No Really, this is a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider and it's Powered by a Subaru Turbo Boxer!

Don't let the Nissan 350Z snout and the Infiniti G35 Coupe (JDM Nissan Skyline V35) rear end design fool you; the glitzy painted roadster model you're gawking at is in fact a JDM Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider - possibly a third generation model. But before you try to digest all that info let us quickly add that Paint Star's Tokyo Auto Salon project car also hides a Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four engine under its 350Z-shaped hood. See the rest of the photos in our image gallery after the break.

Photos: Phil Alex / Carscoop

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Nissan 350Z Poses as a Porsche Panamera Convertible...

[Updated gallery] The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil e-mailed the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- modified to resemble a Panamera Convertible. We were quickly proven wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior and some video footage revealing that the Porsche Panamera tune was actually a...masqueraded Nissan 350Z Roadster. More photos after the jump.

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America's Top 10 Selling Vehicles in 2010

The U.S. auto sales numbers for 2010 are out and once again, Ford's F-Series pickup truck has been crowned the best-selling vehicle of the year, a title which it has held for 34 years in a row. According to Autodata Corp., the Dearborn-based brand moved 528,349 units of its F-150 light-duty and F-250, F-350 and F-450 heavy-duty trucks in 2010, recording an impressive increase of 27,7 per cent over 2009.

The Chevrolet Silverado took second place with 370,135 units, or some 158,000 less than the F-Series. Sales of GM's pickup truck were up 16,9 per cent from the previous year.

Despite Toyota's recall debacle, the Camry finished third overall earning the title of the best-selling passenger car in the States with 327,804 units, posting an 8.1 per cent drop from 2009. The Honda Accord and Toyota Corolla followed in fourth and fifth positions respectively.

Overall, U.S. automakers had four vehicles on the Top 10 list, while Japanese carmakers took six spots. For more details check out the complete list below that includes percentage changes from 2009.

1. Ford F-Series------------- 528,349 (+27.7%)
2. Chevrolet Silverado ------370,135 (+16.9 %
3. Toyota Camry ------------327,804 (-8.1 %)
4. Honda Accord-------------282,530 (-1.7 %)
5. Toyota Corolla------------ 266,082 (-10.4 %)
6. Honda Civic---------------260,218 (+0.2 %)
7. Nissan Altima-------------229,263 (+12.6 %)
8. Ford Fusion---------------219,219 (+21.3 %)
9. Honda CR-V-------------- 203,714 (+6.5 %)
10. Dodge Ram-------------- 199,652 (+12.6 %)

Rising Gas Prices Might Affect Large SUV Sales and Trade-In Values

As crude oil reached $91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange last week, U.S. gasoline prices started going up reaching an average value of $3.05 per gallon. That’s about half a dollar more than what Americans had to pay a year ago and the highest level since October 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Diesel prices have also increased to an average of $3.29 a gallon.

If the trend continues, we might see owners of large SUVs going for more fuel-efficient crossover models and trade-in values could plummet as well.

Alec Gutierrez, lead analyst for vehicle evaluation at Kelley Blue Book, said that large SUV sales could take a hit if the gallon reaches the $3.50 to $4 mark. However, since the last price spike registered in spring 2008, sales have only fallen about 1%, so this time around the “damage” shouldn’t be as big as two and a half years ago.

“If you see a 20-to-30 cent price increase per gallon over the course of a couple weeks then of course people are going to panic”, he said, “but if it increases steadily over time that gives the market a chance to react rationally”.

Nevertheless, many people could change their buying habits and opt for smaller SUVs and crossovers, such as the Ford Escape, Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

“The American consumer still generally wants to have a vehicle that offers a lot of utility but at the same time they are conscious of the fuel economy that the vehicle offers and what they are going to pay at the end of the month”, Gutierrez commented.

Another side effect of the rising fuel prices could be the plummeting trade-in values. It happened in 2008 and it could happen once again, so many dealers are scaling back the number of large SUVs available for sale.

“SUVs are still important in this area, but people are downsizing to more fuel efficient SUVs instead”, said Dennis Egglefield, owner of Egglefield Ford in Elizabethtown, N.Y. But as gasoline prices rise, “we are still stocking with the idea that it may go either way. Hoping for the best, but prepared for anything”, he added.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Autonews

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Report: 20 Million Vehicles Recalled in 2010, Toyota Led the Way with 7.1 Million Recalls

Some 20 million vehicles were recalled in 2010, according to a study of preliminary federal data conducted by the Associated Press. It was the highest recall level in the U.S. since 2004, when a record number of 30.8 million vehicles were recalled.

Toyota led the way with around 7.1 million recalls to fix faulty gas pedals and floor mats that could trap the accelerator, as well as numerous other problems spanning from defective brakes to stalling engines. General Motors recalled about 4 million vehicles in 2010, while domestic rival Ford is said to have recalled 500,000 cars and trucks, and Chrysler approximately 1.5 million. Japan's Honda and Nissan are said to have both recalled over 2 million vehicles in 2010.

However, not all is bad, as Transportation Department spokeswoman Olivia Alair pointed out. "More and more recalls are being voluntarily initiated by automakers and we think that's a good sign," Alair said Wednesday. "Safety is NHTSA's first priority and improved cooperation from automakers will help resolve safety issues more quickly and comprehensively."

Wade Newton, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents companies such as General Motors, Toyota and Ford, said carmakers "are doing a better job of identifying and pinpointing safety-related issues and taking faster action," adding that safety advances in the latest generation of cars and trucks helped decline traffic deaths to the lowest level since 1950.

Source: Associated Press , Via: NPR

Nissan's Leaf has Game-like Infotainment Screen so you can Beat your Friends at Saving the Environment

Nissan wants drivers of its new Leaf - which didn't seem to take as much time or PR mumbo-jumbo to reach the pavement as Chevy's Volt - to know everything there is to know about their cars and the trips being made in them.

In Nissan's case, trip transparency is provided by a handy-dandy system called CARWING. The program gives drivers a bucket o'information ranging from travel time to electricity consumption and "average energy economy" on daily, weekly, monthly or annual scales.

You can also compete with other owners for best efficiency levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) thanks to some in-car "gaming". Thanks to MyNissanLeaf member gudy, we've got some screen shots of what the program looks like and some of the info available.

Take a look at the pics below and let us know if this kind of system would be of interest to "normy" car buyers. I'll vote...yes.

By Phil Alex

Source: MyNissanLeaf

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