#Japan

Nissan and Mitsubishi announced a new joint venture today, notably involving a minicar project that will see Nissan’s engineering prowess and Mitsubishi’s small car expertise utilized in to give greater market share to both companies in markets outside North America.

For all the hype surrounding Ford‘s Fiesta subcompact, which is capable of hitting 40 mpg, it looks like subcompacts, especially those than can hit the vaunted number, aren’t selling all that well in the USA.

Toyota recently celebrated its 10th anniversary of the Toyota Motorsports Festival, and what better way to show off what Toyota Motorsports is all about than to assemble a team of flagship Lexus LFA supercars in various colors and taking them all out to the track at Fuji Speedway?

That’s exactly what Toyota did, and we’re fortunate enough to spy a video of the action. We’re pretty jealous.

One more noteworthy appearance in the video is Lexus’ IS-F Race Car Concept acting as the safety vehicle on the track.

Video available after the jump:

Honda has given its European market Jazz (also known as the Fit to us North Americans) a mild refresh, and confirmed availability of the Jazz Hybrid that debuted at the 2010 Paris Auto Show.

Toyota‘s iQ microcar will get a fully electric version in 2011, the Japanese automaker has confirmed. The iQ will come as part of a plan to launch 11 hybrid or electric vehicles by 2012, including a hybrid version of the Yaris hatchback, a plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid and a Prius-based minivan.

In a move that would be unthinkable to most North American consumers, Honda will stop selling its ubiquitous Civic in Japan due to non-existant demand for the iconic compact.

Honda‘s CR-Z sports hybrid has won the distinction of being voted Japan’s Car of the Year. Honda narrowly missed out on last year’s award when their Insight hybrid was beaten out by the mighty Toyota Prius.

Mazda‘s CEO is hoping to double American sales to 400,000 units within the next 5 years, thanks to new fuel-saving technology known as SkyActiv, as well as a push upmarket.

BMW is certainly rolling out a lot of special edition models lately. The Japanese have already seen the BMW X6 Performance Unlimited, while the Australians got the M3 Pure Edition and China got the M3 Tiger Edition. BMW has come back full circle by offering the Japanese market with another special edition vehicle, this time in the form of their popular E92 M3 dubbed Competition Package.

We may not be seeing Honda’s 2011 Honda Jazz/Fit hybrid over here in North American any time soon, but it doesn’t mean we won’t uncross our fingers. And now we’re even more excited – that’s because it has launched in Japan for 1.59 million yen ($19,310 U.S.), making it the cheapest gas-electric car available in Japan.

Mitsubishi‘s lineup in the rest of the world is a pretty far cry from the Outlanders, Eclipses and Galants we’re used to in North America. In foreign markets, cars like the i, Colt and Delica can be had instead of the pulse-slowing fare sold here.

Infiniti‘s M37 and M56 sedans, the largest of Infiniti’s 4-door offerings, get a minor price bump for 2011, with the MSRPs rising $250 and $350 respectively.

Mitsubishi‘s mid-size offerings, already long in the tooth and outdated, may have to soldier on to 2013, after which point they will be unceremoniously executed as Mitsubishi shifts its focus from heavy, lumbering mid-size cars to small vehicles and electric powertrains.

Toyota‘s executive vice president for global manufacturing said that exporting the Corolla and Yaris to America was no longer profitable due to a strong yen, which is at a 15 year high relative to the U.S. dollar.

The first American built Honda car rolled of the line in 1982, and 28 years later, Honda has finally reached a significant milestone in North America, building more cars in the United States than in Japan.