#Japan

Despite being an ultra-niche vehicle, interest in the Nissan GT-R always remains strong, and car enthusiasts have been fretting about whether Japan’s natural disasters have impacted production of the revised GT-R.

Mazda will resume production of vehicles on March 22nd, an encouraging sign for the Japanese auto industry as it battles a catastrophic series of events that has seen most automakers in the country suspend production.

The ongoing crisis in Japan is continuing to impact automakers and the entire industry, even American companies. Japanese suppliers of the Chevrolet Volt’s transmission have been disrupted by the nuclear situation, which has a chance to delay production of the hot-selling electric car.

General Motors Shreveport, Louisiana factory that builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon will face a production halt until March 21st due to supply chain issues stemming from Japan’s natural disasters.

In light of the current situation, Volkswagen and BMW who have a large operation in Japan, are calling back their foreign employees. 50 or so workers from BMW and a similar number from VW have already returned home, with more expected in the near future.

Given the current state of gasoline, the Toyota Prius has been hotter than Justin Bieber tickets. Unfortunately, there’s a nationwide shortage of the popular hybrid across the American market: Cars.com lists just 9,014 available.

Chalk it up to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but the Prius has been selling fast for months now in response to higher gas prices. And while the Prius’s current supply might be over 9,000, consider that the RAV4 has been selling at the same rate, but there are over 21,000 of those available.

So if you want 50mpg in your family sedan, it may shock you that there are other cars that can accomplish that seemingly Herculean feat. Not just a 1989 GEO Metro, either; Cars.com has listed a spate of modern cars that can match that figure while simultaneously offering satellite radio, power windows, and crash protection more substantial than a box of saltine crackers. Some are hybrids, some are diesels, and some—like the Fiat 500 shown above—don’t make you venture down the eco-dweeb path, either.

But you’ll have to click through the jump to find out.

Japanese auto makers have been scrambling to assess the impact of the recent natural disasters on their supply chains, as North American production facilities face potential harm, as Japanese factories have begun suspending production in the face of a series of catastrophic events.

Japan’s three largest automakers announced that they will donate $3.75 million each for earthquake relief. Honda says it will donate 1,000 power generators (a product made by the company) as well as 5,000 gas canisters, while Nissan is considering the donation of vehicles, provisions and medical supplies. Toyota also said that it is investigating such a move.

Given the recent events in Japan, it may not be entirely surprising that there are greater priorities than building fast supercars. As such, shipments of the 2012 Nissan GT-R to America have been delayed as the country struggles to rebuild after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Renault is admitting that is wrongfully dismissed three executives accused of corporate espionage, saying it has found no evidence to support the allegations made.

With the recent earthquakes and tsunamis devestating Japan, automakers in the country are announcing a series of plant closures. Toyota, Mazda, Honda and Nissan have all announced plans to close various factories through the middle of March, although the plants could remain shuttered beyond that timeframe.

The last time the Jeep Grand Cherokee was sold in Japan, only 88 units found homes among Japanese buyers. After a hiatus for 2010, Chrysler is re-introducing the SUV on March 12, and is ambitiously targeting sales of between 500 and 1,000 units.

Anyone who was not comatose in 2009 remembers the Toyota unintended acceleration scandal, which saw millions of Toyota and Lexus products recalled due to what was eventually deemed to be a mismatch between floormats and the accelerator that could cause the pedal to stick.

Now, Toyota is recalling a further 2.17 million cars and trucks to remedy the issue – at least this time they’ve been vindicated by none other than NASA.

The recalled vehicles, along with the number of units, are listed after the jump, as is Toyota’s official release.

[Source: Toyota]

Honda has announced a recall of 700,000 Fits worldwide, with 97,000 in the U.S., for a problem with valvetrain springs, which may break and cause the engine to stall.