Autoblog

Car posters your wall will thank you for

Jeffrey N. Ross — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:02:00 EST

We're always looking for cool new things to hang on our office walls, so we were thrilled when we stumbled across a guy in New Zealand who makes illustrations that any car enthusiast would love. A graphic designer by day, Joel Fletcher has an incredible talent of using his work skills to create some original automotive posters.

Fletcher's drawings can be found (and purchased) on the Hive Facebook page starting at $12 plus shipping. Fletcher says that he has a "soft spot" for Japanese cars, which is obvious in his selection of posters, but he can create a unique work of art for any car, even taking special requests. Some of the highlights displayed on the Facebook page include old racecars and the evolution of cars like the Toyota Supra, Mazda Miata and Mazda RX-7.

Our personal favorite, however, is a calendar he made featuring famous movie/television show cars including the A-Team van, James Bond's Aston Martin and the Ford Gran Torino from Starsky and Hutch. Another creative poster he made shows the Toyota GT-86 and Subaru BRZ on a canvas that can be hung either way to have one car right-side up and the other appear as its mirror image.

He creates all his images using vector graphics, and each car takes between 40 minutes to over an hour to complete. There's even a video demonstrating how he takes an image of a Bugatti Veyron and turns it into one of his poster photos.

So if you're looking for a perfect and special gift for any car buff, examples of Fletcher's handy work is on Facebook, as is his contact info.

Car posters your wall will thank you for originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Sep 2012 12:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan Inc. using deals, incentives to keep hard-fought lease customers from defecting

Zach Bowman — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Honda, Nissan, Toyota

Japanese automakers are turning to new lease programs in an effort to lock down buyers who may stray to other automakers due to a lower-than-average supply of popular models. Toyota, Honda and Nissan are still in the process of restoring production to pre-earthquake levels, and as a result, buyers may not find the exact model they are looking for on dealer lots. Honda has authorized its dealers to extend current lease customers' arrangements by up to six months. Additionally, the company is offering $500 to drivers who move from an old lease into a new one and promising to honor current incentives if buyers commit to an unavailable model. The automaker calls the effort the Honda Promise Program.

But Honda isn't the only company sweetening its deals. Automotive News reports that Toyota is extending its lease offers by six months and handing out a coupon worth $750 to customers who return to lease another Toyota product. Nissan is offering dirt-cheap lease options for its most popular model - the Altima. Buyers can snap up the sedan for $179 per month for two years.

Manufacturers are also pushing for better lease deals due to a dearth of quality used vehicles this season.

Japan Inc. using deals, incentives to keep hard-fought lease customers from defecting originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Would you wait to buy a Japanese car? [w/poll]

Aaron Richardson — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota

It may be some time before consumers in line for a new Japanese car get their hands on their new ride.

Besides killing thousands of people, shocking the nation's infrastructure and setting off the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the Japanese earthquake disaster has halted car production on the island indefinitely. Added to that, the tsunami resulting from the quake destroyed thousands of cars and trucks awaiting export.

With production halted and parts supplies drying up, waiting lists for new Japanese cars are mounting. According to CNW Research, those in line for new Japanese cars are, on average, willing to wait 90 days for the delays to end.

Only eight percent of Honda buyers would look elsewhere after a 90-day wait, with the figure climbing to 13 percent for Subaru, 14 percent for Toyota and 19 percent for Nissan.

Those may not seem like huge numbers, until you compare them to comparable American brands. Ford would only lose six percent after 90 days for its cars, and a scant 2.8 percent of truck buyers would bail. Jeep buyers proved most-loyal, with 97.2 percent of their customers sticking around after 90 days.

Would you stand in line for 90 days or more for your new Japanese car of choice? Let us know by voting in our poll.

View Poll

[Source: CNW Research via The Detroit Bureau | Image: Drew Phillips/AOL]

Would you wait to buy a Japanese car? [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: U.S. car dealers raising prices because of Japan disaster

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Japan

The problems facing automakers in the wake of Japan's deadly earthquake and the resulting tsunami are already manifesting themselves in the form of higher transaction prices on some Japanese cars, as U.S. dealers show less willingness to negotiate downward from the number on the window sticker, according to an AP report.

Automakers like Toyota, Honda and Nissan all say they have a sufficient supply of vehicles in the U.S. that had already been imported from Japan before the disaster struck. So, if there are still plenty of Japanese cars on Stateside lots, why the hardening prices?

It's a simple case of supply and demand, explain some dealers polled by The Associated Press. "We're going to run out of cars. We had five [Prius hybrids] on the ground yesterday, and I don't know when I'll get another," says Dave Conant, owner of a Toyota dealership in San Diego, CA. "The market has shifted pretty quickly and dramatically."

Of course, some people believe dealerships are just using speculative vehicle shortages to make a few extra bucks. We suspect the truth may be a little bit of both.

[Source: The Associated Press via ABC News | Image: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty]

Report: U.S. car dealers raising prices because of Japan disaster originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda Insight first-ever hybrid to become Japan's #1 selling auto

Chris Paukert — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:27:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Budget, Hybrid, Green, Japan, Hatchback, Honda

2010 Honda Insight - Click above for high-res image gallery

In a historic move that's sure to irk their archrivals in Toyota City, Honda's new Insight has become the first-ever hybrid vehicle to top the sales charts in Japan. By shifting some 10,481 units last month, the teardrop-shaped model became Nippon's best-selling car in April, a feat no gas-electric car has managed previously. That's according to the Japan Automobile Dealer's Association, which tracks vehicle sales (in the interest of full disclosure, the group's findings exclude 660cc "kei" cars).

Those 10,481 units vaulted the Insight from its slot as Japan's 21st best-selling model in March, a major jump that's likely down to production ramp-up and increased consumer awareness (Honda launched the car on February 2). The Insight, which starts at 1.89 million yen ($19,190) outpaced its brother, the Honda Fit/Jazz hatchback, while Toyota's Vitz (Yaris) finished in third, Ironically, Toyota's Prius rung up in 21st place, but the third-generation model isn't expected to go on sale until May 18, and Toyota has already cut the iconic model's base price in order to be more competitive with Honda's upstart. Press release after the jump.

Gallery: ABG First Drive: 2010 Honda Insight

[Source: Honda]

Continue reading Honda Insight first-ever hybrid to become Japan's #1 selling auto

Honda Insight first-ever hybrid to become Japan's #1 selling auto originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 May 2009 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Youth in Asia: Japanese sales plunge as young people abandon cars

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:32:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Japan, Lifestyle

Japan's car sales are declining, just like they are in most countries. But unlike other markets, auto sales in Japan won't be recovering anytime soon. The sales outlook is so bleak, in fact, that the Japanese automakers even have a word for it: "kuruma banare," or "demotorization." While it may sound more like "kuruma bizarre" to us car-obsessed types, kids in Japan are much more interested in the latest electronic gadgetry than they are with cars, and many have no intention on ever owning an automobile. Early predictions are that 4.86 million new cars will be sold in Japan in 2009, which would mark the first time in three decades that sales have sunk below five million.

To help keep traffic flowing inside showrooms, dealerships have taken up rather interesting tactics. For instance, one Honda dealership is now catering towards dog owners, since public transportation options are limited for large animals. We make the following suggestion: Less Hello Kitty, more Godzilla. But whatever works, ya know? Thanks for the tip, Sami!

[Source: Detroit News]

Youth in Asia: Japanese sales plunge as young people abandon cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bolivia bans most imports to... curb traffic?

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:31:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Japan, Lifestyle

Outside of a Terry Gilliam film, where else can you see a used car blessing ceremony, a city of one million people with 535 different public bus routes, roadblocks set up by car mechanics, and kids dressed in zebra suits patrolling crosswalks? Bolivia, that's where. The South American nation, attempting to halt an explosion of automobile buying that's clogging their limited road network, has banned importing used cars more than five years old.

The president of Bolivia issued the ban to halt the tide of right-hand-drive cars coming in from Japan. The cars are more reliable than what was on offer before, and so cheap that Bolivians have been buying them up, painting "Taxi" on the sides, only to sit on traffic-choked roads. Shutting down the import trade brings Bolivia more in line with its South American neighbors, and it could open the roads up a bit as well and curb air pollution issues. The mechanics who convert right-hand drive cars to left-hand drive have protested and blocked roads, arm-in-arm with the used car dealers who sell them.

Bolivians who wanted the used cars are losing out twice: Used cars less than five years old usually don't make it to Bolivia, and they will be denied "the road trip to bless a new used car at a popular Catholic shrine on Lake Titicaca -- where proud owners splash their new wheels with beer and tape flowers to the side mirrors -- has become a regular rite of passage." Oh, and the kids dressed up as zebras? They get paid by the city to to scold drivers that block crosswalks. It's probably not a bad gig unless you get run over on your first day and spend three days in hospital like one zebra in La Paz. Ah, Bolivia...

[Source: CBS]

Bolivia bans most imports to... curb traffic? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Japan's Bosozoku roll deep, phat, loud and weird

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:28:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Etc., Japan, Videos

Click above to watch video after the jump

No pandas were hurt during the making of this photograph. People either. Actually, the truth behind this image is even more bizarre. This is just one example of the Bosozoku craze in Japan. The pic (and the accompanying video posted after the jump) was swiped from a forum that specializes in this type of thing. It's not exactly a new trend, but one worth mentioning from time-to-time so we remember to be on the alert for this type of zany motorist if the Bosozoku craze ever crosses the pond.

Characterized by massively extended lip spoilers, double-wide fender flares and pipe-organ exhaust systems, Bosozoku cars look insane when you come across one parked on the streets of Japan. Well, imagine what it's like being engulfed in a swarm of them while driving down the highway. That's exactly what you'll experience in the video clip we've posted. Follow the jump to share the insanity.

[Source: Retro Rides Forum via Japanese Nostalgic Car]

Continue reading VIDEO: Japan's Bosozoku roll deep, phat, loud and weird

VIDEO: Japan's Bosozoku roll deep, phat, loud and weird originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kim Jong-il bans Japanese cars in North Korea

John Neff — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:54:00 EST

Filed under: Japan

If one of us were a bat-crazy dictator, we'd have all sorts of fun issuing nonsensical edicts and impossible-to-follow commands like "Increase the day to 32 hours!" "Make the toilet water flush clockwise!" "Upgrade my computer to Windows Vista!!!" Stuff like that is why we love to hate Kim Jong-il. The North Korean dictator recently decreed that from henceforth all cars of Japanese descent shall be banished from his land. The edict was issued back on January 1st and is thought to be in response to Japan's increasing pressure on North Korea to start flying right when it comes to nuclear arms. The communist country's first nuclear missile test last year ticked off its Nihon neighbors, and since then Japan has increased sanctions against the country. Rumor has it that Kim issued the command after visiting the body of North Korea's first leader, Kim Il-sung, and encountering a broken-down Japanese car blocking the road.

The linked report reveals that Kim may not get his wish of a nation free from Japanese autos, as most of the country's cars are from Japan. We're also curious to know how last week's nuclear deal with North Korea might affect this odd situation.

Thanks for the tip, BSR!

[Source: The Sydney Morning Herald]

Kim Jong-il bans Japanese cars in North Korea originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Feb 2007 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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