Nissan's board of directors is reportedly pressured by a team of current and former executives behind the scenes to promote Ashwani Gupta, the company's COO, to co-CEO alongside Makoto Uchida.
Sony has a new feature in its ‘Game Enhancer' app called H.S. Power Control which will be a godsend to those who want to maximise the gaming performance on the Xperia 1 II (Mark 2). In a nutshell, this new feature prevents the battery in the phone from charging whilst a charger is plugged in.
This is the latest iteration of the ever-popular and ever-fast Radical SR3, fittingly dubbed the SR3 XX and featuring a host of updates and improvements over previous models and other variants.
Nissan is launching an all-new version of the Kicks crossover in Thailand that features the brand's e-Power series hybrid setup. And while that powertrain setup is unlikely to make it to the states, the subcompact utility's new styling cues probably herald what's in store for the model that first debuted here in 2018 as a replacement for the polarizing Juke.
Let's focus on e-Power first anyway, because it's interesting technology, even if it's been around for a while. In the Kicks, it's comprised of a 1.2-liter, 12-valve three-cylinder engine that sends power to the electric-drive system; essentially, it's an EV you can't plug in that generates power for the battery from gasoline. There's also a 1.57 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, and electric motor, generator and inverter, which offer up a maximum 95 kW (127 horsepower) of power and 191 pound-feet of torque. The system allows the ability to route power to the electric motor from both the battery and the engine when it's needed, like climbing a hill or passing on the freeway.
Last we saw of the redesigned 2021 Nissan Rogue was the car itself, leaked in some fuzzy but revealing photos online. Today, some details are trickling out about what's better in the new compact crossover. Power figures and fuel economy numbers were uncovered by CarsDirect, showing minor improvements to both.
The current Rogue is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 170 horsepower and 175 pound-feet of torque. Citing an early document meant for fleet customers, the report claims the new Rogue will make 180 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers are only slightly better than before, so we imagine Nissan is simply using an updated version of the current 2.5-liter four-cylinder under the hood.
The current generation Honda Civic Type R isn't a slow car by any means with 306 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. But there are always people who want to go faster, and Hondata's new fuel system upgrade can help Type R owners go faster, or even way faster.
The kit includes new injectors, fuel tank pump, direct injection pump and lines, all rated for higher fuel flow, as well as a Hondata FlashPro unit with several ECU tunes. Because Hondata is marketing this toward Type R owners who will likely be further modifying their cars, the most basic Type R they've tested with is one with an upgraded intercooler and high-flow catalytic converter. On that car, running on 91-octane fuel, the fuel system and tune increased power by 57 ponies and torque by a major 90 pound-feet. Totals were 375 horsepower and 424 pound-feet.
When Lexus launched the fifth-generation LS at the end of 2017, the Japanese luxury maker predicted its once-brand-defining sedan would sell 12,000 units per year in the U.S., a threshold the model hadn't reached since 2010. The LS managed 9,301 transactions here in 2018, its first full year on sale, falling back to 5,528 units in 2019. Through the first three coronavirus-affected months of this year, Lexus dealers have sold 801 LS sedans, compared to 1,404 units in Q1 2019. There's a mid-cycle refresh supposedly due for release in the fall of 2021, and the June issue of Japanese magazine Mag-X (translated), via Lexus Enthusiast, claims we're due for a couple of big surprises that could jolt the sales figures. The first shock is that Lexus is supposedly bringing back the LS 600h moniker for an LS with a V8 hybrid powertrain.
Lexus debuted the LS 600h L in 2007 for the 2008 model year, retiring the hybrid trim in 2016. Its heart was a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8, and when combined with an electric motor, combined output came to 439 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. The fifth generation introduced the LS 500h that switched to a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, producing a combined 354 hp and 369 lb-ft., taking second place in output to the twin-turbo V6 in the non-hybrid LS 500 with 416 hp and 442 lb-ft.
Manhart Performance founder Christoph Erfurt holds a simple ethos for his company: "We turn good cars into very special cars." For 2020, Manhart launched a new program that attempts to do just that with the Toyota GR Supra.
Manhart has upgraded the Supra to have more power, better handling, and some extra style points. The turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 under the hood originally makes 335 horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque, but with Manhart's MHtronik powerbox, electronic control unit (ECU) remapping, and a new exhaust system, the Supra is said to produce 440–450 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque.
As of this year, Toyota will have yet another small SUV in its lineup which will slot under the C-HR and will share underpinnings with the new Yaris.
The 2020 Toyota Supra finally went on sale last year as one of the most controversial new sports cars in a long time. For 2021, Toyota is adding a couple wrinkles to the Supra equation.
The biggest news for the 2021 Toyota Supra is the arrival of a turbocharged four-cylinder model called Supra 2.0. Instead of the 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six, this Supra is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (sourced from BMW, just like the six). The four-cylinder makes 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, and Toyota claims a 0-60 mph time of 5.0 seconds. This is the same 2.0-liter turbo that's in the BMW Z4 30i.
J.D. Power is out with its annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study for 2020, which looks at problems experienced by owners of three-year-old vehicles. The big takeaways are continued improvement in overall vehicle dependability, with the brands Genesis, Lexus and Buick taking the top three spots, in order. But once again, the usual caveats apply.
Autoblog years ago raised issues with the study, which gives the same weight to matters of subjective likability, such as complaints about pairing their device with the vehicle's Bluetooth or ease of operating the audio system, to more substantive issues like a defective climate system or transmission trouble. J.D. Power continues to tally problems across eight categories, including audio/communication/entertainment/navigation, and despite that being the most improved category, the organization says it still accounts for more problems than any other.
Japan's communications ministry plans to require key mobile phone base stations to have at least 24 hours of backup power.
The move comes after a series of powerful typhoons caused prolonged disruption to mobile communications last year.
Looks like it's official — the U.S. will finally get the upgraded Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV that's been on sale in Europe and Japan since late 2018. AutoGuide perused documents Mitsubishi filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2021 product lineup. The paperwork shows a 2.4-liter engine with 126 horsepower replacing the 2.0-liter with 117 hp in the current U.S.-market Outlander plug-in hybrid. We've expected the engine change for a while, but we didn't have a horsepower rating before. The version on sale in Europe gets 133 hp from the 2.4-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder, while promising "higher torque, smoother operation, and overall higher efficiency." We'll get the 13.8-kWh battery, up from the 12-kWh unit currently installed, and the rear electric motor gets bumped up to 93 hp, same as overseas. The e-motor on the front axle holds steady at 80 hp. Unless Mitsubishi has model-year shenanigans in mind, the documents describe the next-gen Outlander that's been promised for debut later this year. It will ride on a Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance platform, expected to be the same architecture shared with the next-gen 2021 Nissan Rogue. The current Outlander and Rogue are just 0.3 inches apart, and both are expected to grow in size. The new Outlander's exterior will glean cues from the Engelberg Tourer concept (shown below) like vertically-oriented headlights, a reshaped greenhouse, and a larger rear roof spoiler. If Mitsubishi carries over the rest of the upgrades afforded the international Outlander PHEV versions, we're in for a more powerful generator, and new Sport and Snow modes. The suspension and 4WD Lock were also bolstered on the current crossover, but with an all-new generation, we'd expect thorough overhauls in hardware and software. The real prize will be finding out how much EV range the next plug-in hybrid Outlander promises beyond the 22 miles available on the current model. On Japan's testing cycle, the new powertrain extended all-electric driving from 37.8 miles to 40.4 miles.
The Ikata nuclear power plant in western Japan has had a short electricity outage, causing suspension of maintenance work on one of its reactors. All three reactors at the plant are currently offline.
Officials at Shikoku Electric Power Company and Ehime Prefecture say the plant lost power at around 3:40 p.m. on Saturday.