A broad swath of Japan is digging itself out from a massive snowfall. Weather officials are warning of slippery roads - and even avalanches - for areas stretching from Hokkaido down to western Japan.
Residents of a community north of Tokyo spent the morning clearing away a blanket of fresh snow. A record 128 centimeters of the white stuff fell over Minakami Town in a single day.
Toyota is finally ready to dive headfirst into the rapidly expanding electric vehicle segment. The giant Japanese automaker will kick off its EV charge first in Europe with a new electric sport utility vehicle that will ride on a platform the company calls e-TNGA (we think that's short for electric-Toyota New Global Architecture).
This SUV will be the first of six planned electric vehicles coming soon from Toyota. Best we can tell, this is the same vehicle that the automaker teased back in the summer of 2019 when it announced its partnership with Subaru. At the time, the company said the EV would be about the size of a RAV4 or Forester, which matches the information released with this latest announcement. The e-TNGA platform can support front-, rear- or all-wheel drive and can be stretched or shrunk with modular battery modules to support various vehicle designs and requirements.
Sony is set to launch a new colour option for the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2) called ‘Mirror Lake Green' next week in Taiwan. The handset will also get a RAM boost as well, moving from 8GB to 12GB. Other specs remain the same including 256GB of UFS storage. There's no details on pricing, but all is expected to be unveiled on 20 October 2020.
One of the longest running and most famous nameplates in Nissan's history is that of the Z car. It has been with us since 1969 nearly continuously, and with only occasional missteps. Only a couple Nissans can match it for history and notoriety, such as the Skyline sedans and coupes, and the Patrol SUVs. The Z is also getting a much needed successor in the near future, previewed by the Z Proto. As such, it seemed like a good time to take a look back at the different generations that got us to today.
The first Z arrived in 1969 as the Fairlady Z in Japan, and the 240Z in the U.S. The Japanese name picked up from the roadsters Nissan built in the 1960s under the Fairlady name, the later versions of which were sold in the U.S. as the Datsun Roadster. The American name came from the 2.4-liter single overhead cam inline-six under the hood. It made 148 horsepower and 152 pound-feet of torque and was mated to a manual transmission. It had fully independent suspension with struts at each end. Disc brakes at the front and drums at the rear would bring it to a stop. Over the years, Nissan increased the displacement of the U.S. cars to compensate for power-sapping emissions equipment, leading to the 260Z and 280Z with 2.6-liter and 2.8-liter versions of the straight-six. Larger bumpers appeared on these later models, too, to meet U.S. safety regulations. Nissan also added a lengthened 2+2 model later in this car's lifecycle.
When Nissan put out a hazy cinematic preview of future product in May, sports car fans were thrilled to see the Nissan Z among the assemblage. We got further thrill from what we thought would be the sports car's expected due date: 2021. Seems our calendar-watching got the best of us, because AutoExpress reports the coupe rumored to be called the 400Z won't debut until 2022 and won't go on sale until 2023. When the automaker announced its latest strategy, dubbed "Nissan Next: From A to Z," part of the plan called for launching 12 new models in the next 18 months. We figured the Z would be among that dozen. The plan, however, runs to the end of Nissan's 2023 fiscal year, which doesn't close until March 31, 2024. In that case, a 2023 on-sale date for the 400Z is better than it might have turned out. Assuming AE is correct, the redone sports car arrives 14 years after the current 370Z hit the market.
In addition to our anticipation, it seems we should also temper our expectations. The 400Z is supposedly going to ride on the automaker's Front Midship platform for rear-wheel-drive models. This is the same platform the current 370Z rides on, as well as the Infiniti Q50 and Q60, so it's already not-new. On the other hand, Nissan's done some wonderful things with the architecture; the FM traces its roots to the JDM V35 Skyline from 2001 that came to the U.S. as the Infiniti G35 in 2002. The present GT-R rides on an evolution of the FM called Premium Midship. The 400Z might be the last little Indian on the platform, too, since the Nissan Next plan calls for Infiniti to switch to mass-produced Nissan platforms with AWD capability as Infiniti transitions to being "Nissan-plus."
Now that Sony has announced and officially unveiled their PS5 console, some of you might be wondering about the games that will be available on the console. If you were hoping to see Rockstar’s GTA 6 arrive for the PS5, you might be disappointed, but the good news is that it looks like GTA 5 will be coming to the console in 2021.
Yes, we know that GTA 5 is an old game, but even by today’s standards, it is still very much a beautiful-looking game and it plays great. The version launching for the PS5 won’t just be a port of the current GTA 5, but it will come with several technical improvements and visual upgrades that should take advantage of the console’s hardware, as well as new features and content that will hopefully breathe new life into the game.
The Type S moniker is back along with the 2021 Acura TLX Type S sedan. And today, the internet has sprouted some more Acura Type S news. We caught wind of a forum post on Acurazine through a thread on Reddit that includes a link to a video allegedly shown during Acura's 2020 dealer meeting webcast. That video doesn't appear to be live anymore, but an enterprising individual happened to screenshot the most important slide from the video: Acura's product roadmap to 2022. Here's the link you're looking for.
Take this information with a grain of salt. There's a good chance that this intel is correct, but plans change. Most imminent is a redesigned Acura MDX with a Type S variant. We expect an MDX Type S to follow the same formula as the TLX Type S. Acura's new 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 would be a fine candidate for this duty. With that powerplant (horsepower unknown, but likely around 400 ponies), it could punch up against SUVs like the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53, or punch down to the Ford Explorer ST. tuned suspension, plenty of appearance add-ons and sportier interior would also likely be along for the ride. It's placed directly after the TLX on the chart timewise, so there's a good chance that we see a new MDX soon.
Toyota's largest hybrid SUV, the Highlander, will go on sale in Western Europe next year, marking the first time the nameplate becomes available in the region.
For the first time ever, the popular pod-racing video game "Star Wars Episode 1: Racer," will be available to Playstation fans on the PS4. A revamped version of the game is set to be released on the Sony console, as well as the Nintendo Switch, on May 12.
Star Wars previously brought the game back to life for PC, and now it is further expanding its universe not only to the versatile Switch gaming system but to the PS4, as well. The new version will be framed around the original but will have updated features for a better gameplay.
When Kunos Simulazioni first released Assetto Corsa Competizione last May, you could only get it for devices running Microsoft Windows. Now, the popular racing sim will drop for both the PlayStation 4 as well as the Xbox One gaming consoles on June 23.
Here in the States, the only engine available in the reborn Toyota Supra is an inline-six that produces 335 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque. In other markets, however, Toyota's swoopy sportscar is offered with a couple of four-cylinder options. According to a report from Motor Trend, an announcement for a 2.0-liter turbocharged four for the U.S. could be imminent. Motor Trend asked Ed Laukes, Toyota's group vice president of marketing, directly about the possibility of a downsized engine in the U.S. Supra, and he responded that they should "stay tuned for next week." Taking that a little further, MT postulates that an announcement could be made at the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 16. BMW offers a 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the mechanically similar Z4 with 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. It's not clear what power level Toyota would target for a base-level Supra, but a 225-hp version is offered in Japan. What's more, a four-cylinder Supra has already been certified for sale by the California Air Resources Board, which means at least some hurdles have already been passed. So, will it come? Perhaps we'll find out in a week.
Ever wanted to play a PlayStation game from your Nintendo Switch? If you do, then you might be interested to learn that there is a small, small possibility that Sony’s PlayStation Remote Play could be arriving on the Switch. This was hinted at in a survey shared by Redditor YouRedditHereFirst.
According to the post, they received an email survey from Sony regarding the Remote Play feature. It asked participants about their thoughts of the feature arriving on non-Sony devices like the Xbox One or the Nintendo Switch, and it also asked them their thoughts on the feature for non-gaming devices like the Apple TV or Android TV.
Honda has announced pricing details of the 2020 Clarity Plug-In Hybrid model, which will begin arriving at dealerships across the United States on January 17.
Young people in the Japanese city of Osaka have marked a rite of passage by climbing steps to the top of the country's tallest building.
Monday is Coming of Age Day, a national holiday that honors people reaching age 20, the legal start of adulthood in Japan.