Mercruiser Rochester Carbuertor Quadrajet 4 Barrel V8 Marine Engine on 2040-parts.com

No sign of global auto meltdown at Tokyo Auto Salon

With more than 600 cars on display and a record number of exhibitors, nothing at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show hinted at the global economic downturn. As always, there was a great mix of styles, from hard-core, 1,000-hp, supertuned machinery to weird customized scooter tricycles. Auto manufacturers tried hard to capture the minds--if not the wallets--of the younger-than-30 crowd with customized versions of production cars, while tuners were busy persuading power junkies to choose them for their next engine modification.

Lexus LF-NX Concept Compact SUV with 2.0 litre turbo petrol at Tokyo

Lexus LF-NX Concept Compact SUV (pictured) with 2.0 litre turbo petrol at Tokyo The Lexus LF-NX Concept debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and certainly made a statement. Lexus’ efforts to create an SUV/Crossover to sit below the RX and mop up some of the ever-growing demand for more compact SUVs tried hard to do the whole ‘Ugly but appealing’ school of design the Nissan Juke pulled off, but pretty much failed. There were some good ideas running around, but there were just too many jarring angles on the bodywork and not enough cuteness to love and the interior was very ‘concepty’ with a sea of blue and yellow everything and touchscreen surfaces abounding.

Hyundai to launch N high-performance brand in partnership with WRC team

Microsoft Hyundai today announced it will launch a new high-performance N brand to rival go-faster versions from German manufacturers. Future Hyundai N models will be low-volume sporting derivatives, inspired by the new i20 WRC rally car which will launch at the Monte Carlo race in January 2014. The N badge is designed to cement the link with Hyundai's Namyang R&D centre in Korea, which helped develop the i20 WRC in record time - the team was only founded 12 months ago.