#Japan

Along with things like baseball and celebrities, America is known for its cars. It might surprise you to learn then that in a newly compiled list of the top auto-producing nations, the U.S. of A. doesn’t place very highly. In fact, according to the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association of a total 58,478,810 cars produced last year the U.S. ranks just 7th, responsible for assembling some 1.2 million cars.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the Japanese government’s effort to keep the yen’s value under control had failed and that Nissan was strongly considering moving production out of Japan and into foreign countries.

Toyota officially launched the all-new Camry last week, and Nissan took advantage of this situation in a very 21st century method of subterfuge.

In Japan, the most popular car is neither big, nor powerful, but it fills the needs of most of its motorists. Since 2003, the most popular car sold in Japan is the Suzuki Wagon R.

The perpetually-grinning, happy-go-lucky Mazda 3 will be getting a facelift for 2012. But will it still be so happy?

Toyota is eager to regain its “world’s largest automaker” title back. So by 2012, if things go according to plan, expect to see a lot more Toyota products on the roads: 8 million, to be specific.

For next year, Toyota will start offering AC electric outlets as an option on the Prius hybrid so drivers can plug in accessories or appliances to their car. Toyota developed the idea through the March 11 earthquake disaster in which people used the Toyota Estima hybrid van (pictured above) as a source of emergency electricity when the power went out.

As you can tell from its styling, this car is loosely based on the 996-model 911. However, apart from the doors, every body-panel has been reshaped. This car is much bigger and wider than any other 996.

In 2009, Volkswagen, in its ever growing quest to become the largest automaker in the world, bought 20% of Suzuki for $2.5-billion. The partnership would have given VW insight into Suzuki’s small-car technology, a segment the Japanese auto-maker is very successful at in Japan. Suzuki on the other hand would have gained valuable knowledge on hybrid technology. It looked like a win-win for both sides, but things have been far from ideal between these two companies.