Thursday, 26 October 2017

Niken a Go Go: Yamaha’s Radical New Three-Wheeled Sportbike

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Yamaha has been on a product tear over the past few years. The FZ-07, -09, and -10 Hyper Naked sportbikes are fantastic, and the sub-liter FZs are a screaming value to boot. The tuning-fork brand is gunning for Harley with its humongous Star Venture, a full-dress tourer that combines Japanese refinement with a stonking huge V-twin. The latest version of its vaunted R1 race replica consistently wins raves from the motorcycle press. And now, well, there’s the Niken. READ MORE ››


2018-Honda-Fit-Sport-PLACEMENT

Considering our high regard for the first two generations of the Honda Fit—and how bummed we were that the third-gen car wasn’t as fun to drive—we were eager to sample this updated-for-2018 Sport model that slots in above the base LX and below the EX and EX-L trims. The Sport designation has us remembering fondly the appealing chassis dynamics that landed the first two generations of this pint-size hatchback on our 10Best Cars lists, a distinction that the post-2015 iteration has failed to achieve. Unfortunately, the Sport badge denotes what is essentially an appearance package encompassing aggressive-looking bumpers, orange accents, glossy black 16-inch wheels, a chrome exhaust tip, and sill extensions. READ MORE ››


Mazda-Vision-Coupe-concept-PLACEMENT

Like automobiles themselves, automotive form vocabularies evolve; sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Mazda’s lauded Kodo (“Soul of Motion”) design language, which was first applied to the lovely Shinari concept in 2011 and has since spread to the rest of the production-car lineup, is one that has worked so well that we almost winced as we prepared to see where Mazda will take it next. Then the covers came off the four-door Vision Coupe concept car at this week’s Tokyo auto show, and it was immediately clear that we had nothing to be concerned about—the thing is mouth-wateringly gorgeous. Seriously. READ MORE ››


Subaru-Viziv-Concept-PLACEMENT
Four and a half years after unwrapping the slinky WRX concept at the 2013 New York auto show, Subaru has pulled the sheet from another low-slung concept: the Viziv Performance. Unveiled at the 2017 Tokyo auto show, the Viziv Performance concept reportedly signals the company’s plans for the next generation of its WRX sedan. READ MORE ››


First Mitsubishi came for the storied Eclipse nameplate, previously applied only to sports coupes, and slapped it onto a crossover. Now it has repurposed its iconic Evolution moniker and applied it to this e-Evolution crossover concept, appearing on the Mitsubishi stand at the 2017 Tokyo auto show.
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Lexus LS Plus With Autonomous Driving

There are three things auto manufacturers are pretty much required to develop now to stay relevant: electric vehicles, crossovers, and autonomous-driving technology. As to that last one, the industry has decided it’s no longer a question of if driverless cars are coming; it’s a matter of when. Dozens of recent concept cars from all parts of the globe have explored what manufacturers want and hope to do in futures near and far. The latest is the Lexus LS+ concept, a riff on the new-generation LS flagship sedan that features partial autonomous driving. READ MORE ››


Mazda-Kai-concept-PLACEMENT

Mazda used its home-country advantage at this year’s Tokyo auto show to map out its upcoming plans for design direction, architectural advancement, and engine technology. Those organizational intentions are manifest in two concepts: the Vision Coupe (itself a four-door spinoff from the RX-Vision concept) and the Kai concept. The latter is likely a preview of the next-generation Mazda 3 hatchback. READ MORE ››


Honda’s recent production cars are among the more adventurously styled in their respective classes—we’re looking at you, Civic—so it is curious that the automaker is going retro for its advanced concept cars. Case in point: the oh-so-adorable Urban EV concept from this year’s Frankfurt auto show, which resembles an original 1973 Civic hatchback reimagined for a preschool version of Blade Runner. Now upstaging even that car in the quest for retro-cuteness is Honda’s latest idea for an electric runabout, the Sports EV revealed at the 2017 Tokyo auto show. READ MORE ››

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