Fast cars, slow roads.

A Japanese motoring website just reviewed the much anticipated Nissan GTR specV sports car. The V-spec is the faster, lighter version of what was already one of the fastest sports cars on the planet.

The video however is a great example of the paradox for sports cars in Japan: fast cars, slow roads.

Speed limits in Japan are surprisingly low. In cities the maximum is usually 40 or 50 kilometers an hour. Toll-road expressways have speed limits of 100 kph ( and in Okinawa only 80 kph). In rural areas of Japan the low speed limits continue. Unlike Britain where country roads often have 60 mile per hour  limits,  many deserted rural roads are still restricted to 40 kilometers an hour. Unless you live close to a track the Nissan GTR specV is simply all dressed up with nowhere to go.

The motoring journalist in the video however happily hurtles along  past signs and road markings for 50 kilometers an hour. This disregard for the speed limit isn’t unusual, it’s epidemic. If you simply drive with the flow of traffic you will usually be traveling 10 or 20 kilometers over the limit. The speed limits are not rigidly enforced, although there are a limited number of speed cameras and unmarked police cars on the toll-road expressways.

So what is the solution? Raise speed limits on roads then vigorously enforce the new limits with speed cameras and more police? Or should we follow the advice of another friend of mine and reduce speed limits until it’s just as fast to go everywhere by bicycle or bus.

As for the GTR specV, I’d love one, right after I buy my own racetrack.

Thank You

I started this blog on November 16th, 2008. One year later, there have been 187 posts, 247 comments and quite a few visitors. In fact, the numbers of views has risen from 25 in  the first month to 6889 in October. It’s been a pleasure sharing my various adventures and misadventures with you over the past year. I’m glad that some people out in the world wide web have found them informative, interesting or amusing.

Not sure what the next 12 months will bring. Hopefully I’ll visit some beautiful places, meet some interesting people, learn a few kanji, and take a couple of really good photographs.

Thanks for reading.

Chris

Goodbye Honda Sports Cars

In 2005 Honda ceased production of the fantastic NSX super-car. In December 2008 the company announced that plans to produce a new generation NSX had been cancelled.  In the same month Honda also announced it was leaving F1 racing.

This summer Honda ceased production of the S2000 sports car. This was another truly great sports car, and that’s not just my opinion,  it was ranked number 1 three years in a row on the BBC’s Top Gear Survey (2004, 2005, 2006).  Honda no longer make a true sports car. The company’s Japanese website still carries the above sketch of  two Honda S-cars on the homepage, but it’s just a little sad that, when it comes to sports cars, nostalgia seems to be the only thing that remains.

Harley Riders in Okinawa

Along with the presence of Dr Pepper, A&W and Spam, the military presence in Okinawa has led to the popularity of another American icon – the Harley. On weekends there are often groups of bikers cruising up route 58 towards Cape Hedo, and once a year many of the riders parade along Gate 2 street as part of the local festival.

Fantastic bikes, but as a Brit, I’d rather have a Triumph.

Eco Police

Earlier this year I wrote a post titled Police Performance about the use of high performance Japanese sports cars by police.

It turns out however that another Japanese motoring icon, the electric Mitsubishi I-MiEV, will be soon helping the boys in blue.

Calton Hill, Edinburgh

Today in my inbox was an email announcing the latest pictures by Stephen Wiltshire. Stephen’s an amazing artist whose work I admire and whose career I have followed since I was about 8 years old.

One of his latest drawings is  the view from Calton Hill, Edinburgh.

View of Edinburgh from Calton Hill by Stephen Wiltshire

Made me smile as I was there just a few years earlier.

View of Edinburgh from Calton Hill by Chris Willson

The original of Stephen’s drawing  is available for purchase on his website at £8250.

And even Jeremy Clarkson’s been to Calton Hill. He drove there from London and back on a single tank of gas. Impossible? It appears not…..

Suzuki Swift Sport – A quick review

Now that I have had my car for a couple of months, I thought I would make a few brief comments.

Exterior:

The motoring press has made a lot of comparisons between the Swift and the Mini. Many comment that the new body shape of the Swift is a copy of (or homage to) the Mini. I am not so sure. If anything, it looks like Suzuki have been borrowing from (inspired by)  the designers at Audi. Compare the front of the Swift and the TT.

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Perhaps my favorite external feature of the car, are the subtle twin exhausts. It may seem like a strange pet peeve, but the asymmetry of a single exhaust on a car niggles me. However, a single central exhaust like on the Porsche Boxster just looks a little odd. Of course no exhaust would be even better, but the Tesla Roadster is a little out of my price range.

Interior:

One of the best features of the Japanese spec car is the option for  grey Recaro sports seats rather than the bright red generic seats that come as standard. Firm and supportive it took a few days to get used to being clamped, but now I love them.

Economy:

The official figures for the car are 15 km/l. I am not driving the car aggressively, but it’s summertime in Okinawa and the air conditioner is blasting away most of the time. On average the car is doing 12.2 km/l.

Performance:

The Swift Sport has a similar 1.6 liter engine, the same amount of power, and is a comparable weight to my previous car, a 20 year old Mazda Miata MX-5. It is nimble and quick, but doesn’t feel as fast or as well planted . The first reason is that Swift is simply much quieter. The thin canvas roof of the MX-5 meant you were far more aware of the engine and exhaust. The second reason is that the Swift sits much higher on the road, compared with the low slung roadster. Another big difference is that the Swift is front rather than rear wheel drive. I would have to agree with purists that rear wheel drive is more engaging, but for everyday driving the Swift is still a great car to be in.

Overall:

Fantastic little car. Motorists around the world are beginning to realize that bigger isn’t always better. If you want a fun, practical, small car it doesn’t have to be Mini.

And the comments from Fifth Gear…

Gran Turismo 5 – the trailer

Gran Turismo is a car racing simulator for the Sony Playstation. As the Playstation evolved from PS1 to Ps3, the game also grew in size and complexity, each time amazing gamers with super realistic graphics and incredibly realistic driving.  The popularity and importance of this game to Sony is huge, over 50 million units have been sold.

The release of Gran Turismo 5 is comparable to that of a hollywood blockbuster. Although there is no set release date, the first trailers have appeared.

Things have certainly come along way since the days of Pong.

 

3rd Generation Toyota Prius

  

3rd generation Toyota Prius

 

Toyota announced the arrival of the latest version of the Prius hybrid car on May 18th. You see quite a few of the new Honda Insight hybrids as rental cars on Okinawa at the moment. It will be interesting to see how the sales of the new Prius compare to the new Insight.

The Toyota Prius is a fantastic bit of technology, it’s just a little bit too big, and a little too ugly plain for me.

On a related note, I just read on the Guardian website:

“America’s gas-guzzling automobiles were heading towards extinction yesterday as Barack Obama set strict limits on car exhaust emissions and directed producers to make a more fuel-efficient vehicle fleet. The policy requires US auto makers to produce cars and trucks that achieve an average 35.5mpg by 2016, and will reduce America’s carbon dioxide emissions by 30%.”

After a bit of time with a calculator. I managed to work out 35.5mpg is 15km per liter. 15 kilometers a liter is what my little Suzuki Swift is meant to do. 

The articles don’t make it clear as to whether all cars will have to have fuel efficiencies above 35.5mpg or if the motor companies only have to produce some cars in their range that meet this new standard. Hopefully it won’t be the latter.

Tokyo Mater

What do you get if you cross the Pixar movie Carswith the high octane thrills of Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift?

Six minutes and thirty five seconds of pure brilliance.

There are numerous clever cameos by Japanese cars: Mazda Miatas (brings a tear to my eye), the Toyota (Lexus) Crown, the Nissan Skyline ninjas.

It was very interesting to see that the restaurant the truck flies through was called Harryhausen (it was written in Japanese script). Nice nod to the film making genius Harryhausen who created one of the most fantastic movie scenes I’ve ever seen, but will leave that for my next blog.