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December 22, 2024
 

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Peter Lyon
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 7, 2008
What's behind all the funny car names?
Over the years, Japanese car names have been a source of unending comedy, frivolity and perplexity in international motoring circles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 2, 2008
EVs lead the charge on Paris stage
Gather a bunch of Japanese car journalists or engineers together for a chat on the current state of the industry and you will hear heated debate about design, downsizing, performance, safety and maybe even fuel economy. But for some strange reason, few seem to talk about carbon dioxide (CO2). You know,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 12, 2008
Lamborghini's Gallardo: Italian flair meets German engineering
You could say that I am extremely sensitive to certain types of sound, especially those that fill you with awe and cause goose bumps. Every time I hear tenor sensation Luciano Pavarotti sing the last climactic note in "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera "Turandot," the hairs on the back of my neck stand...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Sep 7, 2008
Toyota's iQ — a smart move in microcar stakes
As a reporter who covers motor shows in Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt, I get to chat with a lot of European car engineers, designers and journalists. And I'm sorry to say but, no folks, they are not all in a lather about skyrocketing oil prices. Global warming's No. 1 cause, rising carbon dioxide levels,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Aug 3, 2008
Maserati: The ultimate in automotive artwork
Ask any concert pianist whether they would rather play a Steinway & Sons piano or a Yamaha, and I'll bet you a season ticket to the Opera House in London's Covent Garden that they would nod for the former. When I chatted with just such a virtuoso several months ago, he was smitten with the Steinway....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jul 6, 2008
Nissan stages own 'Olympics' to get ahead in hard times
Imagine you are a marketing mogul at one of Japan's big carmakers. Your job is to get the world's motoring press driving your cars, generate international exposure and spread the word about your company's products. And right now car sales are plummeting in many countries as rising oil prices hit consumers...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jun 15, 2008
Women vie for the lead in motor racing
Hollywood's finest scriptwriters couldn't have come up with a better story line. A 92-year-old American car race where the winners celebrate with milk rather than champagne; where female drivers are more popular than their male counterparts; and where all V8 engines, supplied by Honda, run on renewable...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 27, 2008
Time that Japan's numbers came up
Given that much less than 1 percent of Japan's population are native English speakers, you can understand my surprise when the word "POLICE" suddenly appeared in bold reflective lettering on the nation's patrol cars last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 13, 2008
Why Japan finally got its foot off the brake
No other phrase more eloquently captures the essence of Japan's car industry than jishu-kisei, or "mutual self-restraint."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 30, 2008
General Motors banks on an Aussie invasion
If you were fortunate enough to score an invite to a Hollywood party these days, you'd be hard-pressed to avoid rubbing shoulders with an Australian actor. Tinseltown is awash with them. Academy Award winners Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush lead an ever-growing...
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 16, 2008
Why some of Japan's top cars can't be found here
Ever wondered why some of the best automotive achievements from Japanese carmakers never make it to Japan?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 2, 2008
Inviting Big Brother along for the ride
In-car camera systems that record accidents have the potential to change our behavior — and curb the rising number of traffic fatalities occurring around the globe as more vehicles pour onto our roads. They also open a debate on the right to personal safety versus the right to privacy; such systems...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 17, 2008
Taking to the streets of tomorrow
Listen carefully and you might detect the slight whir of this car's motor, a little wind noise and a faint thrum from the tires. Could this be the sound of driving in the future? Will our streets one day be whisper-quiet even as they teem with traffic? Mitsubishi's electric mini-car, due on the market...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 3, 2008
Nano's low price comes at a cost
It's hardly surprising that Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata chose the theme from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" as the soundtrack to his unveiling of the Nano mini-car. Simply put, this car is epoch-making. It is the Ford Model T of India.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jan 6, 2008
Games so real the best of drivers take them seriously
Advancing technology blurs the line between virtual and real-world driving as today's champions practice on television screens.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 30, 2007
From start to sale in 15 secs
What looks like NASA's mission-control center is actually the world's biggest, most high-tech car auction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 16, 2007
How to handle a mobster on the move
Status and fear can do a swift job of clearing a congested road ahead of you. It's a phenomenon I've seen twice on double-lane highways in Japan in the past six months. One time, crawling along at 15 kph in heavy traffic, I spotted a convoy of three black S-Class limos in my rearview mirror threading...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 2, 2007
'Godzilla' stomps on the competition
They called it "Godzilla" — and with good reason. When the original turbocharged Nissan Skyline GT-R emerged in 1989, it was hailed as the greatest ever Japanese sports car, a coupe to challenge Europe's top speedsters such as the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Testarossa. It was never officially exported...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 18, 2007
Roadside profits and the parking lottery
For my stationary sins, I have been slapped with parking tickets from Los Angeles to London, and I used to think all fines were basically the same. Eagle-eyed traffic wardens pinpoint infringers and litter windscreens with $100 fines before you can say "Gimme a break!" Then you either pay up in person...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 11, 2007
'Mad Max' loose on the streets of Tokyo
KITT, the talking Pontiac Trans Am in David Hasselhoff's "Knight Rider" TV series, doesn't get a mention. Steve McQueen's Mustang from the movie "Bullit" barely rates a response. And what about all those Aston Martins that James Bond drove? Not a whisper. Confessed car nut Yoshinao Hirata of Chofu, in...
Freed anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson arrives in France
U.S.-Canadian anti-whaling environmental activist Paul Watson, who was released from prison in Greenland's capital Nuuk after five months in detention, arrives with Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France, at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy-en-France, near Paris, on Friday.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

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