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Excessive accessories are on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon

The Japanese tuning industry may finally be emerging from the economic slump if this year's Tokyo Auto Salon is an accurate barometer. The three-day spectacular--Japan's equivalent of SEMA--attracted nearly a quarter-million visitors, all eager to get a glimpse of the latest cars and the newest excessive accessories for 2011. Here's a recap: The Honda CR-Z was, without a doubt, the car of the show, and some versions were tuned to deliver up to 300 hp, thanks to turbocharging or supercharging kits.

Reworked Mercedes G-wagen to get wider, more efficient

Mercedes-Benz is set to make some extensive changes to its enduring military-grade G-class. So major is the overhaul, planned for 2017, that Mercedes-Benz insiders say it will, in effect, be an all-new vehicle. The big push is to increase the width of the G-class for greater stability.

2014 Volvo XC90 on track as part of £3.5 billion investment in Sweden

Volvo are investing £7 billion in their future – half of that in Sweden – and the first model to benefit will be the long overdue 2014 Volvo XC90. Just like all of Ford’s premium automotive adventures - Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin included – Volvo has suffered from a long period of under investment but now – with China’s Geely in charge – they’re forging ahead with big investment and big plans to try and emulate the turnaround Tata has accomplished at JLR. That means an investment of £7 billion over the next three years – £3.5 billion of that in Sweden – in a new scalable architecture (SPA) platform and new Volvo engine architecture (VEA) to underpin most of Volvo’s future models.