy Korzeniewski

Automakers make cars and trucks, no surprises there. Some even make other interesting things, like Honda, which also builds motorcycles, jets, robots and solar cells. But up until now, we haven't ...

Tokyo 2009: Toyota Prius claims Japan Car of the Year title Drew Phillips

For the past 30 years, Japan has declared a car of the year, an award given to newly-released or redesigned vehicles released from November 1st of the previous year to October 1st of the current ...

REPORT: Honda considering electric car launch in major markets, CEO says 17 days ago on Autoblog Green

Hybrids and fuel cells. That's where Honda seems to have put the vast majority of its engineering resources over the last decade or so, first with the two-seat Insight – the first hybrid sold here in the States, beating the much more successful Toyota Prius to market by a few months ...

Meet SIM-Drive, the ¥1.5 million ($16,700) Japanese electric vehicle plan 24 days ago on Autoblog Green

Hiroshi Shimizu, the Japanese EV specialist behind the spectacular, eight-wheeled Eliica has announced the creation of SIM-Drive. This new manufacturer intends to sell electric vehicles in Japan that cost less than ¥1.5 million (about $16,700 US), opening the door to low-cost electric motoring. ...

Toyota Prius sales backlogged until May 2010 in Japan 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Toyota's successful launch of the 2010 Prius hybrid doesn't appear to be losing any momentum in Japan. According to the Japanese Automobile Dealers Association, the automaker moved a total of 31,758 Prius hybrids last month, making September the fifth straight month that the fuel-sipper was the ...

Nissan robot car concept avoids accidents by mimicking fishes 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Nissan sleeps with the fishes? Well, no... not exactly. But we'd guess someone in Nissan's Japanese think tank must watch a little too much Discovery Channel. We've all seen those amazing videos where unspeakably large schools of fish travel huge distances without anyone or anything to guide ...

Toyota Sai to be brand's second dedicated hybrid, goes on sale Oct. 20 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Even though there have been plenty of reports that Toyota would apply the Prius name to other hybrids in its lineup, thereby creating a Prius sub-brand, the upcoming second dedicated hybrid from the Japanese automaker bearing the Toyota name will be simply named the Toyota Sai. The Sai goes on ...

Toyota Prius gets tuned - on the outside - by Tommi Kaira 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

Without actually, you know, tuning anything on the powertrain of the 2010 Toyota Prius, Japanese tuning company Tommi Kaira has unveiled its version of the third-generation iconic hybrid. The efficient sleekness of the original front end has been replaced by a new front lip spoiler and air ...

Toyota readies a HS250h version for the Japanese market 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

2009 Lexus HS 250h - Click above for high-res image gallery According to Japanese site Corism, Toyota is preparing a rebadged version of the Lexus HS 250h for its home market. The model, called the Toyota SAI, should slot nicely between the Prius and the Crown hybrid. The main difference ...

REPORT: Prius sales take off in Japan; Toyota hires 800 new workers 1 month ago on Autoblog Green

It seems hard to believe that Toyota, the World's Largest Automaker, hasn't had to hired any new contract workers in over a year, but it's apparently true. That unenviable record is about to be broken, though, as the Japanese automaker is reportedly set to hire 800 new contract workers at its ...

REPORT: Toyota to ask Japanese government to extend green car incentives 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

It comes as little surprise that Toyota would want the Japanese government to extend its current series of green car incentives past their scheduled ending date of March, 2010. After all, the automaker has seen sales of its latest hybrids skyrocket in its home market, and much of that success ...

Better Place to trial battery-swapping taxis in Tokyo 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

When Better Place wanted to demonstrate how their battery switching station would operate they chose Yokohama Japan as the backdrop and now the land of the rising sun is returning some of that love. The electric vehicle infrastructure company has received an "award" to carry out a pilot project ...

REPORT: Lexus HS 250h in short supply; U.S. launch affected? 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Once again, a hybrid sales success may mean shortages for Toyota as the Japanese automaker rolls out a desirable new product here in the United States. First, the new-for-2010 Prius hatchback proved to be such a stellar sales champ that Toyota found its production hampered by a shortage of ...

Team behind Eliica EV to build electric shuttle bus for Japan 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

We've always been fond of the Eliica (Electric Lithium-Ion Car) eight-wheeled electric car, which was designed and built by researchers of Keio University in Japan a few years back. Seriously, how can you not like such an interesting machine, especially since the Eliica is capable of some ...

REPORT: Toyota SAI hybrid coming to Japan later this year 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Rumors of a new Toyota Motor Company hybrid called the SAI have been floating around for a few months, but things are looking more likely now than ever. The Kyodo News is reporting that ToMoCo will release the SAI, a new medium-sized hybrid, in Japan later this year. The SAI will be bigger than ...

Toyota, University of Tohoku improve lithium-ion batteries ten-fold (in the lab) 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

2009 Toyota FT-EV Concept - Click above for high-res image gallery Toyota and the University of Tohoku have announced the development of a new technology that is able to boost the capacity of lithium-ion batteries. What's this new improvement all about? Current lithium-ion batteries are usually ...

Daihatsu wants to make hybrids electric cars 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

Though its existence in the American market was short-lived and ended in 1992, Daihatsu still has a presence in as many as 37 countries today. The Japanese company sells a range of vehicles from the hard-top convertible Copen (above) to a 7 passenger version of its Terios SUV. Its vehicles are ...

Hands on: Japan to get standard charging stations 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

One of the things that can prevent widespread adoption of electric cars is not having a standard charging system. Just ask Betamax or HD DVD how the lack of a standard can hurt. European EV fans can breathe easy because the authorities have reached an agreement on a model created by a company ...

Toyota to triple production of Lexus HS 250h 2 months ago on Autoblog Green

According to a report from the Nikkei newspaper in Japan (via Hybrid Cars), Toyota plans to nearly triple production of the Lexus HS 250h hybrid sedan. The reason? Unexpectedly brisk sales in Japan, it would seem. When the luxury hybrid was launched on July 14, Toyota reportedly expected to sell ...

Japanese oil, gas companies will tackle hydrogen fueling infrastructure 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

- A consortium of 13 Japanese oil and gas companies are joining forces in an effort to commercialize technologies enabling hydrogen vehicles to be conveniently refueled by 2015. Coincidentally (or not), that date goes hand-in-hand with Toyota's target for selling hydrogen vehicles on the ...

Zeus gets down with Honda's new Insight 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Japanese tuner Zeus has done quite a job on the Honda Insight, so now you can be green and still feel like a badass. Developed as part of the company's GLMRS Line, the kit consists of front and rear spoilers, grille, and side skirts fabricated in aluminum -- but you'll have to take care of ...

REPORT: Toyota to build Yaris-based hybrid in France, go on sale in Japan in 2011 3 months ago on Autoblog Green

Toyota's got hybrids on the brain. Asahi (via Reuters) is reporting that the Japanese automaker, already the undisputed market leader in the fuel-saving hybrid vehicle market, is planning to launch a new compact hybrid to be based on the next-gen Yaris platform and to be put on sale in Japan ...

Japanese Honda Insights can compete for best MPG rating, with Snoopy's help 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

If you buy a new Honda Insight with the optional HDD InterNavi System in Japan, Honda has a special offer for you: an optional telematics device that updates to the web - automatically, natch - your hypermiling results (we have experience writing down our scores by hand). Driver's scores can then ...

Japan becomes world's largest market for hybrids in June 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Hybrid sales are taking off in Japan due to a perfect storm of newly available vehicles – namely the latest Toyota Prius and Honda Insight – and government-sponsored incentives. In Japan, gas is currently selling for about $4.50 a gallon, partly due to high fuel taxes in that ...

REPORT: Tesla planning to launch 2011 Roadster in more right-hand export markets 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the long-anticipated right-hand-drive Roadster is coming in the first quarter of 2010 and will be available in both standard and Sport guise. The first market that's slated for electrification is, as you would expect, the United Kingdom, and Tesla's first ...

Redefining "e" mail: Japan Post to start testing 40+ electric vehicles 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

When the price of oil was soaring last summer Japan Post said it would switch its fleet over to electric vehicles as soon as possible. It's not a little over a year later and this change is starting to take place. By the end of July, Japan Post should have started 5-year lease programs for 20 ...

REPORT: Japan could require hybrids to emit sound 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Now that hybrid cars have taken the top sales spots in Japan for the last few months, that country's Transport Ministry is reportedly launching an investigation to determine if it's wise to require hybrid automobiles to emit an artificial sound when operating with the internal combustion switched ...

REPORT: Suzuki CEO denies talks with VW amidst tie-up rumors 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

Hear about those reports last week of a potential tie-up between Suzuki and Volkswagen for microcar development? Osamu Suzuki, Chief Executive at the automaker that bear his name, heard those rumors, too, and they apparently came as news to him. Though Suzuki falls short of denying outright ...

REPORT: Volkswagen considering stake in Suzuki for micro-car alliance 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

According to reports from Reuters and Manager Magazin in Germany, Volkswagen is keen to purchase a 10 percent stake in Suzuki in order to cooperate on future small cars for emerging markets. In its home market of Japan, Suzuki is the second-largest automaker (behind Toyota) and dominates the ...

REPORT: S. Korea targeting Japanese li-ion products 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

The long-simmering confrontation between South Korea and Japan has affected all sorts of relationships between the two countries. While mostly peaceful over the last few decades, there remains some bad blood between the two countries. A new rule that the South Korean government will soon ...

Incentives: How Japan and the U.S. create different green car markets 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

For the last two months in Japan, hybrid vehicles from either Honda or Toyota have actually managed to outsell all other vehicles, regardless of what's powering them. Here in the States, though, Honda is reporting that it's unable to sell as many Insight hybrids as it had hoped. What's up with ...

New Mazda Axela (Mazda3) with start/stop now on sale in Japan 4 months ago on Autoblog Green

The all new Mazda Axela (aka the Mazda3) went on sale in Japan today, and the automaker hopes to sell 2,000 of the "eco-sports" car a month. As expected, all new 2.0-liter front-wheel-drive 3s get stop-start technology (which Mazda calls i-stop) and Mazda says that the new i-stop Axela gets 43 ...

Toyota Industries will sell electric car charging stations this summer 5 months ago on Autoblog Green

Toyota officials in the U.S. may express public skepticism over market prospects for plug-in vehicles, but that doesn't mean the company isn't working on related technology. The latest batch of plug-in hybrid Priuses will arrive late this year and Toyota showed a conceptual battery powered version ...

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