Video: Mario Bros Kart Gets Real in Japan

Chances are that you have played, or at least heard of, Nintendo’s Mario Bros video game and its numerous variations. One of them is Mario Kart in which the virtual plumber gets to race (what else?) go-karts.

A Japanese car site called Cliccar decided to bring the video game into the real world. Thus, they got dressed up as Mario and his brother, Luigi, got into two X-Karts and drove around the streets of Tokyo, creating quite a fuss.

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Japanese Carmakers' Production Back on Track, But it May not be Enough

For the first time after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami, Japanese automakers have returned to their normal production levels. In fact, they are superseding last year’s numbers in an effort to make up for the lost time.

Toyota and Nissan, Japan’s two biggest car manufacturers are leading the pack, reporting increased production for the first time since March, with Mazda, Suzuki, Honda, Subaru and Mitsubishi following their lead.

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Mazda PR Tweets that the Company is Working on New Rotary Engine-Powered Model(s)

Even though Mazda President and CEO, Takashi Tamanouchi, has repeatedly stated that the company will continue to develop the firm's rotary engine after the demise of the RX-8 sports car in June of 2012, many have questioned the company's commitment to the Wankel concept.

To calm the Japanese brand's fans, Mazda posted a tweet on its Japanese account that said it is "zealously" planning the development of "new models", which will be equipped with a rotary engine.

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Toyota Warns Suppliers to Lower their Prices, or Else…

The strong yen is harming the profitability of Japanese carmakers. After Honda, which plans to halve its domestic production over the next decade, Toyota, Japan’s number one automaker, told its parts suppliers to severely reduce their prices or risk being replaced by overseas manufacturers. Read more »

Mazda Bids Farewell to RX-8 with Japan-Only Spirit R Special Edition

We already knew that Mazda has decided to kill-off the RX-8 four-door coupe sooner rather than later. More strict fuel economy and CO2 emission regulations saw to that, forcing the Hiroshima-based carmaker to pull it from overseas markets and keep it alive in Japan only.

Today, Mazda announced that it is launching a final special edition of its rotary-engined sports car, which will only be available in the domestic market with sales set to start on November 24. Production will be limited to 1,000 units.

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New 2012 Isuzu D-MAX Pickup Truck is the Chevy Colorado's Asian Twin

Isuzu has long abandoned the U.S. passenger and truck market but it continues to have strong ties with General Motors, which was once its primary stockholder.

This week, the Japanese automaker revealed its all-new D-MAX pickup truck, which was designed in cooperation with GM and is a sister model to the 2012 Chevrolet Colorado that made its debut on Wednesday. Albeit on separate occasions, both pickup truck models were presented in Thailand.

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Honda to Reduce Production in Japan by 50% Over the Next Decade

The rising yen, which hit a 10-year high against the Euro last Tuesday while also getting stronger against US dollar, has forced Honda to rethink its production strategy.

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito told Japanese daily Asahi that the company plans to compensate by cutting its domestic production by half in the next decade. The move is part of Honda’s plan to sell 80-90% of its vehicles produced globally in local markets so as to be less vulnerable to currency fluctuations.

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Toyota Maintains World’s Number One Spot in Global Value Report

Toyota may have lost the first place in global sales to GM, one of the reasons being the lack of supply after the March earthquake, and it has seen the VW Group relegating to third place, but it still has a number one position to brag about.

Branding consultancy Interbrand has placed the Japanese carmaker in the top spot among carmakers, and sixth overall, in its latest global value report that was released today.

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Mazda Launches MX-5 “Black Tuned” Limited Edition in Japan

The Mazda MX-5, also known as the Miata, is the best-selling two-seater sports car in the world. Now in its third generation, Mazda’s roadster has seen its fair share of special editions since it was first launched in 1989. The latest variant to hit the streets is the Black Tuned edition, which was launched today in Japan. Read more »

Toyota’s Production Rises for the First Time in 12 Months

One of the victims of the March earthquake and the Tsunami that followed was Japan’s auto industry and especially Toyota, which saw many of its suppliers hit hard by the dual natural disaster. The result was that production slowed down considerably, and sales took a hit all around the globe relegating the former No 1 carmaker in the world to third place. Read more »

Subaru Doesn't Want Toyota's Help on Hybrid Tech, will Develop its Own System

When Toyota acquired an 8.7% stake in Fuji Heavy Industries [FHI] from GM in 2005, everyone expected that FHI-owned Subaru would not only benefit from Toyota’s experience and economies of scale, but also utilize its new partner’s expertise on hybrid propulsion systems.

This, however, does not seem to be the case as sources within Subaru have revealed that the company has decided to develop its own system and not adapt Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive to work with its boxer engines.

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Toyota May Shift Korean-Bound 2012 Camry Production from Japan to the U.S.

While the Lexus brand has been active in South Korea since 2001, the Toyota brand made its debut in the market only just last year. During 2010, the Japanese company sold some 4,200 Camry sedans, making it one of the best-selling foreign cars in the country.

As expected, Toyota is planning to sell the new generation of the Camry in South Korea starting from early 2012. However, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday that the Japanese company is mulling transferring production of the South Korean Camry from Japan to the United States.

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BMW Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the 5-Series with Special Edition 528i in Japan

In a few months' time, the BMW 5-Series will enjoy its 30th birthday but the Bavarian automaker has already begun churning out special edition models to mark the event, starting with the "528i 30th Anniversary Edition" that went on sale in Japan today.

Only 200 examples of the special edition 528i sedan, which is powered by BMW's 3.0-liter straight-six petrol, will be built for the local market.

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Toyota Presents its First Minicar in Japan, the New Daihatsu-Based Pixi Space

Toyota has decided to enter Japan's popular minicar, or as it's locally known, "kei" car segment with the new Pixi Space, which is supplied by the firm's Daihatsu subsidiary under a minivehicle OEM agreement reached in September 2010.

The Pixis Space is offered in two distinct flavors the base model in "L" and "X" trims, and a sportier looking variant available as the "Custom X", "Custom G" and "Custom RS".

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Suzuki Tells Volkswagen to Take Back Statements on Breached Contract or Else…

Hell hath no fury like a woman Suzuki scorned. On Thursday, the Japanese carmaker's CEO, Osamu Suzuki, sent a letter to his counterpart at VW demanding that the German group retracts its statement about Suzuki breaching their 2009 contract.

The spark that ignited this heated war of words between the two partners was Suzuki’s decision to choose Fiat as a supplier of diesel engines instead of VW. The German group said on September 11 that Suzuki had breached their contract with this decision, while Suzuki vehemently denies it violated the terms of their agreement.

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Mitsubishi to Sell Rebadged Infiniti M as its New Flagship Sedan in Japan

Mitsubishi may have a wide range of vehicles, but it lacks a flagship model since it stopped production of the Diamante back in 2005. However, that will change soon.

Today, the troubled automaker announced that, as a part of cooperation agreement signed with the Nissan Group in December 2010, it begin selling a rebadged Fuga, which in the rest of the world is known as the Infiniti M, from next summer.

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Daihatsu Presents New Fuel-Efficient Mira e:S in Japan

Toyota's daughter brand of small vehicles, Daihatsu, has launched a new version of its Mira kei car called e:S incorporating a raft of new or revised technologies, all of which aim to improve fuel efficiency.

Daihatsu says that it has overhauled all existing aspects of the engine, the transmission, and the body structure, to make the most of energy efficiency and as a result, says that the Mira e:S is almost 40 percent more fuel efficient that current mini cars with engine displacements of up to 660 cc [0.6-liter].

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Rumors: New Lexus LFA Special coming to Tokyo Show while Toyota is Working on a Supra Successor

After losing ground globally to its main competitors, Toyota is on the offensive again. Not only are its plants starting to operate near their maximum capacity, it has also formulated a new strategy to recover as quickly as possible.

However, bread-and-butter models are not the only vehicles the Japanese automaker has in store for us. According to CAR Magazine, Lexus will launch a Tokyo Motor Show Edition of its LFA supercar at its home motor show in autumn.

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Toyota to Build Hybrid Drivetrains Outside of Japan in Four Years

Toyota has chosen to focus most of its resources on its hybrid models, and more specifically on the Prius “family” and Lexus lineup, in order to recover from this year’s earthquake and the subsequent, and quite substantial, decrease in global sales due to parts shortages.

Until now, Toyota manufactured all components of hybrid drivetrains, such as battery packs, electric motors and inverters only at its Japanese plants. The recent disaster has shown the vulnerability of the decision to put all of your eggs in one basket.

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Japanese Tuner Sheds Some…LEDs on the Lamborghini Diablo [Video]

If you found the LED adorned Ferrari 458 Italia to be an overkill, wait until you check out this gem created from a Japanese audio and light systems specialist called Diecock – no seriously, that is the company's name.

Make the jump below and see what you should never do to a Lamborghini Diablo.

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