Technology

Toyota is marking the 20th anniversary of its groundbreaking Prius hybrid by officially announcing a sportier-looking commemorative edition of the car called the Prius 2020 Edition. It'll be a 2021 model, and Toyota will limit production to 2,020 units.

Also, Toyota divulged that it plans to introduce a pair of all-new hybrid models via a livestream unveiling from its North American headquarters near Dallas on May 18. More on that in a moment.

Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City in western Japan are to ask the central government to put the prefecture under a state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic.

Kyoto Governor Nishiwaki Takatoshi and Kyoto City Mayor Kadokawa Daisaku are set to announce their request at a news conference on Friday morning.

Former Kalafina member Hikaru will be releasing her first major debut single "Altern-ate-" under her solo project H-el-ical// on May 20. 

"Altern-ate-" has been picked up as the opening theme for TV anime 'Gleipnir' beginning in April. You can check out 2 promotional videos for "Altern-ate-" below. 

The closure of schools across Japan to prevent the new coronavirus from spreading has made childcare facilities busier.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe requested local governments to temporarily close schools from Monday until the start of the spring break in late March.

If you are a fan of that toned-down Sport Line version of the updated Honda Civic Type R and you happen to live in the US, the news are bad.

A Japanese doctor at a national research institute says he hopes that an HIV drug that is being tested to treat people infected with the new coronavirus will be approved for clinical use as soon as possible.

Norio Ohmagari, the director of the Disease Control and Prevention Center in Tokyo, says the anti-AIDS drug is being used on a trial basis at medical institutions in many countries. He points out that the drug was used overseas to treat SARS and MERS patients in the past.

In a time when Nissan has filed a civil suit against former chairman Carlos Ghosn, is suffering from a sales slump, and is losing millions of dollars, the company has dropped a surprise album. Unlike Elon Musk's song, which has EDM vibes, Nissan's aural soundtrack is of a more relaxed nature and is aimed at a much younger demographic. Nissan Leaf Dream Drive is a string of lullabies created with sounds from electric cars and internal combustion vehicles.

Parents know that a car ride is a great way to get kids to sleep. But that approach emits CO2, and therefore contributes to climate change. So, for parents who don't have a fully electric car like the Leaf, Nissan created an album that emulates the experience of riding in a car.

Compromise used to be the unfortunate truth in auto manufacturing. The hardware needed to build an enthusiast-pleasing machine wasn't necessarily compatible with producing a comfortable, safe vehicle. With the advent of modern electric vehicles, this situation is changing, and our recent drive of Nissan's e-4ORCE prototype all-wheel drive system shows how. The vehicle in question is a regular Nissan Leaf Plus that's been outfitted with two Leaf Plus motors (one in front and one in back) and Nissan's e-4ORCE all-wheel drive system. A variety of tests were laid out for us at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during CES last week to let us try out Nissan's new dual-motor EV system. Turns out, e-4ORCE offers more than just increased traction. All the proof is in the driving. Our first test was a straight-line acceleration run. Two Leaf Plus motors combine for a system output of 304 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. To put it lightly, the e-4ORCE test car made the regular Leaf Plus feel as though it was hardly moving. The quick response from the go-pedal was just as impressive — Nissan claims its powertrain responds quicker than any other dual-motor EV system that it benchmarked. Next up, Nissan had us experience the benefit of rear motor regenerative braking. Instead of a swift nosedive when lifting off the accelerator pedal in the single front-motor Leaf Plus, the e-4ORCE keeps its nose steady and close to level with where we started from after lifting off the accelerator. It's able to accomplish this by using the rear motor instead of the front motor for regenerative braking, significantly reducing head-toss and squat. This will make a huge difference for folks who get carsick easily.

A lot of carmakers these days are creating electric cars or hybrids at the very least. This is because as the world starts to run out of fossil fuels, creating cars that don’t require them makes a lot of sense. In fact, Japanese carmaker Subaru has announced that by the mid 2030s, they plan to sell only electric cars.

As it stands, Subaru already sells hybrid and plug-in hybrids, but the company is expected to develop what they are calling a “strong hybrid” vehicle using Toyota’s technology. Speaking during a briefing, Chief Technology Officer Tetsuo Onuki said that despite using Toyota’s technology, they still want to make cars that are distinctively Subaru.