Kei


Quick Spin: Mitsubishi i is a good car with a bad name

We're looking at a long, nearly straight, almost totally traffic-free downhill. We'd climbed up to the base of the Palm Springs to Idyllwild Ariel Tramway. Our goal was to see how fast Mitsubishi's tiny i could go. We're on the gas, and the teensy, turbocharged 660cc three-banger is giving us all its got. The speedometer ticks upwards, now cresting 100. In front of us is nothing but inviting tarmac. Deeper and harder we push and the numbers keep ticking up. 119, 120, 121 and then finally hitting 122. We felt we left a little on the table ... Read more →

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu's Deca Deca concept is the most popular "super box" in the world Jonathon Ramsey

Daihatsu has a way with words: the company calls its Deca Deca concept a "super box," and we'll call it a super super box. A funky little piece of chunk, the Deca Deca has a flat floor – ...

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu e:S plays small ball Jonathon Ramsey

Daihatsu didn't just bring out its big little guns, it had a couple of tiny guns there as well, such as this, the Volvo C30-esque e:S. Called "a new eco-car that reveals the future role of mini ...

Tokyo 2009: Daihatsu to go little in a big way with Basket, Deca Deca, and others Alex Nunez

There may be a bunch of conspicuously absent automakers missing from this month's Tokyo Motor Show, but the thing about the Japanese show is that a lot of the really neat stuff comes from the ...

It's o-kei! Suzuki Palette SW introduced in Japan Alex Nunez

You're Japanese. You have a family. You need a minivan. But minivans are freaking huge, Japan's streets are crowded, and you want something that's a lot smaller and can dart between lumbering ...

eBay Find of the Day: The coolest two-cylinder Subaru microtruck Ferrari never built 9 months ago on Autoblog

You're too late to buy it, but it's never too late to find out about these things. The Subaru Sambar was evidently the first kei truck in Japan. It could also be the first kei truck to be completely restored, customized, and fitted entirely with Ferrari badging in America. However, it's about ...

AZ-Wagon: Mazdaspeak for "Suzuki Wagon R" 1 year ago on Autoblog

Late Sunday night, Mazda issued a press release from the mothership in Japan touting the arrival of the new home-market AZ-Wagon kei car. Those of you who paid attention to Autoblog last week may be experiencing twinges of deja vu as you look at the enclosed photos. Yes, you have seen this car ...

Suzuki releases new Wagon R, Wagon R Stingray 1 year ago on Autoblog

As of today, Suzuki has a new Wagon R on the market in Japan. It's joined by a new Wagon R Stingray variant (above) as well, and the duo will set about filling the shoes of their bestselling predecessors. The new Wagon Rs don't lose their signature boxiness, but they wear all-new sheetmetal and ...

Suzuki Carry drifter: it's O-KEI! 1 year ago on Autoblog

As Autoblog's resident kei car fanboy, I like to share news and links about the diminutive forbidden-fruit rides whenever something interesting pops on the radar, like yesterday. Today, it's just a photo, courtesy of the gang at Speedhunters. The tiny kei pickup is a Suzuki Carry, which, in the ...

Mitsubishi i MiEV police car has SUPER ARREST POTENTIAL! 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click image to enlarge Somewhere, our pal Mike Bumbeck is smiling, because Mitsubishi has produced yet another vehicle worthy of its classic "Super Potential" slogan. No, there's no new-fangled Starion, unfortunately, but there is now an i MiEV police car. Mitsubishi has supplied one of the teensy ...

Suzuki Wagon R, Stingray Limited editions intro'd in Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Suzuki Wagon R and Stingray Limited In Japan, Suzuki expects the Wagon R to eclipse the 3,000,000 units sold milestone this month. To commemorate, it has launched Limited versions of both the Wagon R and its Stingray variant (whose front-end styling looks ...

Honda Zest Sports G now more dynamic, special 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Zest Sports G This little kei wagon on Matchbox-sized wheels is the Honda Zest Sports G (Dynamic Special), and yes, that parenthetical appears to be part of the official name. What makes it more dynamic and special than the regular Zest Sports? Well, not a ...

Nissan 360: the Otti and the Moco 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click the image above for a hi-res gallery of the Nissan Otti and Moco Kei cars. To know them is to love them, or to tower over them in Gulliver-like wonder. Both the iridescent colored Moco and Otti feature the 0.66-liter engines common to the Kei class, meaning each also boasts 54 thundering ...

A-OKei: Suzuki Palette arrives in Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog

click image for hi-res gallery of the Suzuki Palette Suzuki makes and sells a whole lot of kei-class tall wagons in Japan, thanks to the ever-popular Wagon R and all the variants it has produced. The latest micro-minivan to hit the market is the Palette, which the automaker first showed at last ...

Mitsubishi kei cars "Bloom" for Japan's ladies 1 year ago on Autoblog

Click image for photo gallery When you boil away everything else, the core elements of the new "Bloom Edition" Mitsubishi kei cars are their Sakura Pink paint; light-colored, water-resistant seat fabrics; and makeup mirrors. Yes, there are other colors available, and we're sure some of the Japanese ...

Japan: Subaru hits STI partsbin for Stella Custom RS S-Edition 2 years ago on Autoblog

Click image for photo gallery We love it when the Japanese auto manufacturers take the box of Alpha-Bits, empty it onto the floor, and then make a car name out of the resulting clutter. Subaru is the current world champion in this regard, having produced the tongue-twistingly wonderfully named WRX ...

Custom Style! Mazda AZ-Wagon arrives in Japan 2 years ago on Autoblog

Click image for one more high-res photo Behold Mazda's new kei car, the AZ-Wagon. Like its predecessors, the new AZ is simply a rebadged Suzuki Wagon R. In this case, the donor vehicle is the just-introduced Wagon R Stingray, which eschews the standard Wagon R face in favor of a more squared-off ...

Mitsubishi i confirmed for sale in the UK 2 years ago on Autoblog

click above image to view high-resolution gallery of the Mitsubishi i Beginning on July 1st, Brits will be able to purchase the iconic i kei car from Mitsubishi. The i is a big hit in Japan, having won numerous awards for its futuristic styling and clever engineering while racking up big sales in ...

Japan: Honda Vamos intros special package for man's best amigo 2 years ago on Autoblog

Click for dogtacular hi-res photo gallery Honda has come up with a special edition vehicle that combines my fascination with all things kei with my love for our canine friends. It's all uniquely Japanese of course, which makes it even better. Seriously, stuff like this is the reason I keep an eye ...

Suzuki facelifts the MR Wagon 3 years ago on Autoblog

We love talking about kei cars here at Autoblog, and this week brought news of a facelifted Suzuki MR Wagon. naturally, it's not as simple as that, however. Most of the time, a visual refresh is applied to every version of that particular model. In the case of the MR Wagon, it's just one new, ...

Mitsubishi releases jeans-themed "i" Kurashiki Edition 3 years ago on Autoblog

Click to enlarge The Japanese automakers are the kings when it comes to putting together special limited-edition, limited-availability models for their home market. More often than not, these editions feature little more than a special interior color, accessory pack, and badging. The limited ...

Honda increases stake in kei car manufacturer 3 years ago on Autoblog

Honda has increased its stake in Yachiyo Industry -- the manufacturer of its Life and Zest kei cars -- to 51.14%. Previously, they held a 34.5% share. Higher fuel prices have resulted in a greatly increased demand for mincars, which receive special tax considerations from the government and combine ...

Third place is sweet: Suzuki overtakes Honda in Japanese market 3 years ago on Autoblog

Due in part to the booming market for the kei or mini car, Suzuki has overtaken Honda for third place behind Toyota and Nissan in the race for Japanese domestic car and light commercial vehicle sales. For the period between January and October 2006, Suzuki outsold Honda by a margin of nearly 7000 ...

O Kei! Suzuki Cervo bows in Japan 3 years ago on Autoblog

Suzuki has brought a new kei car to the Japanese domestic market. Dubbed the Cervo, the little five-door gets a bold front end treatment dominated by oversized, teardrop-shaped headlamps that flank a chrome-trimmed trapezoidal grille. The lower fascia's grille opening extends to the corner foglight ...

Nissan vows not to make its own Kei cars 3 years ago on Autoblog

We can hear Carlos now, "We don't need no stinking kei cars!" According to Japan Today, Ghosn et all don't see a need to build or design their own kei cars. Instead of going through the hassle of building their own tiny car for the markets that consume them, Nissan will still prefer to sell another ...

Everything's O-Kei: New Daihatsu Move introduced in Japan 3 years ago on Autoblog

Another day. Another kei. This time, it's Daihatsu, which has released a redesigned version of its Move minicar. Available as the subdued Move or the more sporty-looking Move Custom (above), the car follows the usual kei formula: tiny outside, maximized space inside. In fact, the new Move boasts ...

RR of the Day: Shot of Cappuccino 3 years ago on Autoblog

This week we bring you another Japanese Kei car, but one infinitely cooler than the Mitsubishi Toppo we featured last week. Today's RR of the Day is a nice Suzuki Cappuccino owned by a gentleman that goes by the Flickr handle benoitcerrina. The Cappuccino is a rear-wheel drive roadster that, ...

RR of the Day: Toppo the morning, to ya 3 years ago on Autoblog

Mitsubishi Toppo Alex Nunez is the resident Kei car fanatic here at Autoblog, so this RR of the Day selection goes out to him. It's a Mitsubishi Toppo, exact model year unknown, that was submitted by Flickr member Eddie Does Japan. Scanning Eddie's Flickr page (check out that first shot!) revealed ...

Brought to you by the letter Kei: Mitsubishi's new eK Wagon and eK Sport 3 years ago on Autoblog

New kei cars are fun to cover. The impossibly small yet practical Japanese minicars manage to cram a lot of style and usability into a tight package. Mitsubishi's eK Wagon series has been a strong seller since its introduction in 2001, and the redesigned version (on sale today across Japan) looks ...

Mitsubishi keeping an "i" on the British Motor Show 3 years ago on Autoblog

An unlikely visitor made the trip from Japan to London for the British Motor Show. Joining the rest of Mitsubishi's lineup at ExCeL is one of Mitsubishi's "i" kei cars. Mitsubishi UK is in the final stages of a feasability study as to whether or not there's a market for the "i" in Britain. The ...

Mitsubishi releases the i Limited in Japan 3 years ago on Autoblog

On Tuesday, Mitsubishi followed up the i (eye) Play with a second special edition of its nifty new kei car. The i Limited comes in nine possible paint colors and features a grey interior with darker grey cloth seating surfaces. AM/FM/CD 4-speaker audio, air conditioning with a deodorizing filter, ...






Autoblog Podcast #158: 'Twas a couple nights before Christmas...

Chris, Editor Paukert, and Dan send the Podcast off for the Christmas holiday in proper fashion

 
 

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