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Demise of kei cars on the horizon?

The kei car has long been a staple of the Japanese automobile industry and its car culture. Too diminutive for Western markets, the tiny cars and trucks are a strong influencer of design in Japan. Now, as The New York Times reports, the Japanese government has hit kei cars with increases in sales tax, gasoline prices and has reduced the kei car tax break introduced to make the cars popular in the first place by 50 percent.

Renault Symbol [w/Gallery]

Renault has unveiled its new Symbol family saloon at the 2012 Istanbul Motor Show. The new five-seater Symbol features the carmaker's latest design cues such as the larger front logo that sits in a more upright position in the middle of a wide, black and chrome-trimmed grille strip. Another black chrome-trimmed grille strip that integrates the fog lamps is located underneath the license plate while the headlamps taper slightly into the side.

Suzuki puts kibosh on Kizashi sedan, report says

Japanese automaker Suzuki has backed off plans to build large cars and build assembly plants overseas, according to a report in the Nikkei business newspaper. Suzuki has shown a series of concept vehicles named Kizashi that executives said were pointing toward a production version of a large sedan. And pictures of sedan protoypes have been captured by spy photographers.