TRD Introduces Lexus IS F Circuit Club Sports Package Inspired by Last Year's Concept

It's been over a year since Lexus unveiled the conceptual IS F Circuit Club Sport (CCS for short) at the 2010 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon, but Toyota's TRD division has not forgotten about the prototype model.

TRD has just made available to the public an assortment of performance and styling accessories for the latest IS-F sports saloon, all inspired by the CCS concept .

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In the Spotlight: How to Overkill a Ferrari 458 Italia

Electric lamps are so passé these days. The way of the future is LEDs or Light-emitting diodes that can be found just about everywhere. Lately, LEDs have taken the automotive industry by storm with carmakers offering them either optionally or standard on most of their models.

But it’s not only regular carmakers that have adopted the new lighting technology; so has the tuning industry which discovered a new toy to attract consumers. The results, as you can see from this example of a Ferrari 458 Italia slathered in LEDs, aren’t always graceful. Video follows after the break.

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Kawasaki ZX-770R Concept: The Japanese Antidote to the KTM X-BOW

If KTM could pull it off with the X-BOW, then why couldn't any other motorcycle maker take the leap and venture into the automotive business with a special lightweight sports car? Though it is a simple question, (obviously) the answer is far more complex than it seems at a first glance.

But in the fantasy land of designers, there are no restrictions or limits, only a desire to create. And for Dutch designer Sabino Leerentveld, who we came to know through his Aston Martin V12 and BMW Nazca Homage prototypes, the answer to the previous question is the Kawasaki ZX-770R Concept.

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Video: Asian Car and Motorcycle Accidents Compilation

As most motorists are already aware of, there are many ways to get into an accident, be it your fault or another driver's error.

In the video after the jump, a Youtube user compiled a 7-minute-long clip with all sorts and types of automobile and motorcycle related incidents that allegedly took place in numerous countries of Asia (though understandably, there's no way of ratifying this claim for each and every crashe seen in the clip).

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Honda to Invest $800 Million in New Mexico Plant

Honda announced today that it will invest $800 million to build a new assembly plant in Mexico. The factory, which is expected to be operational in 2014, will employ around 3,200 workers producing up to 200,000 vehicles per year. Read more »

Is this the JDM 2012 Toyota Camry?

We've seen official teaser shots and unofficial video footage of the next generation of the 2012 Toyota Camry that give us a rough idea of what the North American market version will look like when it arrives in showrooms later this year,

However, the USA and Canada aren’t the only markets expecting the new Camry. So is the Asia Pacific region, albeit in a slightly modified form.

Now, thanks to a forum member of VW Vortex we have what appears to be scans from an unnamed magazine allegedly featuring brochure shots of the Japanese domestic market [JDM] 2012 Toyota Camry.

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Report: Honda Threatened by the Rise of the Koreans

If there is one Japanese company that can lay claim to having a reputation for innovation and advanced engineering, it is Honda.

It is a reputation built over more than 30 years, starting from the first generation of the Civic in the ‘70s and continuing throughout the years with novelties such as VTEC, the futuristic first generation Insight hybrid back in 1999, the S2000's high-revving 120HP-per-liter engine, the first practical supercar, the NSX – and the list goes on.

However, something seems to have changed, and not for the better.

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GM is World’s Number One Automaker, Toyota Drops to 3rd Place behind VW

Well, it was almost certain to happen after the March 11 earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan causing multiple problems to the country's automotive industry. Toyota, the world’s largest carmaker, saw its production drop by 23% to 3.37 million units for the first half of the year - and includes sales of Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino vehicles.

As a result, the Japanese company lost the title of the world’s largest automaker that it held since 2008 to General Motors, which saw its sales rise by 8.9% to 4.536 million units for the first six months of 2011. For the time being, second place goes to the Volkswagen Group which sold 4.13 million units worldwide.

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Revised Mazda2 First-Month Sales in Japan Exceed Initial Target by More than 100%

Mazda has announced that orders for the subtly revised Mazda Demio, or Mazda2 as is known overseas, in its first month of being available in Japan have far exceeded their initial target. Specifically, from June 30, when the Demio became available, until July 31, orders have reached 13,500 units, more than double Mazda’s initial estimate of 6,000. Read more »

New JDM Honda CR-Z "α Black Label" with Limited Edition…Yellow Hue

For some automakers such as Porsche and BMW, a black edition version of one of their cars means everything is finished in black, for others including Mazda and Holden, it's more like a secondary trim color.

Honda's CR-Z "α Black Label" ("Alpha Black Label") can be classed in the second category as the Japanese market only edition of the hybrid sports coupe justifies its name only through the color choices inside and to a lesser extent, the darker shade of the alloy wheels.

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Toyota’s Passenger Car Sales in Japan Down 43 Percent in the First Half of 2011

The two natural disasters that hit Japan on March 11, the 8.9 offshore earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami that devastated the country and took many human lives, has also hit hard production and sales of Japanese car manufacturers.

Toyota said on Monday that its domestic passenger car production for the first half of 2011 dropped by 38% to 947,090 units and its overseas production by 11.7% to 1,923,408 units compared to the same period in 2010 units due to the lack of parts.

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