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736: Suzuki Swift Sport Suzuki’s bargain hatch proves big fun can come in small packages 732: Dualis & X-Trail Nissan introduces a new SUV while its marquee model continues to play tough 728: Toyota Vanguard Head off to the concrete jungle with a bit more vehicle than you need 724: Subaru Impreza S-GT Japan’s automotive loudmouth learns some manners 720: Tokyo Auto Salon 2008 Get ready for some modification mayhem at Makuhari Messe 716: Dodge These! Chrysler introduces three muscle-bound imports to Japan 712: Licensed to Drive We guide you through the bureaucratic jungle 708: Tokyo Concours D’Elegance Exotic autos from the past and present glide into Roppongi 704: Car Knows Best Automakers are introducing technology that will let your ride decide if you’ve had one too many 700: Range Rover & Land Rover We put three SUVs from the fabled British maker through their paces 696: Aston Martin V8 Vantage Channel 007 in this latest incarnation of the marquee automaker’s “baby” 692: BMW R1200GS Adventure The storied bike maker competes with itself to create a three-in-one masterpiece 688: Lexus LS460 The new sedan is big, fast, safe, classy—and unremarkable 684: Alfa Romeo Spider We unleash the Italian monster on a 1,200km road trip 680: Ford Mustang The American classic goes back to its roots 676: Citroën C6 The French automaker's latest eccentricity pushes its own boundaries 672: Nissan’s Pino and Otti Japan-friendly K-cars pack a big punch 668: Jaguar XK Forget James Bond—this is the UK’s sexiest export 664: Mazda’s Axela, RX-8 and Roadster Here’s the word on Japan’s resurgent automaker: buy, buy, buy! 660: Mazda’s Axela, RX-8 and Roadster Here’s the word on Japan’s resurgent automaker: buy, buy, buy! 656: Alfa Romeo Brera This gorgeous Italian coupe is both poised and sexy 652: Premium wheels Business is good for Rolls-Royce in Japan, with an eagerly awaited convertible due out next year 648: Citroen C3 Pluriel The quirky French automaker barrels into the 21st century 644: Jeep Commander& Grand Cherokee Off road and on, these 4×4s do their military heritage proud 640: BMW Z4 M Roadster Beemer’s monster convertible provides the most fun you can have sitting down 636: Name dropping What your car is called says something about you—and even more about automakers’ marketing departments 632: BMW Mini Cooper S All hail the mighty Mini! 628: Mazda Roadster Redesigned and retooled, this two-seater is now a car for enthusiasts 624: Hyundai Sonata A rev-happy South Korean import tries to find its niche in Japan 621: Lexus IS350 Toyota brings its upmarket brand to Japan—finally 616: Volvo XC90 V8 A bit sleeker and a lot more spacious, this SUV still puts a premium on safety 612: Chrysler 300C This black beauty recalls the golden age of motoring 608: The Big Ideas Tokyo Motor Show 2005 was a concept car bonanza 604: Tokyo Motor Show 2005 The automotive world’s big players zoom into Japan with some high concepts in tow 597: Three brothers We put a trio of Nissan sedans through their paces 593: Ducati 1000S DS Multistrada The boys from Bologna deliver an Italian masterpiece for your garage 589: Mazda Demio Sport A worthy cousin to the Atenza and RX8, this roomy sedan is happy around town and in the country 585: BMW K1200S The boys from bavaria clothe an iron fist in a velvet glove 581: Chrysler’s Cruisers The American auto manufacturer concentrates on the body beautiful 577: Suzuki Skywave 650LX If you thought scooters were just for kids, think again 573: Cadillac STS 4x4 America’s flagship automaker recaptures its former glory 569: Tour de Force Yamaha’s FJR1300A offers an unbeatable blend of poise, power and price 565: Alfa Romeo GT and 156 GTA With stunning looks and power to spare, these two Alfas are an enthusiast's dream 560: Driving the Future The talk of the auto industry in 2004 was hybrids, safe driving and intelligent vehicles 556: Deja vu Blast to the past on Harley-Davidson’s Road King Custom 552: Sports sensation Nissan's new SUV breaks out of its class 548: Lean machine Lighter, faster, stronger and sexier—a diet works wonders for BMW’s R1200GS 544: Kings for a day The Honda Elysion is master of all it surveys 539: Rules of the road New traffic laws are on the horizon. Turn off your cellphone, watch where you park and don’t ride in gangs, Chris Betros warns. 537: Open roadster William Bonds gets up-close with the elements courtesy of the Nissan Fairlady 350Z convertible. 535: Extreme makeover Volvo sheds its stodgy-but-safe image for sleek-and-sporty with the new S40 T5. William Bonds likes what he sees. 533: Sporting chance Mazda has brought the station wagon up to speed with its Atenza Sport Wagon 23Z. William Bonds takes one for a spin. 531: Street smarts Automakers are taking car safety to new levels with sophisticated warning systems that almost do the driving for you, reports Chris Betros. 529: Speed zone Just down the road from Ueno Zoo, a virtual hog heaven has everything for the motorcycling enthusiast. Steve Trautlein cruises on over. 527: Italian Stallion The Alfa Romeo 147 carries on its maker’s reputation for hot cars with unmatched sex appeal. William Bonds gets carried away. 525: Hot wheels A cross between a snowboard and a scooter, the Wheelman is a quirky Australian invention that's grabbing attention worldwide. Tim Colquhoun takes one for a ride. 523: Mean Machine William Bonds gets behind the wheel of the Nissan Skyline 350GT. 521: Show stealers Toyota stunned attendees at the recent Geneva and Melbourne auto shows with two concept cars that represent a powerful vision for the future of motoring. Tim Colquhoun reports. 519: Mighty mouse Subaru goes boldly against the tide with its new R2 minicar. Justin Gardiner admires this latest feat of audacity and engineering. 517: Trail blazer Nissan's top-selling 4x4 features cool touches for winter sports fans. Justin Gardiner drove the latest X-Trail to the slopes 515: Up to speed The Formula One circus is gaining momentum as the season opener in Australia draws near. Tim Colquhoun takes a look at the latest developments. 513: Good save Hybrid cars are the rage this year with Toyota, Honda and Subaru touting their gas-electric vehicles. Chris Betros looks at what they're offering. 512: The road ahead Despite the lack of a full-fledged Tokyo Motor Show in 2004, domestic manufacturers have a bevy of weird and wonderful offerings in store for this year. Justin Gardiner previews the lineup. 509/10: Top of the class Justin Gardiner finds his favorites from this year's Metropolis test drives. 507: Mom-mobiles Japanese mothers are trading in their once ubiquitous mama-chari bicycles for a new breed of K-car. Justin Gardiner tries a couple of the most popular mini-cars. 505: Cubic's rube Nissan has lengthened its highly successful Cube a few centimeters and added an extra row of seats. But, as Justin Gardiner finds out, the result is a bit puzzling. 503: Globe trotters Kerstin Gackle and Volker Aldinger left their native Germany on April 1 and pointed their Yamahas toward Australia. Eight months later Justin Gardiner caught up with the couple in Tokyo. 501: Back to the future Cutting-edge technology and futuristic vehicles highlight the 37th Tokyo Motor Show at Makuhari Messe through November 5. Justin Gardiner offers a guide. ISSUES 499- ISSUES 449- ISSUES 399- ISSUES 349- ISSUES 299-

The road ahead

Despite the lack of a full-fledged Tokyo Motor Show in 2004, domestic manufacturers have a bevy of weird and wonderful offerings in store for this year. Justin Gardiner previews the lineup.

Scoop shot of Toyota's upcoming sport car

The four-wheeled shocker of the year will undoubtedly be Toyota's all-new sports car, expected to break cover sometime in the spring. Following the success of the world's most economical family car, the Prius, and the similarly hybrid powered Estima and Alphard, Toyota is currently shoehorning electric-gasoline hybrid technology into a sports car. Economy and environmental friendliness will no longer have to come at the expense of performance: This year's K4 GP, an endurance race that used to be open only to K-cars, will include a new class for hybrid cars.

Expected to resemble, and possibly even be named the Supra, the new super car will be a classic rear-engine, rear-wheel drive car, but with a twist. Nestled between the front wheels will be an electric motor capable of delivering an additional 160 PS of power, additional, that is, to the 220 PS which the gasoline 3.3-liter V6 will knock out. Interestingly, this system can easily be turned around to form a predominantly front-wheel drive sports car, such as the Celica, which coincidentally enough is due for a full revamp in the fall.

People movement
Japan's second-largest carmaker (that's Honda, not Nissan) will roll out yet another MPV minivan in May, probably to be christened the 3 by 2, to reflect its seating layout of two rows of three seats that is currently unique to Fiat's Multipla. The mini people carrier will have a small engine capacity-just 1.7 liters-but a correspondingly low price tag of around ¥1.7 million. In order to do battle with Toyota's Alphard and the market-leading Nissan Elgrande, Honda will also launch a high-end luxury van, cryptically named ASM, in the spring. Honda's other big news will be an all-new 300PS Legend executive sedan, set to do battle with the best Toyota's Lexus wing can produce, from October.

Scoop shot of Toyota's upcoming sport car

A month earlier Nissan will put out a new Cedric aimed at the same market, but priced ¥1 million cheaper, at ¥3.5 million. However, Nissan's biggest news will come in a small packet. The cheap, cheerful and, yes, cute March and Cube will have a new stablemate in the form of an ultra compact SUV toward the end of the year. Likely to be powered by Nissan's ubiquitous 1.4-liter engine, the ReadyGo (let's hope they rethink the name) will not be a true 4x4, more a butch-looking March with a natty removable roof.

Hot concepts
Speaking of removable roofs, the 4WD 1.3-liter Daihatsu Copen is still waiting in the wings, restrained from launch until the popularity (and waiting lists) for its 660cc cousin dies down. Latest reports suggest it may make it into the showrooms in October, just two months ahead of Suzuki's long-awaited replacement for the Swift, the Concept 2 which may offer the automatically retracting twin hard top first displayed at last year's motor show. The Concept 2 will be priced extremely competitively at around ¥1.3 million, while Daihatsu will ask a slightly more ambitious ¥2 million for the Copen racer. Around the same time, between October and December, Mitsubishi will start selling a rather stylish ragtop version of its usually nondescript Colt compact car, again for around the ¥2 million mark.

Size does matter
Japan's Southeast Asian neighbors will be watching Suzuki and Daihatsu's mini-car launches with interest, as the all-new Alto, expected in April, and the latest Mira Gino, due in October, will be certain to become top sellers throughout the region, as their forbearers have become. The new Gino, currently codenamed XL-C, will be of particular interest as it manages to cram even more usable interior space into the strictly regulated dimensions of a K-car than previous models.

The new Subaru people carrier

Subaru launched its newest K-car, the R2, at the end of last year, but has a slightly larger hatchback-confusingly named the R1-up its sleeve, which will hit the showrooms in October bearing a price tag nigh on identical to the R2. The rally champs will also put out a sports Sti version of the popular Legacy in spring, just ahead of a new Blitzen version of the same car, which is an, er… sports model. Baffled? You will be.

Subaru is saving its best news for last, though. At long last, the kings of 4WD family cars will have an SUV of their own (we'll politely ignore the Travic travesty of a few years back). Powered by the company's new flat six 3-liter boxer engine, it promises to be as good as a BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne, but without the prestige, or the price tag. Look out for them at North Alps ski lodges next ski season.

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