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Japanese automakers welcome North American trade deal, fear what's next

TOKYO — Toyota, Nissan and Mazda welcomed on Tuesday the revised North America trade deal that left Japanese automakers unscathed, but they may face a bumpy ride when Washington and Tokyo hold new talks on over $40 billion of annual U.S. auto imports from Japan. The United States and Canada reached an agreement on Sunday to update the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement after Washington had forged a separate trade deal with Mexico in August. The updated deal effectively maintains the auto industry's current footprint in North America, and spares Canada and Mexico from the prospect of U.S. national security tariffs on their vehicles. Mazda, which ships cars to the United States from Mexico and Japan, called the deal a "big step forward". Nissan, which makes the cars it sells in the United States locally as well as in Mexico, Japan and other countries, said it was "encouraged" by the agreement. Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, said it was "pleased" that a basic deal was reached. Other automakers were not immediately available for comment. While the deal has removed the risk that the disintegration of the pact would have posed to automakers, bigger risks loom large for Japanese firms as a chunk of the roughly 7 million cars they sold in the U.S. last year were shipped from Japan, and a trade deal between Washington and Tokyo has yet to be agreed. The United States and Japan last week agreed to begin fresh trade talks, with U.S. President Donald Trump seeking to address Japan's $69 billion trade surplus, of which nearly two-thirds comes from auto exports. Washington is also investigating the possibility of slapping 25 percent tariffs on auto imports on national security grounds, although it has agreed with Japan to put any new tariffs on hold during the talks. Analysts say the United States may take a tougher stance on auto imports from Japan than from its neighbors. "If Japan requests an exemption from the 25 percent tariffs under consideration, Washington could propose a more strict cap on imports than it agreed to with Mexico and Canada," said Koji Endo, senior analyst at SBI Securities. "That would be a risk." This could be a big blow to Japan, as the United States is a key source of revenue for Japanese automakers including Toyota, Nissan and Honda. The U.S. market accounts for a quarter or more of their annual global vehicle sales, and of their total U.S.

Honda goes big for bikes: Concept CB, Super Cub [w/video]

Unlike similar many major automobile shows around the world, the Tokyo includes a significant number of motorcycles in addition to the new, four-wheeled vehicles on display. Showing its standing as a major player in the two-wheeled world, Honda has quite of slate of intriguing concept bikes at the show this year. With its futuristic, razor-sharp styling, the Neowing concept wouldn't look too out of place in a sci-fi anime. However, the bike's layout lets it lean into turns, while still offering riders three-wheeled stability. Power comes from a flat-four engine with hybrid assistance. Honda also takes its little Grom 50 motorcycle and adds some dirt bike aesthetics. The Scrambler Concept-One does that with vintage-inspired details like the pads on the tank and holes in the muffler guard. Meanwhile, the Scrambler Concept-Two goes for a more modern look and some military-inspired green paint. For another retro look, the company also imagines two new versions of the classic Cub. The EV-Cub Concept replaces the engine with an electric motor for short-distance commuting. Alternatively, the blue Super Cub Concept sticks with gasoline for fuel but tries to get the best economy possible for longer rides. Finally, the CB Concept updates the already classically inspired CB1100. Up front, the headlight now uses an LED, and the air-cooled inline-four gets a new, two-chamber exhaust to replace the current three-chamber design. As the photos above show, the chrome trim really makes the bike pop on stage. Check out the videos below for a closer look at the Grom 50 and Cub concepts. Honda Announces Overview of Exhibit for the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015 - Exhibiting Original Honda Mobility Products Under the Concept of "The Power of Dreams" - TOKYO, Japan, September 30, 2015 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced its lineup of production and concept-model automobiles and motorcycles as well as other highlights for its exhibit at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015, which will take place at Tokyo Big Sight. (Press days: October 28-29, 2015, Public days: October 30 - November 8, 2015). Using its global brand slogan - The Power of Dreams - as the booth concept, Honda will exhibit a broad range of items including innovative mobility products that are useful in people's daily lives as well as a lineup of mobility products topped by racing machines that pursue excellence in driving performance.

These are 2014's best-selling cars and trucks

Now that 2014 is no more than a set of numbers on spreadsheets, at last, the grist mill gets its first real load to chew on. The number one selling vehicle in America last year was the Ford F-Series, a fact that should surprise you only if your family name is Van Winkle and your naps tend to last 38 years, which is how long the Ford pickup has ruled our buying landscape. Even though series sales were down 1.3 percent, it still racked up 753,851 units. That's 2,065.3 sales per day, every day, all year. The Chevrolet Silverado, up 10.3 percent for the year, was still a daylight second at 529,755 units. The cab-and-bed love continued into third place with the Ram 1500-3500 trucks, gaining 23.6-percent year-on-year to clock 439,789 units. The robust turnout at The Bighorn and Jeep helped Fiat-Chrysler increase its sales by 16 percent, past the two-million mark. Our number one car? The Toyota Camry, staying in first place with a 4.9-percent sales boost to 428,606 sales, trailed again by the Honda Accord at number five with 388,374 sales. Accord sales rose six percent, and if it's any consolation to Honda for coming in second - not that it needs one - it is the only manufacturer to have three vehicles in the top ten. The rest of the list: the Nissan Altima with 335,644 sales (+4.7%), the Honda CR-V with 355,019 (+10.2%), the Toyota Corolla/Matrix combo with 339,498 (+5.9%), the Honda Civic with 325,981 (-3.1%), and the Ford Fusion with 306,860 sales (+2.9%). Total sales for the year were up six percent to 16.5 million vehicles, a volume not seen since 2006, aided by a strong December that was up by 11 percent year-on-year. Ford was the top selling brand overall but sales didn't really budge from 2013, while Subaru rocketed up 21 percent to finish with 513,693 sales. At the precious end, BMW, Audi, Porsche and Land Rover all had record years, and Kelley Blue Book thinks we could be looking at 17 million sales for the next two or three years. Looks like it's time to start making hay again... Featured Gallery Best-selling vehicles of 2014 View 10 Photos News Source: Detroit News, Associated Press Auto News Chevrolet Ford Honda Nissan RAM Toyota Car Buying Truck Sedan sales