By Michael Berenis

Tampa Sports Car Examiner

The joy of illegal street drifting is alive and well near the famous parking lot at the Tokyo Docks known as “Daikoku Futo.” Many thought that the taboo sport has been diminished by police, but luckily for our viewing pleasure it is still alive and well. Check out more drifting excitement at Tampa Sports Car Examiner.

By Steve Neill

Steve Neill

I’ve just worked out an awesome deal with a photographer friend of mine, and I’m going to be starting a new series of articles not just about cars from Japan, but about some of the nicest and most beautiful landmarks in and around Tokyo. We’ll visit Shibuya in an R34 GT-R, check out the mountains in and around Tokyo in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, and see all sorts of other unique areas from the general viewpoint of a JDM historian. My good friend Colin is to thank for all the wonderful pictures that will be provided. Here’s a hint of what is to come.

His trial hasn’t started yet, but Clearwater police have released the official photos of Nick Hogan’s wrecked Supra. Looking at these shots makes you wonder how his defense team is going keep a straight face when they argue that speed wasn’t a factor in the crash. But you never know, maybe everyone on the jury will be blind. 15 more pics after the jump.

Clearwater Police Department via Jalopnik

Continue reading "Police Photos of Nick Hogan's Wrecked Supra" »

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy—whew, say that three times fast!—just released a list of the greenest and meanest cars in America, and on the green side, Toyota’s Prius came up a big, fat loser. Sorry. It actually came in second, behind Honda’s greener-than-Kermit-the-Frog-on-a-lilly pad Civic GX, which runs on compressed air. As expected, small cars and hybrids make up the remainder of the green list, and also as expected, the rides on the mean list look way, way more fun. The VW Tourage—with the CFC-belching diesel V10—took the top "honors," while dream machines like Bugatti’s Veyron and Lamborghini’s Murcielago came in at numbers two and six, respectively. Of course, neither one of those models probably sees 1/10 the annual miles a Ford Focus—number nine on the green list—does, so in reality, they probably pollute a lot less. But whatever, check out the full breakdown over at Wired.

Drooling over the new Nissan GT-R? Can’t wait to get one out on the track and see what she can do? Not so fast, hot shot! Apparently, the new GT-R’s built-in navigation system knows the location of popular race tracks, and will void your warranty if you set a tire on the track. As you enter a known circuit, a nagging navi voice will let you know you’re about to make one seriously expensive driving choice. Way to go Nissan, this is Big Brother on a whole new level! And I thought Mitsubishi’s SCCA spies were an all-time low! This SEMA article has some of the not-so-juicy details.

Check out this burly little Honda Fit that Japanese Honda tuner Mugen was showing off at the Tokyo Auto Salon last week.  That’s a 147 hp supercharged 1.5 throbbing beneath the hood of that weency little microcar. 17" aluminum wheels, pizza-plate sized disc brakes on all four. Could be fun, yeah?

Later this week I’ll be in Japan for the Tokyo Auto Salon, which is kind of the JDM version of our SEMA Show. It’s all the latest speed parts from Japan, the coolest tuner cars, and oversized cartoon mascots. What more could you want?

This will be my fifth trip in as many years, and again my wife is joining me. It won’t be all cars, though, as I thoroughly enjoy visiting Tokyo. I grew up on Long Island, and Tokyo is like a Bizzaro New York City–tons of cool shops, an efficient mass transit system, and lots of neat places to grab a nosh. The big difference being that I’m more or less illiterate. I can’t promise that I’ll return with JDM treats for all of you, but I promise that we’ll take lots of pictures.

Here are some random shots from last year: pic 1, pic 2, pic 3, pic 4, pic 5.

Honda showed off the CR-Z concept at the Tokyo Motor Show last month. This possible successor to the greatly-missed CRX is powered by a four banger gasoline engine with Honda’s integrated hybrid drive. Looks like a winner to me. More at Road & Track.

At this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, cute seems to be the order of the day, and Suzuki nailed the theme with its stubby "X-Head" mini-pickup concept. The wheels are pushed almost to the corners, giving the truck a rough-and-ready stance, and its tall nose contributes an illusory big-rig look. What the X-Head lacks in cargo volume, it makes up for with neatly compartmentalized storage, concealed within the fold-down quarter panels. And despite its petite stature, the ground clearance looks almost tall enough for some light-to-moderate four-wheeling. See more pics of this little cutiepie at Motor Trend.

I know a lot of people are excited about the new Nissan GT-R, which will be officially unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show today. But geez, there are a lot of cool cars you can buy for around $80k (and you can bet the first GT-Rs are gonna go for more than sticker). So let’s say you have up to $100k to spend on a car. You can only buy one car and it has to be new. Depending on my mood, I’d be torn between a 911, a Viper and a Tesla. What would you buy?