#Japan

Marking the 20th anniversary of Mazda‘s victory in the world’s most demanding endurace race, the 24 Hour of Le Mans, Mazda has brought the winning Mazda 787B back from the dead.

Nissan is looking to strengthen some key plants in an effort to minimize damage from future earthquakes starting with the heavily damaged Iwaki engine plant in the Fukushima prefecture.

The Earthquake disaster in Japan may prompt European car makers to seek suppliers closer to them, the chief of Europe’s automobile association said.

Back in the 1980’s the FIA World Rally Championship had the infamous Group B class, which featured some of the fastest cars to ever enter professional rallying.

JDM fanboys and Honda lovers everywhere are sure to wince at the above photo, showing yet another side to the devastating Japanese tsunami.

Toyota Canada has cut its sales projections by a third and warned dealers that the supply of new vehicles is starting to be choked off as the company feels the effects of the March 11th earthquake that rocked northern Japan.

Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota continues to be affected deeply by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Now the company is saying that it will be at least 6 months before they can resume production at levels before the disasters.

Nearly 5 months in to the calendar year, Lexus has admitted that it will not be able to sustain its lead in the luxury car sales race, due to tight supplies of vehicles and parts from Japan.

General Motors is set to become the world’s largest automaker yet again, reclaiming the title from Toyota, whose operations have been hit hard by a production slowdown brought on by Japan’s natural disasters.

Dealers may be in for an arduous summer as Japan’s auto parts shortage is on track to choke off new vehicle deliveries for months, with dealers potentially receiving no new vehicles until September.

Mere days after the world’s largest automotive microchip producer struggled to avert a production crisis due to their factory being disabled by the March 11th earthquake in Japan, the second largest producer of automotive microchips is now said to be abandoning their own factory in the area and is looking to add capacity at other plants.

Many car companies have suffered and Toyota, the largest car company in Japan is no exception. Their production delays will have an effect on Toyota dealers in America.

While much of the automotive industry is watching what car manufacturers have to say about production shortages in Japan, a key supplier of microchips is transferring production from their battered facility in Japan’s earthquake zone, to seperate facilities in Japan and Singapore – but the move could cause months long delays of crucial components, halting production for a number of vehicles in the process.

Toyota is the latest automaker to adjust their North American production schedules, with plants idling on April 15, 18, 21, 22, and 25. Toyota’s engine and component factories will follow a similar schedule, while their Georgetown, Kentucky facility will remain open on April 21.

General Motors will idle their Arlington, Texas plant due to a parts shortage, although details were not given as to what the specific issue was.