TOKYO — Sharp has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Japanese unit of Tesla, seeking an injunction to halt imports of some electric vehicles to Japan, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed in Tokyo, alleges that mobile communications equipment installed in some Tesla models violates patents owned by Sharp, said the source, who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

The Suzuki Jimny is already one of the cutest vehicles currently on sale and over in New Zealand, a dealership has just unveiled a ute conversion for it, making the pint-sized Suzuki a touch more practical while retaining the beloved looks.

TUCSON, Ariz. – The CR-V has been the segment's top seller since its introduction, moving more than 5 million units in the past 23 years. For Honda, its sales juggernaut accounted for more than a quarter of the automaker's 2019 total and a whopping 60 percent of its CUV sales. With the 2020 Honda CR-V Hybrid, however, the brand is stepping into territory where few have ventured before.

The Nissan Rogue Hybrid has come and gone. The Ford Escape Hybrid first arrived way back as a 2005 model, but disappeared for a generation until returning this year. The Toyota RAV4 waited 20 years to debut its hybrid, but now in its second generation, has actually become Toyota's best-selling hybrid model. That alone represents a strong case for the CR-V Hybrid, not to mention the dearth of competitors.  

The Toyota GR Supra GT4 is finally ready to hit the track in an official series capacity. After extensive testing by European motorsport company Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO), the Supra completed the last stages of homologation and is now eligible for a variety of races across Europe. The first customer deliveries are expected to begin immediately. 

The new Supra GT4 debuted in concept form in March 2019 and showed its production-ready face a few months later. Technically, the GT4 has already raced, but that was for the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

Honda's Civic Type R will again get the opportunity to prove its mettle on the track during the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). The factory-backed Halfords Yuasa Racing team unveiled the updated hatchback it will enter in the 2020 season of the series that starts in March.

The regular-production Civic Type R is not for motorists seeking to keep a low profile, yet the BTCC-spec model makes it look almost subtle. It wears a front spoiler, seriously flared fenders, and an even bigger wing on the hatch. Although we haven't seen the interior yet, peeking through the windshield reveals a full roll cage, a racing seat, and little else. It weighs approximately 2,820 pounds, which is the minimum allowed by regulations.

Automotive manufacturers are in a constant state of searching for newer, better, faster, and overall more efficient ways to produce their cars, not only in regards to to time and money but also to pollution. Toyota's latest technology, an airless paint atomizer, addresses all three. 

Toyota claims to have the the first airless paint atomizer used to paint car bodies in the world. By using this technology, Toyota says it achieves more than 95% coating efficiency, meaning what actually sticks to the body, in comparison to 60 to 70% efficiency from a normal paint atomizer that does use air. In addition to painting cars more quickly and effectively, this technique could potentially reduce the Toyota Group's carbon dioxide emissions by about 7%. 

The Toyota 2000GT is one of the most desirable automobiles ever to come from Japan but the “problem” with it is most mortals don’t even dare dream of owning one.

Mazda built generation after generation of the Familia, starting with the Giugiaro-styled machines of the 1960s. The first Familia that sold well in North America was called the GLC (for "Great Little Car"), and it began life as a rear-wheel-drive cousin to the RX-7 before the Familia went to a front-wheel-drive platform for the 1981 model year. The GLC name stuck around these parts through 1985 — and I've documented a few discarded examples of these now-rare machines during my junkyard travels — before getting the 323 name starting in the 1986 model year. It's no sweat to find 1990s 323s in junkyards, but I've been scouring the car graveyards of the land for the elusive early 323 and, finally, found this moss-encrusted '86 in a San Francisco Bay Area yard.

The 2020 Mazda CX-30 is pretty much a lifted Mazda3 hatchback. Same platform, awfully similar dimensions, and the interior's a spitting image (if not identical). Ditto cargo capacity. On paper, the two have virtually the same amount of space behind their raised back seats, with the CX-30 at 20.2 cubic-feet and the 3 with just a teensy less at 20.1. 

Now, before I go any further, let's see how much that 20.1 cubic-feet relates to in the Mazda3. I wasn't yet doing this test format back then, hence the video. 

The 2020 Mazda CX-30 has come out of the gate swinging on the safety front, earning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award in its first year on the market. 

Mazda's new baby crossover earned a "Good" rating in all six of the Institute's crashworthiness categories (driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint) and its accident avoidance system was rated "Superior."

Not long after the 2021 Toyota Supra was unveiled for the U.S. market, it’s been revealed that 2020 models are available with a $1,000 discount until the end of this month.

The 2020 Toyota Tacoma has a long-standing reputation for mechanical reliability and its continued presence in the marketplace has made it a force to be reckoned with. New entries in this expanding segment pose a threat to the Taco's dominance, though, as evidenced by its fourth-place finish in our 2019 midsize truck comparison test. In particular, its driving experience and interior are a bit too rugged, and borderline antiquated, compared to rivals trucks.

Still, the Tacoma remains versatile, practical and characterful. With two cab sizes and two bed lengths, enthusiast-friendly TRD models and even a manual transmission option, there's a variant for just about any need and we can see why it's such a best-seller. Meanwhile, new safety and infotainment tech help round out an already compelling, though aging, package for 2020.

Is it a sporty crossover? Is it a tall hatchback? However you want to view it, the new 2020 Mazda CX-30 is a compelling new entry that delivers the sort of engaging driving experience and premium cabin environment you get in the company's 3 hatchback, but with the higher seating position of a crossover. Basically, if that Mazda3 had a child with the bigger CX-5, this is pretty much what you'd get, and we have to say it's a pretty good kid.  

In terms of size, the CX-30 fits into a niche of in-betweener SUVs that slots between compact models like the CX-5 (plus the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, etc.) and sub-compact ones like the Mazda CX-3 (plus the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, etc.). If you don't have small children, and the car seats and strollers that come with them, it's a size that should make sense. The price is compelling too, especially when you consider the CX-30's high-end cabin and just how terrific it is to drive. With its tautly tuned chassis, communicative steering and sharp throttle response, the best words to describe it are "budget Porsche."

Land Rover promoted the Defender nameplate to one of its brand pillars; the others are Discovery and Range Rover. It's planning to build a full line of models around the born-again off-roader, including smaller crossovers.

Australian website Which Car learned the British firm is in the early stages of designing an aluminum-intensive platform it will use to underpin smaller models. One will borrow styling cues from the second-generation Defender (pictured) to take on the Jeep Renegade, a move which would push Land Rover further downmarket than it's been in many years. Another will slot in the Range Rover family, below the Evoque, as an alternative to the Audi Q2 sold overseas and the Mercedes-Benz GLA. Sister company Jaguar might use the architecture, too.