JDMpire

There’s nothing on this minisite but a clock so far, counting down the days until the 2010 Prius is revealed at the Detroit Auto Show.

The 2010 Prius to be revealed at the next Detroit Auto Show, in January. Details here.

Mazda is testing its hydrogen-powered rotary engine for the first time outside of Japan. It has chosen Norway as its partner to assess the hydrogen RX-8’s real-world driving performance. So they can hunt whales together.

A gallery of the redesigned Honda Civic and Civic Hybrid, with trim levels. (more…)

Taxi drivers everywhere, rejoice. Now Crown Comforts and Sedans come with a new, more efficient electronically controlled natural gas injection system and a start/stop system similar to Priuses that shut off the engine when the car comes to a stop.

[Toyota]

So that’s what they mystery car was from the G8 Summit lineup. I had heard Nissan had an FCV X-Trail in the works, but as you can see, this light blue cornering machine doesn’t look anything like the current X-Trail, or even this other green-cred seeking X-Trail Clean Diesel. Congrats, Nissan, you have fooled me.

But you can’t fool me into thinking this FCV’s lap of 11:58 around the Nürburgring really counts for much, because it’s the only hydrogen powered car to ever attempt a record. Let’s get the Honda FCX Clarity out there and see how it fares. It wouldn’t be it’s only time out on the track.

[Source: Nissan]

I’ve been a huge fan of the Mitsubishi i ever since I had one as a rental in 2007. It was extremely peppy for a 660cc kei car, and the styling was unbearably cute. Compared to the Subaru Stella CVT I rented on another day, it was a Lexus. The i-MIEV has a different, all-electric powertrain, but the motion is still directed where it counts, through the rear wheels.

But if I was the fuzz, I might want to hand over my badge and gun before driving one of these. While they’ll be used as minipatos (mini-patrols) on surface streets and leave the high-speed pursuits to the Mitsu GTOs and Subaru Impreza WRX STIs, you’ll still have to face down the occasional peace disturber, and this thing is only slightly more intimidating than Hello Kitty.

[Autoblog Green]

The seven most powerful men and one woman who lead the eight most powerful nations on the planet and make decisions that affect the lives of all of its inhabitants are meeting at a secret evil ice cave somewhere in Hokkaido right now. As part of the G8 Summit, Japan’s automakers are showing off their fleet of green vehicles. I can’t believe this, but I’m at a loss for what the first one on the left is, but the rest are the Subaru Stella electric vehicle, Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, and the Mazda RX-8 and Premacy hydrogen rotaries. Toyota donated 78 cars, ranging from a hydrogen-powered Kluger/Highlander to Crown and Lexus LS600h hybrids. Mitsubishi contributed i-MIEVs while Nissan showed off X-Trial clean diesels and Suzuki supplied SX4 FCVs.

[Image: Subaru]

Honda delivered its first batch of its FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell cars to their new owners today, including rumored hermaphrodite Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband, Spinal Tap guitarist Christopher Guest. (more…)

Honda has long been playing second fiddle to Toyota in the hybrid wars, mostly because its electricity-boosted offerings have either been impractical (Insight) or resembled non-hybrid versions (Civic Hybrid, Accord Hybrid). Not any more. Prez and CEO Takeo Fukui announced that the a sporty petro-electric car based on the CR-Z concept is coming down the pipeline, along with a separate model not based off any current Honda but which will draw inspiration from the FCX Clarity in design.

[Carscoop]