All About Japan Autos

Auto news; Humpday Link Love In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for some midweek miscellanea. Here are a few of the recent stories that have crossed our desks that we’d probably write more about if we weren’t so overworked/understaffed/just plain lazy: HybridCars has gotten the jump on all of us by posting the first “best ..Auto news;

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In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for some midweek miscellanea. Here are a few of the recent stories that have crossed our desks that we’d probably write more about if we weren’t so overworked/understaffed/just plain lazy:

• HybridCars has gotten the jump on all of us by posting the first “best of” list of the season. (Hello, guys? 2008′s still going?) Best “best of” so far: Bob Lutz on Colbert, saying that the Volt hybrid will sell well among “nice, no-makeup environmentalist” gals. Who says American automakers aren’t in touch with consumers?
• We know how embarrassing it can be to admit you bought a Nintendo DS just to play Brain Age. Now you can lie and say that you got the DS for Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars–coming in Spring! (We think!)
• Even fashionistas know the importance of stylin’ transportation: Chanel figurehead and all-around style wizard Karl Lagerfeld has reduced his household staff and moved to a smaller Parisian pad, but those three Hummers ain’t going anywhere.
• Iranians may be proud to know that the Société Anonyme Iranienne de Production Automobile (literally and eerily translated: the Anonymous Iranian Society for Automobile Production) is releasing its first car with a fully Iranian pedigree: the SAIPA Miniator. Iranian gearheads and style fanatics may be far less enthusiastic.
• Ever wanted to know how to turn a beat up Plymouth into a Car of the Future? Well, want no more. Note: David Lee Roth vocal stylings are involved; proceed with caution. [via BB]
• Maserati has provided a video of its GranTurismo S apparently tricked out with items from the company’s new customization program. Don’t worry, though: it still looks like a Maserati. And as you can tell from the soundtrack, Italians still have iffy taste in house music. [via CarScoop]
• Toronto is rolling out a new tracking system for streetcars that gives riders precise details on arrival and departure times. I’m sure L.A.’s going to launch a similar system of its own really soon. Har.

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