By Tessa R. Salazar
Inquirer

TOKYO, Japan–It’s ogling time again.

For 17 days, Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan will be home to motoring journalists and car enthusiasts from all over this third planet from the Sun for the 40th Tokyo Motor Show.

Among the thousands will be Inquirer Motoring, which will also get a closer look at the leading auto research campaign of Honda in Tochigi, where the innovative manufacturer keeps a full-scale wind tunnel, safety crash-test facility and the Tochigi proving ground. There would also be a meeting of motoring journalists at the Twin Ring Motegi.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Yuri Kageyama
Associated Press

TOKYO, Japan–Nissan’s new super-sports car, the GT-R, is a rare challenge to European and American automakers by a Japanese company more used to family-friendly offerings like the Altima sedan.

Nissan claims the muscle car, to be introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show, is so sophisticated it is training scores of maintenance workers at dealers in Japan to service the vehicle.

“The GT-R requires special attention because its technology is so advanced,” Corporate Vice President Takao Katagiri said Wednesday. “It also calls for finesse in salesmanship because the sales representative must deal with customers who are going to be very demanding.”

[Read the rest of this entry »]