The Hybrid Hoedown Continues

2011 Hybrid Supra

Not to be outdone by the other, Toyota and Honda are both rushing to release hybrid sports cars next year. You read that right, I used the words "hybrid," "sports car," and "Toyota" in the same sentence. Since Toyota has so thoroughly Prius-fied the entire automotive world, it is hard to imagine anything even remotely "sporty" to come out of that company. Toyota hasn't had a cool sports car since the Supra, and, perhaps not coincidentally, that is exactly the car they are bringing back, only in hybrid form. Don't get me wrong, I love great gas mileage, but I just can't get excited by a sports car with one of Toyota's ubiquitous, underpowered, and otherwise pathetically unresponsive "Synergy-Drive" engines.

2011 Hybrid Cr-ZX

Over at Honda, they are resurrecting their own classic sports car, the Cr-X, and giving it the hybrid treatment. I used to drive one, and I have to say I am a little more excited about that. Even the gas engine version from the late 80's got 30 miles to the gallon, so I'm not sure how the hell a hybrid engine will improve on anything. At least Honda knows how to build a sports car (NSX, S2000), and I have much more faith that they will be able to pull it off.

Both cars will be unveiled at the Tokyo Motorshow in October. I'll try to get some pictures of the production models, but it is so hard to get my camera over the heads of all the otaku clamoring to take pictures of- not the cars- the anorexic models standing by them. Weird.

Mitsubishi Releases World's First Mass-Produced Electric Car

Today Mitsubishi motors officially released its all electric car, the MiEV (which means, in perfect Japanese-English fashion, "Mitsubishi In-wheel motor Electric Vehicle"). They got a jump start on other car makers like Nissan and Peugeot who will release their own electric cars later this year (sorry, but I don't consider Tesla to be "mass produced.") The MiEV is butt-ugly, but then so is the Prius and that didn't stop a million hippies from running out and buying one. Actually, the MiEV might cause a mini-revolution in the "look at me, I drive a green car" segment. Now that there is a true zero emission vehicle on the market, people will think if you drive a hybrid you are an eco terrorist.

The price of the MiEV starts at about $35,000, and that is AFTER $15,000 is tax breaks and other insentives from the government. They have a regular gas version for $10,000 that gets a very respectable 45 MPG. So, if you consider that most people driving compact cars spend about $1,000 a year on gas, that means you would only have to drive the MiEV for 20 years to recoup your investment over the gas version. Hey, it's Japanese, it will still be running then.

Caged Beast

My first sighting of a Nissan GTR it its natural habitat. Spotted this beast peaking out at me on my walk to work. It's kind of sad to see it like this, and I'm sure PETA would not approve. You could almost hear its growling 500 horsepower reduced to a whimper from behind the bars of its cage. I'm happy to report that a few days later, on a Sunday, it had escaped and was undoubtedly roaming the streets hunting Boxters, Mclarens and Corvettes.

Either that or the fat old bastard rich enough to keep it needed to pick up a new golf bag.

If you want to see what the GTR is capable of, check out this video of Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear race it around the Fuji Race Circuit in Japan- that is, until he gets whip-lash and has to be rescued by an ambulance:

Driving School Camp Only $2500! Free Cake!

I was talking to a student today and he had a flier for this driving school camp. In Japan, you have to pay a private driving school an absurd amount of money for training before you can even take a driving test. Because of this, there are a lot of companies competing for young would-be trainees by offering week-long stays in the mountains, and other perks. Even after paying thousands for training, there is no guaranty you will pass an actual driving test. He was shocked when I told him high school students in America get free driver training classes as part of our FREE public education.

He was still excited about this driving camp though. They put you up for two weeks in Nagano, and on Fridays you get a cake buffet! As excited as he was about the cake, he was really looking forward to the manga reading room and the all-you-can-play PS3 video game area. Maybe he can practice for his driving lessons with Grand Theft Auto...

Ayumi Hamasaki- in a Mustang!?

Spotted this video while watching MTV Japan the other day. It's Ayumi Hamasaki's new song called, strangely, "Next Level." I guess by next level she means not psychedelic trance. Perhaps she is referring to a desire to appeal to a more mature audience, like those in their later teens (kogyaru have to grow up too, I guess). Whatever the reason, it was interesting, or just perhaps unsettling, to see her driving a '65 Mustang through the California desert. Or is it really an animatronic Ayu robot in front of a blue screen? You can decide for yourself if you want by watching the video promo here:

Walk (or Pedal) at Your Own Risk

To illustrate just how perilous the back streets are (and many of the main streets) in Tokyo, I shot this vid with my cell phone while walking to Mukashisakai station. As you will see by the way pedestrians scatter to the sides, cars seem to have the right of way (I think the guy actually swerved at me towards the end- and I'm standing on a curb!) You'll be lucky if drivers even look before they turn onto a street. I was hit by a car while riding a bike a few years ago because the woman was paying attention to merging traffic, not the 6'1 gaijin pedaling by. Luckily I was able to ditch my bike at the moment she gunned the accelerator (I was paying attention to her NOT paying attention). Bike was totaled, I lived to store away another of those "nutty nihonjin" stories.