A day after the debut of the Toyota GT 86 and the Subaru BRZ at the Tokyo Motor Show, the third version of the shared sports coupe has been revealed at a private event in Hollywood, CA. Sold under the Scion brand in North America, the car will wear the FR-S badge.

“Tonight will go down in history as the night Scion brought the sport back to the car,” said brand boss Jack Hollis at the car’s reveal. Like its siblings, the FR-S is powered by a direct-injection boxer 4-cylinder with a 12.5:1 compression ratio making 200-hp and 151 lb-ft of torque. Using the compact boxer engine the car now only delivers an excellent center of gravity (billed to be the best in the world), it also offers a 53:47 front-to-rear weight distribution. A 6-speed manual transmission and limited slip differential will be standard, while a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters will be optional.

Answering those who have questioned why the car will be branded as a Scion in North America, Hollis commented that, “The FR-S… with its style, performance, authenticity, originality … fits perfectly with what Scion is all about! Passion for your car!”

Commenting that the FR-S gets its inspiration from the 2000GT, the Sports 800 and the Corolla GT-S, Hollis explains further. “The definition of the word Scion… as you already know… means to be a descendant of… or an heir to. Well… the FR-S is an excellent example of that definition. The heritage and DNA of these performance cars you see here tonight trickles down into every ounce of the FR-S…just one of the benefits of being from such a great family. ”

As with all Scions, customization will be a key feature with the FR-S, with seven different paint choices, including Firestorm red. pricing has yet to be announced but the FR-S will hit Scion dealers next Spring. We even have a video below.

GALLERY: Scion FR-S World Premiere

GALLERY: Scion FR-S

Discuss this story at FR-SForum.com

Check out the video after the jump

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There’s the Honda N-Box and the Daihatsu Pico, but nothing at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show can compare to the extreme levels of cuteness on display at the Suzuki booth.

In total, Suzuki has presented three new concept cars, ranging from near-production to downright absurd. In the latter category is the Q Concept (above), which looks more like a Discman (remember those?) than a car and offers an emissions-free electric range of six miles.

Next up is the Regina concept, which looks close to production, with a fresh styling perspective and a conventional gasoline engine. Thanks to significant attention paid to weight reduction, it manages an incredible 72.3-mpg.

Finally there’s the Swift EV Hybrid, which gets its confusing name from a range-extender powerplant similar to that found in the Chevy Volt. Offering between 12 and 18 miles of electric travel, the gasoline engine then kicks in to recharge the batteries to deliver added range.

GALLERY: Suzuki Q Concept

GALLERY: Suzuki Regina Concept

GALLERY: Suzuki Swift EV Hybrid Concept

While Honda and Toyota have been messing around with electric car concepts for quite some time now, Nissan has been selling the Leaf EV for a whole year now. Aiming to display its expertise in electric vehicles, the company’s Tokyo Motor Show display included a slew of emissions free models, ranging from the PIVO 3 personal commuter, to the stunning ESFLOW sports car.

Sharing the stage with those is the Leaf NISMO, tuned by the brand’s motorsports division. With Nissan having already announced a Leaf NISMO RC race car, purpose built for track duty, this is more of a street tuner version, sporting custom aerodynamics, some 18-inch wheels and an upgraded (and lowered suspension).

Nissan hasn’t officially announced any performance upgrades, although some reports indicate a slight bump in power for the NISMO version.

It may be just a concept for now, but if Nissan gets serious about electric cars in motorsports, then you can expect NISMO parts for electric cars to follow.

GALLERY: Nissan Leaf NISMO

Nissan has unveiled its third iteration of the PIVO concept at the Tokyo Motor Show and emphasized that the PIVO 3 is what Nissan envisions to be a more realistic electric vehicle of the future rather than just another concept. Building on the PIVO 1 and PIVO 2, Nissan’s third creation from the PIVO portfolio evolves in the direction of “smart community” with greater feasibility, credibility and an extended scope of mobile performance.

The ultra-compact city commuter looks to be a more practical, albeit futuristic, approach to sustainability in the real world. And one of the main features Nissan wanted to talk about at the Tokyo Motor Show was the PICO 3′s Automated Valet Parking (AVP). AVP is geared towards revolutionizing the parking experience allowing the driver to never have to find a parking space, physically park the car or remember where they parked their car. By using specially-equipped parking lots, the PIVO 3 will park itself and recharge itself while parked, or even sell excess power to the grid within the parking lot. When the driver is ready for their vehicle to pick them up, a quick use of the smartphone will summon the PICO 3 to their destination.

Taking a look at the PIVO 3 at the show, Nissan showed off its 1+2 seating layout and it’s clear that the design was built to emphasize a very agile commuter vehicle that could effortlessly park in tight spaces. The outside styling is definitely bold, but not completely out of the realm of being realistic. The interior is definitely a tad futuristic, but Nissan also wanted to show off its Around View Monitor system technology, that helps reveal the car’s surroundings and help minimize blind spots.

GALLERY: Nissan PIVO 3

Mitsubishi has officially unveiled its new global small car, which is expected to help expand the brand’s lineup in North America. Bringing back the Mirage badge this sub-compact offering is just 146-inches in length, or roughly a foot shorter than the Honda Fit.

Unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, the display car features a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine that uses start-stop technology to achieve a 70-mpg rating on the less strict Japanese test cycle. Still, that number should result in over 40-mpg on the U.S. EPA cycle, putting it ahead of rivals.

While 3-cylinder cars in North America aren’t unheard of (take the old Subaru Justy as an example), it’s still unlikely that Mitsubishi would offer this engine option in the U.S.

Mitsubishi hasn’t said as much, but based on the design (hub-caps included) it appears as though the concept was to create a low-cost budget vehicle along the lines of the Nissan Versa, rather than a stylish and high-content small car like the Ford Fiesta.

GALLERY: Mitsubishi Mirage

Reports are coming in that Japanese auto manufacturers are looking for ways to cut costs on vehicles being exported to the United States in order to squeeze profits due to the record high yen against the dollar. A prime example is the new GS 350 from Lexus, that has been highly anticipated and praised by the American media.

Though many of the cost-cutting measure will be unnoticeable to the average day consumer, knowing that certain things were done to a luxury sedan is disheartening. For example, Lexus used asphalt spray instead of laminate sheeting for noise suppression on the underbody and recycled plastic instead of virgin for the protective cover beneath the engine, in order to cut costs. That’s not all, as some technical decisions seem to have been impacted due to the surging yen, as we’ll be seeing Lexus’s old six-speed transmission rather than a new seven- or eight-speed that competitors are offering in their new luxury sedans.

Slightly reassuring though is that Yoshihiko Kanamori, chief engineer for the GS 350, did state that ”There were no items omitted that I would like to have, but with this exchange rate we will have to raise the price.” A compromise that Lexus found is offering all the bells and whistles in their F Sport variant which will undoubtedly be drastically different in price from the base GS 350.

[Source: Automotive News]

Automobile manufacturing is a big part of the Canadian economy. 10 percent of the country’s manufacturing output is related to the auto industry.

Things have been changing for a few years already, and the future is not looking good for Canada.  Thanks to their lower labor rates and production costs, more and more car companies are looking to move their operations down to Mexico.

Currently, Canada accounts for 16-percent of production for North America, but since 2008 Mexico, has accounted for 20-percent, and that number will likely grow.

If the trend continues, Canadians might lose their jobs well south of their border. However, not all is doom and gloom for our northern neighbors as vehicle production increased in 2011 by 2-percent to bring a total of 2.1-million units produced.

General Motors is supporting the Canadian economy by announcing that the new Cadillac XTS sedan will be built in Oshawa, Ontario (where vehicles like the Camaro are already built), and Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that it will invest C$545-million to upgrade Toyota production facilities in Ontario.

[Source: Automotive News]

Sharing Toyota‘s stage with the production Prius Plug-in Hybrid at the Tokyo Motor Show are two eco-conscious concept cars that give a clear hint as the the automaker’s future green car plans. The FT-EV III Concept is a near production electric city car, that will go on sale next year (branded as a Scion in North America). Moving several years beyond is the FCV-R fuel cell concept. Looking like something that actually might make it to production, Toyota has said it plans to offer a fuel cell vehicle to fleets by 2015.

GALLERY: Toyota FCV-R Fuel Cell Concept

For more on both cars, watch the video below:

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There was always something funny about the Bugatti Veyron that crashed into a Texas lagoon, conveniently captured on video and shared on the Internet for the world to see.

The driver, Andy House, claimed he had to swerve to avoid a pelican on the road while trying to pick up his cell phone that dropped. To make it even more suspicious, the exotic was left idling in the water for 15 minutes until it died – ensuring that it would be a totaled vehicle by the time any authorities got  to it.

And House’s explanation for not turning off the engine? He claimed he was being bitten by mosquitoes and didn’t want to return to the car to turn off the engine. While we live in a country where everyone is innocent until proven guilty, the details laid out in House’s scenario seems to really go against him. His insurance company paid out $2 million for the car, even though House only secured a $1 million interest-free loan for the vehicle.

There are also claims going around that House tried to pay a confidential informant to steal the Bugatti and set it on fire in order to claim the insurance on it, essentially doubling the initial investment from the loaner. The insurance company is now firing back, claiming fraud. A federal judge has declared that the claim must go before a jury. They’re also stating that House violated the terms of the policy, claiming that he put over 1,200 miles on the vehicle in the three weeks he owned it.

We don’t know about you, but we’re pretty sure that mosquitoes would be the last of our worries if we were trying to save our million dollar (and change) investment. Besides, no one ever saw a pelican of any sort in any of the videos. Good luck with this one Mr. House.

Check out the video of the Veyron nose-diving into the lake after the break, if you haven’t done so already.

[Source: Autoblog]

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Valentino Rossi is clearly a warrior on all things two-wheeled. Rossi won his first 125cc championship in 1997, a 250cc World Championship in 1999, a 500cc World Championship in 2001, back-to-back World GP Championships in 2002 and 2003 with Honda, and another back-to-back in 2004 and 2005 with Yamaha. It would take until 2008 for Rossi to recapture his title, but he had no problem retaining it in 2009.

Despite a disappointing season in 2011 for Ducatti, Rossi is still first in all time 500cc / MotoGP race wins with 79 victories. And while we don’t expect Rossi to hand up MotoGP anytime soon, he did proclaim that he sees himself racing in rally sometime in the future.

I’ll do a few more years in MotoGP, then I’d race in rallies: these machines are really fun to drive because they have less electronics,” said Rossi.

For the 2011 edition of the Monza Rally Show, Monster Energy and Rossi put together a three-car team and shot a video of Rossi behind the wheels of a WRC Ford Fiesta. And despite not having a ton of time behind the wheel, Rossi showed off why he’s one of the fastest things on wheels (two or four) by finishing second in two race formats behind multiple WRC champion Sebastian Loeb.

Check out a video of Rossi piloting a Monster Energy WRC Fiesta after the break.

[Source: Autoblog]