1996 Daihatsu Hi-jet on 2040-cars

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Daihatsu kei camper van heads to Tokyo Auto Salon

Daihatsu is heading to the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon with a selection of modified cars. The event is known for its high-performance sports cars and extravagant luxury rides, so how does a company specializing in kei cars and compacts stand out? By headlining a kei camper with a folding rooftop tent. #Vanlife! The Daihatsu Atrai Deck Camper started out as a kei delivery truck for Japan's narrow city streets. It's a notable vehicle for being the only kei truck that has four doors and a pickup-like bed in the back. Not only that, but the two rear doors are of the sliding variety, and the tailgate folds open 180 degrees. Normally, this would seem to be a hit with refrigerator or grandfather clock repairmen, but Daihatsu sees it as the perfect camping car. The rooftop canopy appears to open and fold outward in shapes that mimic the added buttresses along the bed. Additional expedition gear comes in the form of a safari rack on top of the tent shell, an LED light bar and what appear to be two pairs of auxiliary lights in a bespoke front fascia. Daihatsu's building four other vehicles for the Auto Salon. One is a more luxurious version of the fully enclosed Atrai van, fitted with a grille rivaling that of the new Silverado. Another Daihatsu HiJet kei truck is described as an assembly experience truck for the Copen roadster. Though we only have a cartoony illustration to go with it for now, it looks like you'll be able to construct the nose of a Copen in the truck's bed. Last but not least, Daihatsu is showing two variants of the revived Daihatsu Rocky. Gen X readers might remember that name from the Suzuki Samurai-esque off-roader that was sold briefly in the U.S. from 1988-92. Unlike its body-on-frame predecessors, the new Rockys are unibody compacts. The show cars depict a luxury-leaning version and an off-road version. Should Daihatsu ever return to the U.S. market the Rocky would probably sell well in crossover-crazy America, but the real MVP would be a production Atrai Deck Camper. Related Video: Featured Gallery Daihatsu Tokyo Auto Salon 2022 Aftermarket Tokyo Auto Salon Daihatsu Crossover Minivan/Van

Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names

Toyota outsells VW for global sales crown, apologizes with a vow to 'be honest'

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda bows in apology during a press conference Tuesday over the group companies' quality scandals. (Getty Images)   Every quarter, the stock market hangs on how much sales growth Tesla and other startups have experienced. There's growth, but then there's sheer output, and when it comes to deliveries dominance, one company can't be touched. Toyota on Tuesday announced that it remained the world's top-selling automaker for the fourth year running, with record sales of 11.2 million vehicles in 2023. Toyota's global group sales jumped 7.2% last year; the numbers include sales at Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors. Toyota's parent-only vehicles, which include the Toyota and Lexus brands, hit a record of 10.3 million vehicles in 2023. Gasoline-electric hybrids made up about a third of those. Battery electric vehicles accounted for less than 1%. Toyota's annual output handily beat runner-up Volkswagen Group, which this month reported a 12% rise in deliveries last year to 9.2 million cars. That growth was driven largely by demand for Audi, which sold 1.9 million vehicles. The auto industry in 2023 enjoyed a post-pandemic recovery as supply chain bottlenecks eased, though shipping problems through the Red Sea so far this year have stalled that progress by some automakers, causing some car plants in Europe to suspend production. Toyota's global group sales have now topped 10 million vehicles for nine of the past 10 years, except for 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic delivered a blow to the auto sector. Scandals and an apology Toyota's chairman apologized on Tuesday for scandals at the three group companies. Daihatsu, Hino and affiliate Toyota Industries have been beset by governance issues involving certification test procedures for cars and engines that could potentially hurt the brand's global reputation for quality and safety. "I would like to express my deepest apologies to our customers and stakeholders for the inconvenience and concern caused by the successive irregularities at Hino Motors, Daihatsu and Toyota Industries," Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda told reporters. He was speaking at an event to announce a vision for the Toyota group, which was founded by his great-grandfather and now includes 17 companies.