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DAILY REPORTS

Mar 17

Honda racked up 7,000 orders in Japan for its new CR-Z sporty hybrid (autospies.com)

Honda Motor Co.'s new CR-Z sporty hybrid went on sale starting Feb. 25 but already, there have been 7,000 orders received in Japan. This figure is more than half of Honda's target of 12,000 units each year in its home market. This many orders mean that there is a three-month waiting time for delivery in Japan. In the US, the model will arrive at showrooms this summer. The two-seater CR-Z is equipped with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine that's mated to an electric motor, resulting to a fuel economy of 36/38 mpg. Honda forecasts sales of 15,000 units in North America annually.

Mar 04

Small is beautiful: Japan's hand-made electric cars (AFP)

While auto manufacturing giants spend millions to develop environmentally-friendly electric cars, one Japanese company has taken a more low-key approach, crafting hand-made "green" cars. Takeoka Jidosha Kogei may be the antithesis of the world's Hondas and Nissans. The family-run business makes its cars from scratch in a garage workshop in the snowy foothills in the northwest of the country. There are no industrial robots or assembly lines in sight. Instead just a dozen mechanics crafting each model by hand, right up to the finishing touch of adding a set of beady headlights to their "Milieu" range.

Feb 26	Honda launches world's first sporty hybrid car (Japan Times)
	Honda Motor Co. on Thursday rolled out the CR-Z, the world's first hybrid sports car. The car, which will hit domestic showrooms Friday ahead of its global launch, comes with an electric motor equivalent to 1.5 liters and a 2.0-liter gasoline engine for acceleration. Its fuel efficiency is rated at 25 km per liter, compared with about 12 for similar gas-powered Honda models.

Feb 18

Here comes the electric Nissan Leaf (CNN)

Carlos Ghosn -- in shirtsleeves -- walks briskly into a conference room on the 21st floor of Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. Awaiting his arrival are 15 executives in two ranks of chairs. Subject of the meeting: how to spread the news about Ghosn's pet electric-car project. His communications staff wants a traditional publicity campaign to build excitement, but Ghosn (rhymes with "phone") has other ideas. He believes that Nissan has a headstart over the rest of the industry -- and he doesn't want to tip his hand.

Feb 17

MMC plans ¥800,000 fuel-stingy compact (Japan Times)

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is considering setting the price of its new fuel-efficient compact car at around ¥800,000, well under the roughly ¥1 million for the lowest-priced cars now available on the market, sources said. The automaker is planning to build the car, which is set for release next year, at low-cost plants in Thailand and China and to supply it to carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, which is looking to forge capital ties with Mitsubishi Motors, for sale under the French automaker's nameplate, the sources said.

Jan 10 Japanese set for rare downbeat Detroit car show (Reuters)

Jan 10 Akio Toyoda to become president of Toyota (Yomiuri)

Jan 08 Japan races to build a zero-emission car (AFP)

Jan 06 Suzuki freezes plan to develop 3.6L 'Kizashi' sedan (MarketWatch)

Jan 05 Auto slump has deep impact on Japan (Wall Street Journal)

(AP) - This photo released Wednesday March 17, 2010 by the California Highway Patrol shows a Toyota Prius bumbper touching the Higway Patrol car after it was stopped with the help of a California Highway Patrol officer after the driver reported the vehicle's accelerator becoming stuck. Toyota representatives held a news conference Monday, March 15, and said this driver's account was substantially different from its findings. (AP Photo/California Highway Patrol)