Abe: Domestic Travel Curbs To Be Lifted On Friday

Abe: Domestic travel curbs to be lifted on Friday

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo says the government will lift travel restrictions across prefectural borders on Friday, as the daily number of coronavirus cases continues to fall nationwide, except in a few localities.

Abe made the announcement at a meeting of the government's taskforce on the coronavirus on Thursday.

Crawford Performance Builds Lifted Subaru Crosstrek

Crawford Performance builds lifted Subaru Crosstrek

Subaru's idea of updating the Crosstrek is dropping a bigger, 2.5-liter flat-four engine in the engine bay. American tuner Crawford Performance has other plans for the city-friendly crossover. It turned the model into an off-roader enhanced with a lift kit, skid plates, and extra lights reminiscent of Subaru's rallying past, among other add-ons.

California-based Crawford Performance knows what it takes to improve a Subaru. It's one of the companies responsible for the Crosstrek Baja Racer introduced in 2019, and it's the only aftermarket parts manufacturer ever factory-backed by Subaru. The suspension lift it developed for the second-generation Crosstrek adds 2 inches of ground clearance to the front axle and an extra inch and a half to the rear. For context, the Crosstrek sits 8.7 inches off the ground when it rolls off the assembly line, so the lift alone raises it above the 10-inch mark.

State Of Emergency May Be Lifted In Some Prefs

State of emergency may be lifted in some prefs

Japan's government says it may lift the nationwide state of emergency for the coronavirus outbreak before the planned end date of May 31. This would apply to some of the 13 prefectures now under special alert, as well as many other prefectures.

The government plans to discuss the matter at a meeting of its expert panel on Thursday.

State Of Emergency May Not Be Fully Lifted May 6

State of emergency may not be fully lifted May 6

Japanese government officials increasingly share the opinion that it will be difficult to fully lift the state of emergency in early May. Medical experts say infections are not slowing as they expected.

The government declared the state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, and five other prefectures on April 7. It expanded the declaration nationwide on April 16.

Abe: State Of Emergency Can Be Lifted In A Month

Abe: State of emergency can be lifted in a month

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said the country will make it out of the state of emergency in a month with the cooperation of citizens.

Abe told reporters on Wednesday that he is thankful for the cooperation of people in response to the declaration he made the previous day.

Evacuation Order Partially Lifted In Futaba Town

Evacuation order partially lifted in Futaba Town

An evacuation order that's been in place since the 2011 nuclear accident has been lifted in some parts of Futaba Town, Fukushima Prefecture.

The order was lifted on Wednesday for nearly 5 percent of the town that co-hosts the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Alpine A110 Sportsx Is A Lifted Rally-inspired Design Exercise

Alpine A110 SportsX is a lifted rally-inspired design exercise

It's winter sports season in many parts of the world, and auto manufacturers are using that as an excuse to make some pretty fun specialty versions of their vehicles. Only hours apart, Bentley unveiled an adventure-ready Continental GT, while Alpine dropped a surprise design study called the A110 SportsX. Similar to the Buick Regal TourX, the X indicates the lifted vehicle's rugged personality.    Alpine has managed to squeeze a lot of fun variants out of the A110 since debuting the sleek sports car. After the Alpine Vision concept turned into the production A110, which debuted at Geneva in early 2017, Alpine announced an A110 Cup race car in late 2017. In 2018, Alpine announced another race car, the A110 GT4, and in 2019, an improved A110S with sharper suspension and 288 horsepower debuted. The coolest A110, however, is the A110 Rally, which debuted in late 2019. The just-announced A110 SportsX takes inspiration from the Rally but drops the oversized wing for some skis. Alpine's exhibit at the International Automobile Festival at Les Invalides in Paris, France, is called "Between Retrospective and Prospective." The stand features "present and fantasized models, whose storyline is a back and forth between two eras and the richness of Alpine's history as an inexhaustible source of inspiration." In attendance were the A210 prototype, the Alpine Vision Gran Turismo, the Alpine A110 1800 Gp4 driven by François Alessandri and Jean Pierre Manzagol in 1972, an A110 "berlinette" 1300 from 1971, the A110S, and the the A110 SportsX. Alpine says the SportsX, which is based on an A110 Pure, is inspired by the winning A110 rally car from the 1973 Monte Carlo Rally. The design concept is 3.1 inches wider and has 2.4 inches of extra ground clearance. Visually, it has a two-tone look, thanks to a dark hood and roof, and a ski rack has been mounted over the rear window. Black accents are found along the body, and the front fascia features a more aggressive aero piece. It also has dark wheels, X marks on the fog lights, and little French flag accents throughout. As a design exercise, the SportsX will not make production as it stands. This might be one of the only chances to see this car in a public place, so anybody in Paris should check it out if they can.

Grande première ce soir au @Festivalauto avec l'annonce de ce concept @alpine_cars spécial sports d'hiver !#alpinea110 #alpine #ski

https://t.co/g9O2B0yciZ — Festival Automobile (@Festivalauto) January 28, 2020

Evacuation Order To Be Partially Lifted In 3 Towns

Evacuation order to be partially lifted in 3 towns

An evacuation order that has been enforced in three towns in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan, since the 2011 nuclear accident will be partially lifted in March.

The Japanese government reached the decision at a meeting of the nuclear disaster taskforce attended by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.