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No sign of global auto meltdown at Tokyo Auto Salon

With more than 600 cars on display and a record number of exhibitors, nothing at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show hinted at the global economic downturn. As always, there was a great mix of styles, from hard-core, 1,000-hp, supertuned machinery to weird customized scooter tricycles. Auto manufacturers tried hard to capture the minds--if not the wallets--of the younger-than-30 crowd with customized versions of production cars, while tuners were busy persuading power junkies to choose them for their next engine modification.

BMW's yearlong Mini E trial exposes infrastructure problems

Early next decade, BMW of North America plans to sell an electric "megacity car" as a subbrand of BMW, similar to the brand's M high-performance cars. But further details are skimpy. BMW already is preparing for that launch.

Nissan says the Leaf electric car will snag Toyota Prius owners

Owners of Toyota Motor Corp.'s fuel-efficient Prius hybrid will succumb to the charms of the Nissan Leaf electric sedan, predicts Nissan Division Vice President Al Castignetti. More than half of the 130,000 hand-raisers who have expressed an interest in the Leaf so far have been Prius owners, he said. "That's a pretty significant signal to us," Castignetti said last week as Nissan North America Inc.