Japanese

If there’s one niche of the motorcycling world that has really exploded over the last decade, it’s that of the custom chopper. Whether or not you’re a fan of reality shows like American Chopper or celebs like Brad Pitt, the fact of the matter is that they and their ilk have exponentially grown mainstream awareness and appreciation of thumping, two-wheeled sculputre. So why haven’t the OEMs been as quick to embrace the chopper’s popularity?

Granted, Harley-Davidson and the Japanese offer “custom” versions of their cruisers which feature such touches as fancier exhaust systems, reshaped fenders, gas tanks and lights, and maybe even an extra degree or two of rake on the fork. Cool looking? Certainly. Choppers? Hardly. Rather than asking why no manufacturer has offered something more radical, Honda decided to do something about it. That something is the Fury.

The third-generation Acura TL first debuted in 2008 and immediately came under heavy artillery fire from pundits of automotive aesthetics. The lines were clean and crisp but the grill was referred to as a "shield", "cheese grater", "plow" and so forth. The blinged out wedge shape design was something many folks couldn't seem to get past. We're all so critical these days and the controversial styling was like a homing device for naysayers. It's always safe to say you don't like something -- it seems like you have a more discerning eye than everyone else. Throwing in a verb such as "like" leaves you vulnerable and suggests questionable taste, but I will go out on a limb here and give the new 2010 Acura TL a firm nod. The styling of the fascia is integrated particularly well with the rest of the car and is solidified with the V-shaped insert below the rear deck. And after all, as a general rule, we like it when car companies are willing to take risks.

When the newly redesigned Acura TL was released, the lack of a Type-S version as well as a manual transmission option also threw some of us for a loop. The company has rectified this with the introduction of the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD with 6-speed manual. Including the Technology Package this car runs $44,195 which puts it in stiff competition for the luxury performance sedans under $60,000 category. So, how does a vehicle derived from the Honda Accord stack up with its German brethren? Surprisingly well, and with plenty of room left in the budget...

Racing teams being integrated into their sponsors’ promotions is hardly an unusual phenomenon. Why? Because the practice tends to get attention from fans and non-fans alike. Who wouldn’t want a chance to win a lifetime supply of lumber if Jimmie Johnson wins the Lowe’s 500, or be willing to swim through the world’s biggest Slurpee in search of the golden ticket that will make you one of Tony Kanaan’s honorary pit crew members for a weekend?

In all seriousness, though, not all team/sponsor collaborations are created equal. And to paraphrase Snowball the Pig, the marketing stunt dreamt up by Japanese office machine juggernaut Epson seen in the above and following photos is more equal than most of the promo schemes we can recall seeing. Why is that? It’s the mother of all papercraft models.

Subaru feels people get something special from their cars. This is probably most true with their high-performance model, the Impreza WRX STI. Owners of these incredible machines make sacrifices in the name of performance.  For example my 2006 didn't even have a trunk release button on the key fob. I didn't care. Knowing this, they find creative ways to illustrate it in their ads.

For the 2011 Impreza WRX STI, Subaru wants to highlight an attribute the car provides: G's. I'm not talking about the kind Snoop Dogg stacks in his private bank vault, I'm talking about the kind you get from an F-16. It's a simple concept really; AWD + 305hp=Lots of G's. But Subaru wants to make sure anyone in the public understands what this means. So they put 5 different people in the passenger seat of an STI driven by Rally Driver Dave Mirra and filmed 5 videos to illustrate it. I hope they can wash that seat. Make the jump to see why.

It’s hard to believe the Acura NSX (known to the rest of the world as a Honda) has been out of production for five years. It seems like only yesterday that the aluminum intensive, VTEC V6-propelled rocket burst onto the scene and proceeded to make life miserable for Ferrari, who at that time was peddling the slower, heavier, cruder, less reliable and, oh yeah, significantly pricier 328. The NSX (and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the Lexus LS400) had signaled that the Japanese auto industry had well and truly arrived.

What’s more, the NSX neatly encapsulated Honda’s corporate M.O. (which, not coincidentally, mirrored that of founder Soichiro Honda) of dreaming big, asking “Why not?” instead of “Why?”, and baking at least a pinch of fun into everything it makes in a world-beating, four-wheeled package. Lately, however, we and countless others have to wonder what happened to the Honda and, by extension, Acura that gave birth to vehicles like the NSX.

We bring you this story with a heavy heart and sad fingers on the keyboard. Toyota's chief test-driver, Hiromu Naruse, died on June 23rd on the 410 Highway near the famous Nurburgring in Germany. He was driving the recently spied Lexus LFA Nurburgring Edition, of which only 50 will be made, costing 1.5 million Euros. Naruse was driving on the two-lane highway and (for reasons still unknown) crossed the dotted line into on-coming traffic, where he collided with a BMW, also driven by factory test drivers (from BMW, of course). Both the BMW drivers survived, although one is still in critical condition.

We praise Naruse for his obvious passion and creativity. Without him we may never have seen those few yet brilliant cars Toyota has produced in the last 5 decades. He died doing what he loved and what he was seemingly born to do, and for that we pay him our highest respects.

When Nissan spawned their latest GT-R in 2008, the R35, magazines around the world quickly named it “Godzilla”. This term was coined, in part because of its physical size, but mostly for its fire breathing performance. That leads to an interesting question; what would you call a Nissan GT-R with 900hp that runs on ethanol fuel? I’ll provide a hint—‘E’ for ethanol and 900 for 900 rampaging horses. The answer is the Switzer Performance E900, of course.  

Up until now, Switzer Performance has been delivering their P800 tuning package, which takes your run-of-the-mill Nissan GTR and turns it into an 800hp track weapon that still functions quite nicely as a daily driver. But even that was still not enough for one customer who wanted even more...

There is a plethora of motorcycle manufacturers to choose from when you've decided to buy a superbike. If your heart desires the Asian persuasion, you can choose between the Yamaha YZF-R1, the Kawasaki ZX-10R, the Honda CBR-1000RR, and also the Suzuki GSX-R 1000. These are all machines that started life as divine Moto GP bikes and were then watered down slightly to sell to us mortals—I mean consumers. Each update for Moto GP typically results in an update to the consumer variant.

The latest offering in the 1000cc class is from Kawasaki and its flagship Ninja ZX-10R superbike. Kawasaki has unveiled a teaser of what the 2011 Ninja ZX-10R will offer. Details have not been released to us but here is what can be expected from Team Green: a new engine, a new frame, a new suspension package, and perhaps some updated electronics. Additionally, Kawasaki provided a design sketch of the 2011 bike and a teaser video as well!