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Vice chronicles Okinawa's illegal street racing scene

We all know that street racing is dangerous, and that motorsports are best left on the track or drag strip. However, that doesn't mean that there still isn't some outlaw allure among enthusiasts of racing on public roads. In this video, Vice Japan profiles Eikichi Nagayoshi of Japan's island of Okinawa. He is a used car dealer by day and an illegal racer by night.
Nagayoshi has a deep love for his highly customized Toyota Aristo (better known to us as a first-generation Lexus GS) that he claims produces over 1,000 horsepower and has hit 205 miles per hour. He races his car both on drag strips and in drifting competitions, but says that he often has to ship the car to mainland Japan to compete. In the absence of those opportunities, he sometimes gathers friends and takes the racing to the public roads. While we're not down with street racing, this Vice video is an intriguing personality piece, as well as a look into Japan's fabled underground racing scene. Scroll down to check out the video, but make sure you have the "CC" button clicked, because several portions are subtitled.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

5 stars in Euro NCAP crash tests for 5 new cars available in U.S.

Seven new cars have received a full five-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests. Of these, five are available in the United States: the Audi E-Tron, Lexus UX, Toyota Corolla, RAV4 and Mazda3. The Renault Clio and the Volkswagen T-Cross also took part, also receiving five stars. The Mazda3 hatchback was the fourth car in Euro NCAP history to reach an adult occupant protection score of 98%, after the Volvo V40 and XC60 and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. No NHTSA ratings for the Mazda3 or the Audi are yet available, but the Lexus and the Toyotas have all received five-star NHTSA safety ratings as well. Those three were tested as hybrid variants by Euro NCAP. Audi's first fully electric vehicle, the E-Tron, scored 91% in Euro NCAP's adult occupant rating, with unavailable knee airbags bringing down the score. The Mazda and the Toyotas offer them for the driver only, and the Lexus has the passenger's knees covered as well. The Lexus UX managed a 96% adult occupant score, close to the Mazda, and it provided better pedestrian safety (82%) than the Audi (71%), despite neither, or none, of the test vehicles having an active hood to catch pedestrians. As for the Toyotas, the Corolla, tested in both sedan and hatchback guises, scored 95% for adult occupant safety, with the RAV4 a couple notches down at 93%. Still, the five-star rating means all these vehicles are a very safe choice in their respective classes. Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, states how important it is that even family hatchbacks perform well and have the latest safety tech available. "It is encouraging to see that all manufacturers did well, regardless of type of powertrain or class of vehicle tested," said van Ratingen. "New cars on the market continue to offer more advanced technology as standard, systems that were not even considered an option a few years ago." More crash test videos are available on Euro NCAP's YouTube channel. Audi Lexus Mazda Toyota Car Buying Safety audi etron lexus ux