Lowrider News

Alongside the flashing camera bulbs and sparkling champagne at previews of Detroit auto show Sunday were hints of the high stakes and hard times facing automakers in the United States.

Whispers of a recession and the subprime lending crisis are putting a damper on demand in the world's largest automotive market just as the Big Three US automakers are beginning to emerge from painful restructuring programs.

Toyota Motor's meteoric rise here has been hampered by persistent quality concerns just as General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are gaining accolades for fixing the quality problems that dogged them for decades.

High gasoline prices and tighter fuel economy regulations are accelerating the shift away from the highly profitable larger trucks and sports utility vehicles.

MAKUHARI MESSE, Japan — If you come to Japan expecting to find cars like those in the feature film “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift” but can’t find them, you are looking in the wrong place.

You can find pimped-out cars and drift-car demonstrations at the traveling Auto Salon custom car shows.

The world’s biggest custom car show, Tokyo Auto Salon 2008, was held over the weekend at the Makuhari Messe convention center on the outskirts of Tokyo. Aftermarket parts manufacturers, automakers and custom-car shops set up more than 300 booths.

It is a little over 10ft long bumper to bumper, can seat four passengers comfortably, has reached speeds of 65 miles per hour and is set to transform the concept of travel for the masses in India and in poorer ...